On this day: December 6
POSTED: 09:00 PM PST Dec 05, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 05, 2012
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery, the capstone is set on the Washington Monument, the TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" debuts, and Roy Orbison passes away, all on this day.
National Archives of the Unites States
1865: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted after the American Civil War. Pictured is the amendment in the National Archives, bearing the signature of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
