Congress

The Maryland Jockey Club postponed all racing in the autumn of 1775 due to the outbreak of war, upon the recommendation of Congress.

Some Annapolis races resumed in the autumn of 1782 after the Revolutionary War.

The New York legislature consented to Vermont's admission on March 6, 1790, contingent on a negotiated boundary agreement between the two states.

Negotiations concluded in October 1790 with Vermont paying $30,000 to New York for land claims.

Vermont convention voted to petition Congress for statehood in January 1791.

Congress admitted Vermont as the 14th state on February 18, 1791, effective March 4, 1791.

The Patent Act of 1790 was the first patent statute passed by the federal government of the United States. It is included as sourced background; the passages do not link it to an 1802 State Department establishment.

A fire destroyed nearly all of Detroit on June 11, 1805, before the new territorial government officially began.

The town was quickly rebuilt with aid from local residents and those from Quebec after the fire.

Congress authorized the laying out of a new town and compensation for fire victims in April 1806.

Congress established the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1832, granting the agency statutory authority within the War Department.

The Virginia General Assembly passed an act in February 1846 to accept retrocession, contingent on congressional approval.

Congress agreed to hold a referendum in Alexandria County on retrocession in July 1846, following Virginia's legislative acceptance.

Alexandria County was officially returned to Virginia on March 13, 1847, after the state passed its retrocession bill.

The current Cape Lookout Lighthouse was completed and lit on November 1, 1859, following congressional approval in 1857.

Congress created national holidays on June 28, 1870, to correspond with state laws, initially applying only to federal employees in Washington, D.C.

Mississippi was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870, ending military control. This followed the 1868 constitutional convention and was part of Grant's efforts to ensure voting rights.

Congress resumed allowing elected Texas representatives into the federal government in 1870, despite the state not meeting all Reconstruction requirements.

On March 3, 1871, President Grant signed the first U.S. civil service reform legislation, creating the United States Civil Service Commission, which was funded for two years.

The Centennial International Exhibition opened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1876, as the first official world's fair in the United States.

The Centennial International Exhibition closed in Philadelphia on November 10, 1876.