The modern United States received its crowning star when
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation
admitting (Native spelling: Hawai‘i) into the Union as the
50th state on this day in 1959.
The president also issued an order for an American flag
featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-
star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became
official July 4, 1960.
On August 19, 1934, Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, is
also elected president of Germany in an unprecedented
consolidation of power in the short history of the republic.
On August 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton became the first
sitting president to testify before the Office of Independent
Counsel as the subject of a grand-jury investigation.
The testimony came after a four-year investigation into
Clinton and his wife Hillary’s alleged involvement in
several scandals, including accusations of sexual
harassment, potentially illegal real-estate deals and
suspected “cronyism” involved in the firing of White
House travel-agency personnel.
On August 13, 1981, at his California home Rancho del Cielo,
Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA),
a package of tax and budget reductions that set the tone for his administration’s trickle-down economic policy.
CAMILLE BOHANNON
