July 5, 1855
The Governor of Texas authorized James Hughes Callahan to cross the Rio Grande, ostensibly to retaliate for Apache raids but generally agreed upon by historians to be an expedition to capture runaway slaves who had escaped across the border to Nueva León and Coahuila, where slavery was illegal. Callahan crossed the border in October and a battle ensued at Rio Escondito, with casualties on both sides. Callahan retreated to Piedras Negras, captured the town, and burned it. A claims commission awarded the Mexican victims $500,000 in 1876.
July 5, 1935
The National Labor Relations or Wagner Act (named for New York Senator Robert Wagner), recognizing workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The act was bitterly opposed by the Republican Party and business groups who launched a campaign of filing injunctions to keep the National Labor Relations Board from functioning. This campaign continued until the Act was found constitutional by the Supreme Court in National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937.)
