Acts Review US History/ Robinson

1. 1862: Homestead Act = Gave 160 acres of land to anyone who paid a small registration fee and lived on this land as a homestead for 5 years. 2. 1878: Bland-Allison Act = Silver Coinage Act of United States Congress requiring the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars 3. 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibited all immigration from China 4. 1883: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, a federal law established in 1883 said government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit (exams) instead of political affiliation. (ends spoils system) 5. 1887: Interstate Commerce Act, federal law to regulate the railroad industry, monopolistic practices. Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT WAS THE FIRST IMPORTANT ATTEMPT BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE TRANSPORTATION AD MARKED A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS. 6. 1887: Indian General Allotment Act ("Dawes Act"), Broke up Reservations to encourage Native Americans to be farmers. Called for assimilation of Native Americans into white culture. Provided that each male head of an Indian family could claim 160 acres of land as his own which they could not sell or lease. 7. 1890: Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890, first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts; it was named for Senator John Sherman. 1890 8. 1890: Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act =1862 Gave each state 30,000 acres of land to sell-income from the land was to be used to establish a college majoring in agriculture and mechanical arts (Land Grant Colleges) 9. 1890: McKinley , Passed 1890 raised tariffs, and the duty free status of Hawaiian sugar. 10. 1898: Teller Amendment = the U.S. could not annex Cuba but leave "control of the island to its people." 11. 1901: Platt Amendment = it defined the terms of Cuban–U.S. relations to essentially be an unequal one of U.S. dominance over Cuba. 12. 1900: Foraker Act, established civilian government on the island of Puerto Rico 13. 1902: Newlands Reclamation Act = funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 20 states in the American West (helped settlement). 14. 1903: Elkins Act = authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to impose heavy fines on railroads 15. 1906: Hepburn Act, 1906 United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to set maximum railroad rates 16. 1906: Pure Food and Drug Act, required truth in labeling, consumer protection laws 17. 1906: Meat Inspection Act, meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions 18. 1909: Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act, bill raising certain tariffs on goods entering the United States. The high rates angered Republican reformers (ie TR), and led to a deep split in the Republican Party. 19. 1913: , (including Underwood Tariff) federal income tax following the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment and lowered basic tariff rates from 40% to 25%, well below the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. 20. 1913: , Established 12 Federal Reserve banks The Federal Reserve could transfer money to banks in times of crisis so people would not loose saving and bank would not fail. THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM COULD PUT MORE MONEY INTO CIRCULATION OR WITHDRAW MONEY FROM CIRCULATION DEPENDING UPON THE NEEDS OF THE TIME. 21. 1914: Clayton Antitrust Act, Hailed by organized labor as a great victory: meant to promote competition in businesses and discourage the formation of monopolies. This act prohibited price discrimination, price fixing, and exclusive sales contracts. The act also legalized peaceful strikes and boycotts against companies. a) declared strikes, picketing and boycotts legal 22. 1917: Selective Service Act of 1917, authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into through the compulsory enlistment of people. Draft 23. 1917: , 1917 Aimed at treasonable and disloyal activities. 24. October 18, 1919: National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act), Federal government can enforce prohibition 25. May 19, 1921: Emergency Quota Act (Johnson Quota Act), Stat. 5 1921Limited the number of Europeans who could have been admitted to the U.S. to 3% of the total number of persons of their nationality residing in the U.S. in 1910. 26. September 21, 1922: Fordney–McCumber Tariff, raised American tariffs on many imported goods in order to protect factories and farms. 27. June 17, 1930: Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, June 1930 raised U.S. tariffs to historically high levels. 28. March 9, 1933: Emergency Banking Relief Act, which was intended to restore Americans’ confidence in banks when they reopened. Provided for the reopening of the banks as soon as examiners found them to be financially secure 29. March 31, 1933: Civilian Conservation Corps Reforestation Relief Act, Public work relief program related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. 30. May 12, 1933: Agricultural Adjustment Act, paying farmers subsidies not to plant on part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus and therefore effectively raise the value of crops 31. May 18, 1933: Tennessee Valley Authority Act, Provide navigation, flood control, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. 32. 1933: Glass-Stengall Act, Banking Reform Act, prohibited commercial banks from participating in the investment banking business. 1933 Created the FDIC 33. 1935: National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy 34. 1935: Social Security Act, provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits 35. 1937: Neutrality Acts of 1937 response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia and spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts by making i illegal to sell goods or give loans to countries at war. 36. 1939: Cash and Carry Act, allowed the sale of material to countries at war, as long as the recipients arranged for the transport using their own ships and paid immediately in cash, assuming all risk in transportation 37. 1940: Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards (11/14/42 ages changed 18- 37) 38. 1941: Lend Lease Act, the United States supplied Free France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China, and later the USSR and other Allied nations with food, oil 39. 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill), aid for the readjustment in civilian life of returning World War II veterans 40. 1947: Assistance to Greece and Turkey Act (Truman Doctrine) American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialist threats to Greece and Turkey. 41. 1948: Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan) economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. 42. 1955: Interstate Highway Act, federally funded construction of 41,000 miles of expressway in U.S. 43. 1958: National Aeronautics and Space Act, Agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research (Cold War) 44. 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964, Outlawed segregation in public accommodations, prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, or sex, - most far reaching piece of civil rights legislation in American History, created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex 45. 1965: Social Security Act of 1965, (including Medicaid and Medicare) insurance for the elderly and poor 46. 1965: Voting Rights Act of 1965, Suspended literacy tests for voting and authorized federal registration of voters 47. 1968: Civil Rights Act of 1968, ended defacto segregation, provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race 48. 1973: War Powers Act 1973 Passed over Nixon's veto, president can only commit American troops for 60 days without approval of Congress 49. 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act, prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability 50. 1993: Family and Medical Leave Act, Requiring employers to provide employees job-protected and 12 weeks unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons 51. 1993: National Voter Registration Act of 1993, The Motor Voter Act, required state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or public assistance 52. 1993: Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Bill) mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States, and imposed a five-day waiting period on purchases 53. 1993: North American Free Trade Agreement Act, Free Trade Agreement is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.