Presidents and the Antiquities Act. Established in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used by 16 presidents -- from Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama – to designate national monuments.Only three presidents did not use the Act: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.n important conservation tool. The Antiquities Act is special because it allows the president to protect America’s wildlands and historical sites as national monuments. The president can use the Antiquities Act to: 1  Protect special natural, historical and cultural areas as national monuments. 2  Change monument boundaries.