1955: The Nuclear Option: President Dwight D. Eisenhower upheld the U.S. right to use atomic weapons in times of war.
Also today in history:
1802: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was organized (for the second time) and a law was signed to establish a formal training base for it at West Point, New York: the U.S. Military Academy.
1818: Chileans led by José de San Martín suffered a setback at the hands of Spanish Loyalists in the Battle of Cancha Rayada.
1930: The renovated frigate USS Constitution was floated out in Boston Harbor to take its place as a national shrine.
