MOMENTS IN TIME: The History Channel

• On Feb. 3, 1780, in one of the most famous crimes of post-Revolution America, 20-year-old boarder Barnett Davenport commits a mass murder, killing a family of five at their home in rural Connecticut. Until then, crime was viewed as sinners losing their way. But Davenport’s crime caused people to perceive criminals as evil and alien to the rest of society.

• On Feb. 2, 1812, Russians establish Fort Ross on the coast north of San Francisco as a source of growing food. The effort was not successful. American John Sutter bought Fort Ross in 1841 with an unsecured $30,000 note that he never paid....