1870: Hiram R. Revels, R-Miss., became the first black member of the United States Senate; he served the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis.

1913: The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing an income tax.

1919: Oregon is the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax, at one-cent per gallon.

1976: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may ban the hiring of illegal aliens.

1999: A jury in Jasper, Texas, sentenced white supremacist John William King to death for dragging James Byrd Jr., a black man, to death.

2000: A jury in Albany, N.Y., acquitted four white New York City police officers of all charges in the shooting death of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

2003: Although Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said Iraq was showing new signs of real cooperation, President Bush was predicted Saddam Hussein would try to "fool the world one more time."

2004: The US Supreme Court ruled that states may withhold scholarships from students preparing for the ministry.

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