On February 28, 1933, German President Paul von Hindenburg issued the Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State in response to the burning of the Reichstag (the German Parliament building) on the previous day. More commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, the law suspended many key civil liberties, such as free press, habeas corpus, and warrant requirements. Blaming Communists for the attack on the Reichstag, the Nazi party and newly-appointed Chancellor Adolf Hitler pressed the law through as a first step in establishing absolute control over Germany. On March 23, the German Parliament passed the Enabling Act, which empowered Adolf Hitler to become the dictator of Germany. Four months later on July 14, the Nazis solidified their control over Germany with the passage of the Law Against the Establishment of Parties eliminated all political parties in Germany other than the Nazi Party.

On February 28, 1877, the US Congress ratified the Manypenny Agreement with the Lakota Sioux, under which the United States took control of 900,000 acres of the Black Hills. Read the ratification act, which includes the terms of the Agreement. The Lakota argue to this day that the agreement is illegal, was obtained by coercion associated with starvation, and that the Black Hills should be returned to them.