act of toleration of 1649
ensured "religious toleration" in maryland for all christians; provided death penalty for any non-christian; protestants rebellion momentarily repealed the act but it was quickly restored
fundamental orders of 1639
first constitution of colonial america; from connecticut; called for power of government to derive from the governed
proclamation of 1763
line of demarcation that barred colonists from settling west of appalachians; meant to prevent clashes with indians; colonists mostly ignored & settled in the west anyways
sugar acts of 1764
raised previous amount demanded on sweeteners (molasses/sugar) from older tax; tax was levied mainly to make money for england
quartering act of 1765
required colonists to provide room/board for british soldiers; the law was laxly enforced
stamp act of 1765
required all paper was to have a stamp affixed; first time the colonists had been subjected to a direct tax (paid directly by the consumer); england felt that colonists should pay for the french-indian war
declaratory act of 1766
replaced the stamp act; this maintained the right of england to tax the colonies in the future
townsend acts of 1767
brought harsh taxes on goods like glass, paper, tea; writs of assistance were issued that allowed a search of colonial homes without a warrant; boycotts of british goods began, & it was repealed in 1770
tea act of 1773
lowered the price of tea; colonists were still wary at any british attempt to collect revenue
coercive acts of 1773
closed boston harbor until the tea ruined in the boston tea party was paid for; revoked charter of massachusetts; put colony under the control of england; expanded the quartering act
intolerable acts of 1774
allowed the ex-french region of quebec to be self-sufficient & expanded its borders into the ohio valley region; quebecois were allowed to freely practice catholicism; also called the quebec act
quebec act of 1774
allowed quebec to be self-sufficient & expanded its borders into ohio valley region; quebecois could freely practice religion; also called intolerable acts
land ordinance of 1785
required new townships to set aside land for public education & said that public lands would be used to pay off the national debt
northwest ordinance of 1787
established guidelines for attaining statehood; territories with at least 60,000 people could apply; slavery was banned from states north of the ohio river
judiciary act of 1789
established a supreme court consisting of 1 chief justice & 5 associate justices; provided 13 district courts & 3 circuit courts of appeal
revenue act of 1789
placed 8% tariff on imports, much lower than hamilton had wanted
neutrality proclamation of 1793
hamilton wanted to maintain relationships with england; jefferson sympathized with the french; washington made this proclamation & french/british ships set out to seize american ships crossing the atlantic, stealing cargo & impressing sailors; these seizu
alien acts of 1798
these increased the residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 14 years & gave the president power to detain/deport enemy aliens in time of war
sedition act of 1798
this made it illegal to criticize the president/congress & imposed a heavy fine or threat of imprisonment on violators
judiciary act of 1801
was passed before congress was to be turned over to the majority republicans; created 16 new judgeships
berlin decree of 1806
made by napoleon; an attempt to cut britain off from the rest of the world & meant that US ships traveling to britain to deposit goods would get caught in the napoleonic war
orders in council of 1807
british response to napoleon's berlin decree; closed all ports under french control; any US ship traveling to europe that didn't stop in england first would be confiscated
milan decree of 1807
by napoleon; authorized his navy to seize foreign ships traveling to europe that had stopped in britain first, even though britain's orders in council said that they would seize any ship that hadn't stopped in england first; the US was basically screwed
embargo act of 1807
prohibited US merchant vessels from anchoring at any foreign port; jefferson hoped this would hurt british/french economies, he was WRONG; most damage inflicted on new england merchants; harsh enforcement laws were passed to uphold it
non-intercourse act of 1809
passed in last days of jeffersons presidency; replaced embargo act; allowed US to trade with foreign nations except britain & france
macon's bill number 2 of 1810
sought to lift trade restrictions against britain/france but only after those nations agreed to honor US neutrality; napoleon agreed & madison issued britain an ultimatum to remove their orders in council or US would not trade with them; napoleon didn't h
tariff of 1816
created to prevent cheap british goods from flooding the market/hurting manufacturing; imposed 20% duty on all imported goods
tallmadge amendment
added to missouri's bid for statehood; this would not allow any more slaves to be brought into the state & would provide for emancipation of slave children at 25 years old; did not pass through the senate
specie circular
this issuance of jackson required the payment of federal lands to be made in hard coin (specie) rather than banknotes; caused paper money's value to drop, leading to the panic of 1837
tariff of 1828
new englanders pushed for this tax to protect themselves from foreign competition; called "tariff of abominations" by the south
tariff of 1832
to appease the south, jackson sought to lower this tariff from 45% duties to 35%; didn't placate the south very much; SC nullified this tariff & threatened to secede if jackson attempted to collect
force bill
gave the president power to use military force to collect tariffs if the need arose
