Today in US history on March 2: US Steel founded, Texas declares independence from Mexico

From the fight for independence and territorial expansion to landmark moments in civil rights, science, and war, this day holds a wide cross-section of U.S. history. It marks the birth of the Republic of Texas in 1836, a key logistical turning point in the American Revolution with Nathanael Greene’s appointment in 1778, and the creation of U.S. Steel in 1901, America’s first billion-dollar corporation. The date also echoes through the Civil War, World War II, the early civil rights movement, and the fight against AIDS, reminding us how political power, social resistance, and scientific progress have repeatedly intersected on this day in American history.

On this day in 1836, the Republic of Texas formally declared independence from Mexico in Columbia, setting the stage for Texas to emerge as an independent republic before later joining the United States. In 1778, Nathanael Greene was appointed Quartermaster General of the Continental Army under George Washington, playing a crucial role in sustaining American forces during the Revolutionary War.

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Economic history was reshaped in 1901 when US Steel was formed under financier J. P. Morgan through the merger of Carnegie Steel, Federal Steel, and National Steel, creating the world’s first billion-dollar corporation.

Several milestones in governance and culture also mark the day. In 1789, Pennsylvania lifted its prohibition on theatrical performances. The Arkansas Territory was organized in 1819, followed by the creation of the Washington Territory in 1853. During the Civil War era, the U.S. Government Printing Office purchased its first printing plant in 1861, while Dakota and Nevada territories were carved out of existing regions the same year. In 1865, Confederate General Jubal Early’s army was defeated at Waynesboro, Virginia, hastening the war’s end.

In 1901, the U.S. Congress passed the Platt Amendment, limiting Cuba’s autonomy as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops. Two years later, in 1903, New York City saw the opening of the Martha Washington Hotel, one of the first hotels designed exclusively for women.

The day also carries global and social significance. In 1943, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea began, with U.S. and Australian forces inflicting devastating losses on a Japanese convoy in the Pacific.

In 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks’ historic protest, Claudette Colvin, a Black high school student in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat. In 1985, the US approved its first AIDS screening test, a breakthrough that helped protect the nation’s blood supply.