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First Bank of the US
The First Bank of the United States was chartered by Congress in 1791 with a 20 year expiration date. It was created to handle the financial needs and requirements of the newly formed United States. This was officially proposed by Alexander Hamilton and was rejected by many representatives in the Southern States. It established financial order, clarity and precedence over the United States. The Bank was a private company and was forbidden to buy government bonds. -
Clay's American System
The American System was developed by Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and John Quincy Adams and was advanced by the Whig Party. The mercantilist economic plan consisted on three prominent parts: a tariff to protect and promote American Industry, a national bank to foster commerce, and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other internal improvements. The tariff of 1816 or the Dallas Tariff established a 20-25% tax on imported goods. This protected a nation's business from foreign competition. -
Tariff of Abominations
An 1828 protective tariff, or tax on imports, motivated by special interest groups. It resulted in a substantial increase in duties that angered many southern free traders. It was one of the first events involving clear sensationalist views and later lead to the nullification crisis. -
Controversy over reestablishment of Bank of US
The Bank of the U.S. was a national bank proposed by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and established in 1791. It served as a central depository for the U.S. government and had the authority to issue currency. Between 1832-1836, Andrew Jackson used his presidential power to fight and ultimately destroy the Second Bank of the U.S. -
Munn v. Illinois
Responding to local merchants who were upset with existing railroad rate policies, the Illinois State Constitution of 1870 declared railroads public highways and authorized legislature to pass laws establishing minimum rates and preventing rate discrimination. In Munn v. Illinois, the Supreme Court upheld Illinois legislation, declaring that private property "affected with the public interest...must submit to being controlled by the public for the common good." -
Wabash v. Illinois
The Supreme Court Case of Wabash v. Illinois weakened the judgement made by the court in Munn v. Illinois. It also held that states could not regulate commerce extending beyond their borders, only Congress could do that. It turned people's attention back to the federal government and spurred Congress to pass the Interstate Commerce Act (1887), which created the Interstate Commerce Commission to investigate and oversee railroad activities. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first major U.S. attempt to deal legislatively with the problem of the increasing size of business. It declared illegal "every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce." Penalties for violations of this act were strict, ranging form fines to imprisonment. The law was weakened when the Supreme Court in United States v. E.C. Knight and Co. (1895). This law shaped all future antitrust legislation. -
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act ended the common practice of railroad companies granting rebates to their most valued customers. The law provided further that railroad rates had to be published and that violations of the law would find both the railroad company,that granted the rebate, as well as the custom customer that received the rebate reliable. -
Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act strengthened the rate-making power of the Interstate Commerce Commission, reflecting the era's desire to control the power of the railroads. It increased the Interstate Commerce Commission's membership and empowered it to fix reasonable railroad rates. It also broadened its jurisdiction. The Hepburn Act made the ICC's rulings binding pending to court appeals. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
Samuel Hopkins Adams, muckraker, exposed the dangers of patent medicines in articles in Collier's. Adams pointed out that patent medicines contained mostly alcohol, drugs, and "undiluted fraud." The act required manufacturers to list certain ingredients on the label and represented a pioneering effort to ban the manufacture and sale of adultered, misbranded or unsanitary food or drugs. -
Federal Reserve Act
By 1913 the United States needed a safer and more flexible way to bank, so a new system needed to be implemented. A Federal Reserve System was created by the Federal Reserve Act to be used as the main banking authority in the United States. In 1913, when this act was signed it created eight to twelve Reserve Banks throughout the United States that would oversee smaller member banks. The Federal Reserve System would also use an elastic currency that would change with the United States economy. -
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
Signed in 1914, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act expanded the role that the government played in regulating businesses in the United States. This act was also used to supplement the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 by clarifying and expanding some points. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act prohibited exclusive sales contracts, price cutting to knock out competitiors, and restricted the use of injunctions. This act helped to cut down on the number of monopolies and unlawful business practices. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff, started by Reed Smoot and Willis Hawley, raised protective tariffs to some of the highest levels ever recorded. This tariff was originally supposed to protect domestic farmers from imported agricultural goods being purchased over their goods. In the end the Hawley-Smoot Tariff created huge tensions on the international market and was also a factor in making the Great Depression of the 1930s a huge problem in the United States. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act also known as the Wages and Hours Bill was signed into action in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to establish a minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping measures, and to abolish child labor. This act has been amended many times throughout the years to keep up with the changes that have occurred in the United States but is still a huge part of employment opportunities and regulations today.