indian removal act of 1830
provided for immediate resettlement of indians in MS, AL, FL, GA, & IL; these were "civilized" tribes; by 1835 100,000 were forcibly removed
maine law of 1851
prohibited the manufacture/sale of alcoholic beverages in this state; soon after 12 other states would pass similar laws
wilmot proviso
aimed to forbid slavery in the new land acquired from the war with mexico; bill passed through the house but not senate
fugitive slave law of 1850
designed to reenslave those slaves who had made it to freedom; law denied legal rights to captured blacks & sentenced whites who harbored fugitives to heavy fines or jail time
compromise of 1850
drafted by henry clay to avert a national crisis; admitted CA as free state, divide mexican cession into new mexico & utah territories with popular sovereignty to determine slave status, ban the slave trade in washington DC, have stricter fugitive slave l
kansas-nebraska act of 1854
came when stephen a. douglas proposed to divide the nebraska territory into 2 regions; both regions lay above the 36'30 line of demarcation stipulated by the missouri compromise, theoretically opening these lands to slavery; this would repeal the missouri
homestead act of 1862
granted 160 acres to any family that would agree to farm it for at least 5 years
morrill land grant of 1862
gave federal lands to states for the purpose of building schools that would teach agriculture & technical trades
pacific railway act of 1862
approved the building of a transcontinental railroad that would completely transform the west by linking the atlantic ocean with the pacific
tenure of office act
disallowed the president to discharge a federal appointee without consulting senate; an attempt by republicans to protect their numbers from the angry hand of president johnson; johnson ignored this & fired secretary of war edwin stanton; the house submit
proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction of 1863
way to reintroduce the south into the union; would begin by the reestablishment of state governments that would gain legitimacy by obtaining at least 10% of their voting populace to swear an oath of loyalty to the US; then the president was ready to grant
wade-davis bill of 1864
required 50% of southern voters take the oath of loyalty before rejoining the union; let only those who had not been active members/supporters of the confederacy to approve new state constitutions; lincoln pocket-vetoed this bill even though it was passed
military reconstruction act of 1867
radical republicans passed this; divided the south into 5 districts that would be managed by military forces; martial law in effect; required petitioning states to ratify the fourteenth amendment & provide universal manhood suffrage
civil rights bill of 1866
designed to destroy black codes by giving blacks full citizenship; johnson vetoed it, but congress overturned that
force acts of 1870-1871
allowed the use of federal troops to end violence & enforce the 14th & 15th amendments; moderately successful in calming the KKK but they survived
clayton antitrust act of 1913
finally gave power to the weak/ineffective sherman antitrust act of 1890; strengthened provisions from breaking up trusts & protected labor unions from prosecution
interstate commerce act of 1887
created the interstate commerce commission (ICC) which regulated/investigated railroad companies that participated in interstate rail trafficking
sherman antitrust act of 1890
an attempt to break up massive monopolies; act forbade the creation of trusts that were designed to restrain trade; it failed to specify the difference between trusts that were beneficial to customers & those that were harmful; failed to include any metho
pendleton civil service act of 1883
reformed the corrupt patronage system of obtaining civil service jobs; all potential civil service employees had to take an exam to prove their worthiness
elkins act of 1903
gave the interstate commerce commission more power to prohibit rail companies from giving rebates to favored customers
hepburn act of 1906
allowed the ICC to regulate the price of shipping rates railroad lines could charge, ending long-haul/short-haul price gouging
pure food and drug act of 1906
response to "the jungle"; provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous medicines
meat inspection act of 1906
made sure that meat was thoroughly inspected before reaching its consumers
mann-elkins act of 1910
placed the regulation of communication directly under the ICC
chinese exclusion act of 1882
restricted asian immigration to the US; reaction to large numbers of chinese/japanese immigrants in california
dawes severalty act of 1887
stripped indian tribes of their official recognition & land rights; would give individual indian families land/citizenship in 25 years if they behaved
underwood tariff bill of 1913
imposed the first permanent federal income tax on the well-to-do
federal reserve act of 1913
created the federal reserve system
federal reserve system
consisted of 12 regional banks that were controlled by the federal reserve board; system would serve as lender of the last resort for all private banks, hold or sell the nation's bonds, & issue federal reserve notes to purchase goods & services
federal trade commission of 1914
created to control monopolies; would monitor interstate business activities & force companies that broke laws to comply with cease & desist orders
espionage act of 1917
aimed mostly at germans/antiwar protesters; tried to curb free speech; socialists were targeted/arrested; Supreme Court said that Congress could limit free speech if it represented a clear & present danger
sedition act of 1917
