Joseph Rainey (R-SC), born into slavery, was the first African-American elected to the House of Representatives.
Sen. Rand Paul's motion to hold that the Senate cannot try an impeached official who is no longer in office was defeated 55-45. Most legal scholars agree such a trial is permissible.
On March 7th, 1975, in a bipartisan vote, the U.S. Senate voted to amend Rule XXII (which governs the end of debate, and thus filibustering) to lower the threshold for cloture from 67 to 60 votes.
The Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment 91-9, but an insufficient number of state legislatures subsequently ratified it.
Before she became Vice President, Kamala Harris was the first South Asian-American woman elected to the Senate