Feb 23, 2011

From a reader . . .

"140 years ago on Feb 21, 1871, the 41 Congress passed the Act of 1871, which established the US corporation. This was the same day of the Christchurch quake. Any connection??"

The date is February 21, 1871 and the Forty-First Congress is in session. I refer you to the "Acts of the Forty-First Congress," Section 34, Session III, chapters 61 and 62. On this date in the history of our nation, Congress passed an Act titled: "An Act To Provide A Government for the District of Columbia." This is also known as the "Act of 1871." What does this mean? Well, it means that Congress, under no constitutional authority to do so, created a separate form of government for the District of Columbia, which is a ten mile square parcel of land.