aimed mostly at germans/antiwar protestors; looked to curb the right to free speech; socialists were targeted/arrested
platt amendment of 1902
Cuba had to write it into their constitution to gain freedom; Cuba had to have all treaties approved by teh US before signing, the US had the right to interfere in Cuba both politically/militarily, US would be given access to naval bases on the island
selective services act of 1917
authorized the conscription of US males into military service
dawes plan of 1924
this loan program was crafted to give money to germany so that they could pay war reparations & lessen the financial crisis in europe; the program ended with the 1929 stock market crash
mcnary-haugen bill
this bill would have assisted farmers who badly needed price supports, but coolidge vetoed it twice
hoover-stimson doctrine of 1932
this doctrine declared that the US wouldn't recognize territorial gains made by nations who violated the kellogg-briand pact
volstead act of 1919
this act was the enforcement arm of the 18th amendment (prohibition)
quota act of 1921
also known as the immigration act, this set a 3% immigration limit on individuals from each nation of origin
national origins act of 1924
this act set the immigration limit to 2% based on the 1890 census; it was direct at southern/eastern european/asian immigrants
glass-steagall act of 1933
this at paved the way for the federal deposit insurance corporation that would protect US banking deposits up to $5,000
emergency banking relief act of 1933
this act reopened solvent banks while the others were absorbed into the government
hawley-smoot tariff of 1930
this 50% tariff on imported goods hurt american farmers & resulted in retaliatory tariffs from other nations around the world that hurt manufacturers
agricultural adjustment act of 1933
this act paid farmers subsidies to destroy or plow under fields to create artificial scarcity & increase the price of good; deemed unconstitutional in 1935
social security act of 1935
guaranteed benefits for retirrees, the disabled, & the unemployed; money was collected from a worker's pay on a monthly basis which was paid back to them when they turned 65
section 7a
this part of the national industrial recovery administration legislation formally guarnateed organized labor the right to collectively bargain & organize; unions could actively recruit & they had gained legal acceptance
national labor relations act of 1935
this act, also called the wagner act, strengthened section 7a of the NIRA, the right of unions to collectively bargain & recruit
selective training and service act of 1940
the first peacetime draft that provided for all men 21-35 to register for the military
fair labor standards act of 1938
this act established a federal minimum wage & maximum hour for interstate businesses & ensured an end to child labor
judicial reorganization bill of 1937
this failed bill would have allowed FDR to appoint 1 justice for every current justice who was over 70 years old; this would have given FDR the ability to appoint 6 justices; the bill died when FDR's biggest supporters wouldn't support this "court-packing
indian reorganization act of 1934
this act repealed the dawes act of 1887 by returning federal reservation lands back to tribes & giving indians support to reestablish/support tribal culture
neutrality act of 1939
this act proclaimed US neutrality in name only; the US provided weapons to european allies on a cash-and-carry basis
lend-lease act of 1941
allowed britain to borrow US war materials & lent britain US money
GI bill of 1944
congress passed this bill (aka the servicemen's readjustment act) to provide funding for college education & gave loans to buy houses/start businesses; helped create a career & provide home for the 15 million soldiers returnin from war
executive order 9066 of 1942
sent japanese-americans to internment camps, ave them 48 hours to pack & leave; the government paid them $20,00 in 1988 as an apology
employment act of 1946
congress passed this act in an attempt to keep the US in full employment at all times
taft-hartley act of 1947
this act was an attempt to support big business; truman vetoed it but congress overturned that; it outlawed "closed shops" by states who wished, boycotts from other unions, & allowed the pres. to demand a cooling-off period of 80 days before a strike bega
marshall plan of 1947
truman's secretary of state created this plan to give west europe financial assistance & political support for rebuilding democratic forms of government; congress approved this plan, which would supply $3 bil in aid over a 4 year period; this plan worked
national security act of 1947
this act created the department of defense, the national security council, and the central intelligence agency
smith act of 1940
this act was designed to arrest people who were advocates of overthrowing the government, even if they had no intention of actually ever doing so
national highway act of 1956
this act created the nation's interstate freeway system; it improved the US's infrastructure, provided for quick evacuation of large urban centers, emergency landing of planes, and the transport of missiles
civil rights bill of 1957
this bill hoped to ensure that blacks would be able to vote by supporting new division within the federal justice department to monitor civil rights abuses; by the time the bill was enacted, it had been watered down & had barely any impact
patriot act
the bush administration enacted this act, which expanded the government's ability to monitor the activities of americans & conduct investigations of suspected terrorists
war powers act of 1973
this act repealed the gulf of tonkin resolution & limited the president's ability to wage war without consent of congress