Legislation

Ordinance of 1784: Divided western territory into ten self-governing districts that could apply for statehood once population equaled number of free people in smallest existing state

Ordinance of 1785: Established the grid, way of dividing land into evenly divided squares or rectangles

1787 Northwest Ordinance: Created single Northwest Territory from lands north of Ohio, divided into three to five territories; minimum population of 60,000 in order to apply for statehood, guaranteed religious freedom, right to trial by jury and prohibited slavery

Judiciary Act of 1789: Gave Supreme Court power to force executive officials to act on certain matters, including delivering commissions

1798 Alien Act: placed obstacles in way of foreigners becoming U.S. citizens and strengthened president’s power for dealing with aliens

1798 Sedition Act: allowed government to prosecute those who rebel against government; made possible for govt. to prosecute any rebels at all because definition varied by person

Judiciary Act of 1801: Removed one Supreme Court justiceship and increased number of federal judgeships

1809 - 1810 Non-Intercourse Act: replaced Embargo Act and only prohibited trade with Britain and France

1810 Macon's Bill No. 2: replaced Non-Intercourse Act, opened free commerce with Britain and France but allowed president to prohibit if either country interfered with American neutral shipping

1836 Distribution Act: Federal government "loaned" surplus money to states without interest

1850 Fugitive Slave Act: runaway ﻿slaves were to be returned to owners, met with public opposition in North

1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act: popular sovereignty in new territories caused violence in midwest, especially in Kansas

1861 Confiscation Act: Slaves who were forced to fight for the Confederacy were declared free; followed by subsequent laws that prohibited slavery in D.C. and western territories.  1862 Second Confiscation Act: Slaves belonging to people in support of Confederacy were declared free and allowed African Americans to be soldiers

1862 Homestead Act: Offered land for lower prices.

1862 Morrill Land Grant Act: Government sold lands and the profits went to support public education ("land-grant institutions")

1863-1864 National Bank Acts: Provided the U.S. with a new national banking system where banks could join and issue U.S. Treasury notes. System helped eliminate confusion over currency value and created single system of national banknotes.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1865 Black Codes: Set of laws passed in the South in order to keep blacks under control of whites.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1867 Tenure of Office Act: Prohibited president from removing any civil official without Senate approval.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1870, 1871 Enforcement Acts: (Ku Klux Klan Acts) prohibited discriminating against voters because of race, president could use military to protect civil rights and suspend habeas corpus if violations became especially serious

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1882 Chinese Exclusion Act: Chinese were prohibited from immigrating to the United States after whites came to fear competition within the labor system.

1883 Pendleton Act: National civil service law that required some federal jobs to have competitive written tests to prevent spoils system

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1887 Dawes Severalty Act: Americans tried to assimilate Indians by giving each family their own plot of land and sending the children to boarding school to help them abandon Indian ways.

1887 Interstate Commerce Act: prohibited charging long and short railroad hauls differently; railroad rate schedules had to be published

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1890 Sherman Antitrust Act: prohibited the development of trust agreements to prevent monopolies

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1902 Newlands Act (National Reclamation Act): Federal funding was created for the construction of dams, reservoirs, and canals in the west

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1906 Hepburn Railroad Regulation Act: Gave federal government some power over regulating railroad rates

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1906 Pure Food and Drug Act: Restricted the sale of dangerous or ineffective medicine

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1906 Meat Inspection Act: Prohibited the sale of impure meat

1912 Federal Trade Commission Act: Regulated corporate trade activities

1913 Federal Reserve Act: Created the Federal Reserve system where regional banks would reserve assets for loans to private banks; funds could be quickly moved to troubled areas

1916 Keating-Owen Act: Prohibited shipping goods made by child laborers

1917 Selective Service Act: National draft of 3 million men for WWI combined with 2 million volunteers made up the American Expeditionary Force

1917 Espionage Act: Penalties were created for any interference with war effort

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1917 Jones Act: Puerto Rico became U.S. territory and its citizens became American citizens

1918 Sabotage Act & Sed<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ition Ac<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">t: Prohibited public opposition to war and prosecuted anyone who criticized the government or the president

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1921 Sheppard-Towner Act: Federal funds were given to states for prenatal and childcare programs but faced opposition from medical profession which ended the act in 1929

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">National Origins Act of 1924: Banned immigration from all of east Asia (targeted Japanese), European immigration was limited to 2% of each nationality present in U.S. in 1890 (favored northwestern Europeans)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1929 Agricultural Marketing Act: tried to help farmers maintain prices loaning money to national marketing cooperatives or by buying surpluses

1933 Emergency Banking Act: created a four day banking holiday during drafting period; reorganized and inspected banks; provided federal assistance to the most troubled banks

1933 Economy Act: government salary cuts and reduction of 15% on veterans' pensions in order to balance federal budget and restore public confidence

1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act: Production limits were placed on certain crops, subsidies were given for empty land; 1936 declared unconstitutional because government couldn't force farmers to limit crop production

1933 National Industrial Recovery Act: Loosened anti-trust laws in order to allow trade associations to stabilize prices; in return, business leaders had to recognize unions' rights of collective bargaining; public works spending program

1933 Glass-Steagall Act: Government was given authority to control irresponsible bank speculations; established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which insured all bank deposits up to $2,500

1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act: Participating nations (including U.S.) lowered tariffs by 50%

1935 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act): Replaced National Industrial Recovery Act; board had the power to compel employers to recognize/negotiate w/ labor unions

1935 Social Security Act: Provided insurance for elderly after retirement (included women/children), employers helped pay for temporary government assistance for unemployed

Neutrality Act of 1935: U.S. would not sell weapons to any nation involved in WWII

Neutrality Act of 1936: Renewed Neutrality Act of 1935

1936 Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act: Justified crop production limits by “conserving soil”

Neutrality Act of 1937: Created a cash-and-carry policy where warring nations could buy nonmilitary goods only from the U.S. with cash and had to carry the goods away with their own ships; altered in 1939 to include military arms

1938 Fair Labor Standards Act: Set national minimum wage of 40-hour work weekand limits on child labor

National Security Act of 1947: Reshaped U.S. military and diplomatic institutions and created the CIA

1947 Taft-Hartley Act: Prohibited closed shop and allowed states to pass “right-to-work” laws that could prohibit union shops

1950 McCarran Internal Security Act: All communist organizations had to register with the government and publish records

Indian Policies by the United States Government
1830 Indian Removal Act: The "Five Civilized Tribes" in the south were forcibly relocated to the Indian Territory, in present day Oklahoma.

1851 Concentration Policy: Each Indian tribe was assigned a specific reservation confirmed through treaties that were established with non-representative tribe members. Indians became divided and easier to control by the whites.

1867 Indian Peace Commission: The commission replaced the concentration policy and moved all Indians to Indian Territory and the Dakotas.

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887: The act worked to eliminate tribal ownerships of land and assimilate Indians. Indians were given individually owned land and the children were sent to boarding schools run by whites.

Burke Act of 1906: Indians were given more rights in an effort to americanize them. Indians who adopted the ways of civilized society (American society) would have citizenship.

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934: Legislation was promoted by John Collier who wanted to preserve Indian culture. Indians were given the right to own land as a tribe in order to reunite broken tribes.

1968 Indian Civil Rights Act: Reservation Indians were given protections that any citizen had while also recognizing the tribal laws in the reservations.