The first full week of February serves as a profound mirror of the American experience, reflecting a transition from the heavy struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries toward the technological and cultural shifts of the modern era. This week marks pivotal moments in the expansion of civil rights, the somber remembrance of the hazards of early rock-and-roll touring, and the daring spirit of the Space Race. From the constitutional bedrock of voting rights to the tragic “Day the Music Died,” these seven days highlight the resilience and ingenuity that define the national character.
February 3
- 1870: Ratification of the 15th Amendment – The United States ratified the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, formally granting African American men the right to vote by declaring that the right shall not be denied “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
- 1959: The Day the Music Died – Rock-and-roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, a tragic event later immortalized in Don McLean’s song “American Pie.”
February 4
- 1789: Washington Elected President – The first U.S. Presidential Election was held, in which George Washington was unanimously elected by the Electoral College as the nation’s first president.
- 2004: Launch of Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders launched “TheFacebook” from a Harvard University dorm room, a moment that would fundamentally alter global communication, American social habits, and the tech economy.
February 5
- 1917: The Immigration Act of 1917 – Overriding a veto by President Woodrow Wilson, Congress passed this act, which significantly restricted immigration from Asia and introduced a literacy test for immigrants, marking a shift toward more isolationist policies.
- 1937: FDR’s “Court-Packing” Plan – President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges, an attempt to neutralize justices hostile to his New Deal programs; the move sparked a major constitutional debate over judicial independence.
February 6
- 1788: Massachusetts Ratifies the Constitution – Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, but only after a compromise was reached to include a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.
- 1911: Birth of Ronald Reagan – The 40th President of the United States was born in Tampico, Illinois. His presidency in the 1980s would define a new era of American conservatism and influence the end of the Cold War.
February 7
- 1964: The Beatles Arrive in America – The “British Invasion” officially began as the Beatles landed at New York’s JFK Airport to thousands of screaming fans, an event that reshaped American pop culture and the music industry forever.
- 1984: First Untethered Space Walk – NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first person to float in space without any umbilical connection to his craft, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission.
February 8
- 1910: Founding of the Boy Scouts of America – William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that would go on to influence the lives of millions of young American men through its focus on outdoor skills and civic duty.
- 1968: The Orangeburg Massacre – During a protest against a segregated bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina, highway patrol officers opened fire on students from South Carolina State University, killing three and wounding 27, a pivotal and tragic moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
February 9
- 1942: Daylight Saving Time Begins – To conserve fuel and resources during World War II, the United States instituted year-round “War Time,” which moved clocks forward one hour across the entire country for the duration of the conflict.
- 1950: McCarthyism Begins – During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 communists working within the State Department, triggering a period of intense anti-communist suspicion and “Red Scare” investigations.
