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Representative Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.), Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Martha Griffiths (D-MI) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955-1974. She was the first woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means and was instrumental in getting the prohibition of sex discrimination added to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 . Griffiths is also known for resurrecting the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guaranteed equal rights under the law for Americans regardless of their sex. The ERA was first drafted in 1923 by suffragist Alice Paul . Following the enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote, Paul believed the ERA to be the next step in guaranteeing equal justice to all citizens. From 1923 to 1970, some form of the ERA was introduced in every session of Congress. But, nearly every time that the ERA was introduced, it was held up in ...

Image via Wikipedia On Feb. 24, 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached; the Senate subsequently acquitted him by a single vote. House Impeaches President Johnson Andrew Johnson was sworn in as president after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated  in April 1865. Lincoln, a Republican , had chosen Johnson, a Democrat who served as military governor of Tennessee , as his running mate for re-election in 1864 because he was a southerner who supported the war and was loyal to the Union . The main issue facing Johnson was how to  readmit the Southern states that had seceded . He opposed military rule over Confederate states , pardoned rebel soldiers and returned property to rebels. He also vetoed two bills passed by the Republican-controlled Congress that established rights for freed slaves. Related articles New book focuses on Andrew Johnson during Civil War, Reconstruction (knoxnews.com) All You Need to Know About Impeachment (dennisher...