@nonna.knows: 📚🇺🇸 TODAY IN HISTORY — NOVEMBER 3 Today is Election Day 2026, which makes November 3 an especially interesting date to look backward — because some of the biggest stories attached to this day are about voting, representation, presidential power, civil rights and democracy itself. 🗳️ 1868 — JOHN WILLIS MENARD WINS A HISTORIC CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION In Louisiana, John Willis Menard appeared to win a special election for the U.S. House. But the election was contested, and the House ultimately seated neither candidate. Menard nevertheless made history a few months later when he became the first African American to address the U.S. House while it was in session, arguing for his right to the seat. (History, Art & Archives) His story captures one of Reconstruction’s biggest contradictions: Black Americans were gaining political rights on paper while still confronting enormous resistance to exercising them in practice. 🇺🇸 1936 — FDR WINS A LANDSLIDE Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Alf Landon, carrying 46 of 48 states. The victory strengthened Roosevelt’s political mandate for the New Deal and the expanding federal role in economic security during the Great Depression. 🇺🇸 1964 — LYNDON JOHNSON WINS BIG Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater with more than 61% of the popular vote. The election helped give Johnson the political strength for the Great Society era — including Medicare, Medicaid and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was also the first presidential election in which residents of Washington, D.C. could vote for president after ratification of the 23rd Amendment. 🐕🚀 1957 — LAIKA BECOMES THE FIRST ANIMAL TO ORBIT EARTH The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 carrying Laika. There was no system designed to return her safely to Earth, and NASA’s historical account says she survived only a few hours after reaching orbit. (NASA) Her mission helped advance spaceflight research — while leaving an ethical legacy we still debate today about the use of animals in scientific experimentation. ⚠️ 1986 — THE IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR BEGINS TO UNRAVEL On November 3, the Lebanese publication Al-Shiraa reported that the United States had secretly sold arms to Iran. Later revelations showed that proceeds from the arms transactions had been diverted to support the Nicaraguan Contras while congressional restrictions were in place. (Reagan Library) Iran-Contra became one of the defining constitutional controversies of the Reagan era: How far can a president go when Congress has explicitly limited executive action? 🗳️ AND NOW — NOVEMBER 3, 2026 Americans are voting in the midterm elections for the entire 435-seat House of Representatives and the Senate seats up this cycle, along with governors, state legislatures and thousands of state and local offices. So today isn’t only a day to study history. We are living it. And maybe John Willis Menard’s story gives us the most important question for Election Day: How much progress have we made in protecting representation and the right to vote — and where do we still fall short? History is not just a collection of old dates. It is a record of people fighting over who gets power, who gets represented, and who gets heard. And every Election Day adds another chapter. #TodayInHistory #ElectionDay #AmericanHistory #Civics #HistoryTok

Nonna🤌🏻💜👵🏼❌

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Tuesday 03 November 2026 14:02:36 GMT