Today in 1887, the Dawes Act, which authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments, went into effect. Those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe were granted United States citizenship.
Today in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America were incorporated.
Today 1942, Congress advised FDR that Americans of Japanese descent should be locked up en masse so that they wouldn’t oppose the American war effort. The executive order was signed February 19th.
Today in 1944, the first Black reporter was assigned to the White House – his name, Harry McAlpin. Although accredited at the White House, McAlpin was originally rejected when he applied for a Congressional press pass. The Standing Committee of Correspondents that controlled accreditation for the newspaper press galleries at the Capitol regarded him as a reporter for mostly weekly papers, while the Periodical Press gallery rejected him because he reported for newspapers rather than magazines. McAlpin believed that these actions were influenced “by my racial identity rather than the flimsy technicality publicly stated.” He was right, of course – but stayed the course…and received a personal invitation from President Roosevelt to attend an Oval Office briefing.
Today in 1963, President Kennedy made it illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba or engage in business with Cuba.
Today in 1963, AFL's Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs.
Today in 1971, the Nasdaq opened for the first time.
Today in 1990, "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney was suspended by CBS for racial remarks attributed to him the LGBT publication, "The Advocate." While he denied making inadvertently racists comments, he allowed that he had made anti-gay statements.
Today in 1992, the Ulysses spacecraft passed Jupiter.
Today in 1993, GM sued NBC, alleging that the "Dateline NBC" program had rigged 2 car-truck crashes to show that 1973-87 GM pickups were prone to fires.
Today in 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act into law. It was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Today in 2008, Nebraska banned the use of the electric chair.
Today in 2013, a massive blizzard began in the US and Canada which resulted in 18 deaths, 5,300 cancelled flights, and loss of power for 900,000 people. See a time lapse of what Boston experienced HERE.
Today in 2017, after controversy and protests… Jeff Sessions was confirmed as United States Attorney General