This Day In American History: Feb. 22

Feb. 22, 2017, is the 53rd day of the year, with 312 remaining. The moon today is waning, with illumination decreasing each day until the new moon on Feb. 26.

The 22nd of February marks a number of firsts for 2017 — from Amnesty International's denunciation of President Trump's immigration policies to the deadline for all protesters and water protectors to vacate the Standing Rock camp site, as issued by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. But with American history extending well over 200 years, Feb. 22 denotes more than present-day proceedings.

The Act of Feb. 22, 1859

The year is 1859. The United States' 15th president, James Buchanan, has approved the Act of Feb. 22, 1859, entitled, "an act to provide for the proof, acknowledgment and recording of deeds and other instruments of writing." The decision constituted the Washington National Monument Society "for the purpose of completing the erection now in the progress of a great National Monument to the memory of Washington at the seat of the Federal Government."

The act was subsequently signed into law on Feb. 26, with new officers elected into power. A month later, the Washington National Monument Society was officially reorganized under the terms of the new charter. The charter allowed the society to sue and be sued, making members personally beholden to the society itself.

The First Presidential Radio Broadcast

Exactly 65 years after the approval of the Act of Feb. 22, 1859, President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House. The 30th president of the U.S. addressed constituents over a medium that would become the nation's premier mode of communication for the next 30 years until the rise of the television.

But 1924, much like the mechanism of history itself, was a stepping stone that paved the way for John F. Kennedy's famously televised address of the American people in 1961 as well as the social media usage and associated presence of Barack Obama that surfaced in 2008. No recordings of Coolidge's radio broadcast exist, but granular footage captures "Silent Cal," as he was nicknamed, discussing fiscal policy.

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