February 25, 1837 - Thomas Davenport receives a patent for the first electric motor that really works.

February 25, 1862 - The Legal Tender Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, allowing the use of paper notes to pay the government's bills.

February 25, 1870 - Hiram Rhoades Revels, from Natchez, Mississippi, becomes the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Coincidentally, he held the same seat as Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederacy.

February 25, 1909 - In an attempt to avoid government control and censorship, American movie studios began having the Board of Censorship, based in New York, review their movies.

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February 25, 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, finally allowing the United States to begin an income tax.

February 25, 1919 - Oregon becomes the first state to gather funds from a tax on gasoline.

February 25, 1928 - The first television license for a broadcast station is granted by the Federal Radio Commission.

 

"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson