As Thanksgiving approaches, a peculiar and heartwarming tradition takes center stage in the United States: the presidential turkey pardoning. This annual event has become a symbol of both lighthearted holiday festivities and a welcome break from the usual partisan tomfoolery that comes out of government. But how did this tradition come about? In this blog …
October is upon us, and Halloween is right around the corner, a time when ghouls and goblins take center stage. While Law Libraries aren’t typically known for keeping collections of vampire romance novels or tales of ghostly apparitions, nonetheless we’ve taken it upon ourselves to unearth some spine-chilling treasures from our shelves. Read along as …
Sunday, October 16th was World Food Day. Created to commemorate the founding of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization in 1945, World Food Day is celebrated across 150 countries. In honor of World Food Day, this post is dedicated to learning more about food law and locating food law resources in the United States …
Happy Halloween Month, everyone! We don’t typically associate legal research with celebrating holidays, but did you know you can find information about Halloween on a number of different U.S. government websites? Resources cover everything from how to stay safe during the holiday, ghost towns and cryptids in North America, the history of Halloween and Día …
September 25th was First Amendment Day! Observed during National Banned Books Week, First Amendment Day is meant to commemorate the First Amendment and its promise of the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. September 25th marks the day the First Federal Congress of the United States proposed the Bill of Rights to the …
April Fools’ Day is rapidly approaching and while most simple shenanigans go ignored on this day, quite a few also land the pranksters in hot water with the law. This blog post will share a few of those cases and point you in the direction of searching for more! While the history of April Fools’ …
You may have heard of Presidential Libraries. Maybe your home state had one, or you visited one on a field trip. But what exactly are they, and who runs them? Presidential Libraries are privately constructed archives and museums that hold records and memorabilia of the former Presidents for researchers and the public. They also create …
Inauguration Day ceremonies are typically marked by a variety of traditions, including the administration of the presidential oath of office and a speech given by the newly inaugurated President. While presidential speeches from these ceremonies are widely available (see the online collection from The Avalon Project at Yale Law Library), few records contain descriptions of …
Did you know that Thanksgiving Day is designated as a public holiday by federal law? Under 5 U.S.C. §6103, there are ten days recognized as legal public holidays by the federal government. For those of us who love our turkey with all the fixins, it is certainly good news that Thanksgiving Day is protected by …
The law library wishes all UNC Law students, faculty, and staff a very Happy Thanksgiving! If you want to really impress your friends and family over dinner this year, trying using these federal legislative history materials to highlight a few lesser-known facts about this beloved holiday. Interesting Fact #1: In 1789, the first Congress worried …
