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Period: to
Amanda Macchia- gov & pol final project
100 events in which government and politics has impacted society for the past 200 years -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803 when the United States acquired 828,000 miles of central land from France for 50,000,000 francs ($11,250,000). This purchase was to relieve debt that the United States had with France. This territory now makes up Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota; a large portion of South Dakota; the northeastern section of New Mexico; the northern portion of Texas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. -
Slave Trade Prohibition Act
Taking effect in 1808, the Slave Trade Prohibition Act was passed in order to prevent any new slaves from being imported into the United States. -
Fletcher V. Peck
Fletcher v. Peck, is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in which the Supreme Court first ruled a state law unconstitutional. The decision also helped create a growing precedent for the sanctity of legal contracts and hinted that Native Americans did not hold complete title to their own lands -
The Cumberland Road
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (1812–1815) was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814 -
The Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821. -
The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819
The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain. -
Missouri Compromise
provided for the admission of Maine as a free state along with Missouri as a slave state, thus maintaining the balance of power between North and South. As part of the compromise, slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ parallel, excluding Missouri. President James Monroe signed the legislation on March 6, 1820. -
Monroe Doctrine
On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe used his annual message to Congress to announce the Monroe Doctrine. The Doctrine prohibited any further colonization by the Europeans in the United States.This ‘Monroe Doctrine’ became a cornerstone of American foreign policy. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment granted any person born or naturalized in the United States to have full citizenship. This Amendment also freed many slaves. -
Compromise of 1850
Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. -
Franklin Pierce Becomes President
In March 1853, Franklin Pierce became President and was another less popular one. His fervor for expanding the borders – thereby adding several slave states – helped set the stage for the Civil War. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In Dred Scott v. Sandford (argued 1856 -- decided 1857), the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. -
Abraham Lincoln Becomes President
Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States during the American Civil War Era. During his presidency, Lincoln was famous for working endlessly to abolsih slavery in the United States, nicknamed "The Great Emancipator". -
Civil War
The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. As a result of the long-standing controversy over slavery, war broke out in April 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, shortly after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated. -
Thirteenth Amendment
On January 31st, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment had been passed, abolishing slavery and any involuntary servitude. -
Andrew Johnson's Impeachment
On February 24, 1868 three days after Johnson's dismissal of Stanton, the House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 (with 17 members not voting) in favor of a resolution to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant to protect all citizens civil and legal rights. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States -
The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was approved by Congress in 1899 to end the Spanish-American War and Spain ceded Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and portions of the West Indies to the United States -
The Lacey Act of 1900
The Lacey Act of 1900, is a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold. -
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States from 1903 to 1979, centered on the Panama Canal and surrounded by the Republic of Panama. -
The Elkins Act
The Elkins Act is a 1903 United States federal law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to impose heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates -
The United States Department of Commerce and Labor
The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived Cabinet department of the United States government, which was concerned with controlling the excesses of big business. -
Newlands Reclamtion Act
The act at first covered only 13 of the western states as Texas had no federal lands. Texas was added later by a special act passed in 1906. The act set aside money from sales of semi-arid public lands for the construction and maintenance of irrigation projects. -
The Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to set maximum railroad rates and extend its jurisdiction. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Its main purpose was to ban foreign and interstate traffic in adulterated or mislabeled food and drug products -
Tillman Act
The Tillman Act of 1907 was the first legislation in the United States prohibiting monetary contribution to national political campaigns by corporations. -
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. the United States
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. the United States, was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions. -
New Mexico
New Mexico was admitted into the Union as the 47th state in the United States -
Arizona
Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912, coinciding with Valentine's Day. Historically part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. -
The Revenue Act of 1913
The Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Tariff Act, the Underwood Tariff, the Underwood Act, the Underwood Tariff Act, or the Underwood-Simmons Act, October 3, 1913, re-imposed the federal income tax after the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment and lowered basic tariff rates from 40% to 25%, well below the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. It was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on October 3, 1913 -
The Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive business practices, such as coercive monopoly. -
World War I
World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 -
Great Migration
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between 1916 and 1970 -
The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 (July 17, 1916) was a United States federal law aimed at increasing credit to rural family farmers. It did so by creating a federal farm loan board, twelve regional farm loan banks and tens of farm loan associations. -
The First Red Scare
A "Red Scare" is promotion of widespread fear by a society or state about a potential rise of communism, anarchism, or radical leftism. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States with this name -
Eighteenth Amendment
On December 18th, 1917 the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, prohibiting the sales of Alcohol in the United States. This made way for speakeasies and underground sales of alchol. -
Nineteenth Amendment
This amendment was passed in 1919, prohibiting the denial of voting based on sex. This gave women the right to vote. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
Hoover Becomes President
On March 4th, 1929, Herbert Hoobert became the 31st President of the United States. Hoover was one of the less popular Presidents due to his part in the Trade Wars as well as his part in the Great Depression -
Stock Market Crash
The Stock Market cash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression in the United States for most of the 1930s. -
FDR Becomes President
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt takes office as the 32nd President of the United States. Roosevelt was the only President in history that has been elected to four terms. FDR was widely praised due to his hand in helping the United States recover from the Great Depression with a series or program and reforms, known as the New Deal. FDR served as president until his death in 1945. -
Twenty-First Amendment
The Twenty-First Amendment Repeals the 18th Amendment and makes it a federal offense to transport or import intoxicating liquors into US states and territories where such transport or importation is prohibited by the laws of those states and territories. -
Fireside Chats
The fireside chats were a series of 30 evening radio addresses given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. These chats assured the American people during the time of the Depression that the President had their best interest at heart, and that everything was okay. -
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner Act after New York Senator Robert F. Wagner) is a foundational statute of United States labor law which guarantees basic rights of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining for better terms and conditions at work, and take collective action including strike if necessary. -
World War II
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. -
The Hatch Act of 1939
The Hatch Act of 1939, officially An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law whose main provision prohibits employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and certain designated high-level officials, from engaging in some forms of political activity. -
Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry -
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement issued during World War II on 14 August 1941, which defined the Allied goals for the post war world. The leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States drafted the work and all the Allies of World War II later confirmed it. -
Pearl Harbor
December 7th, 1941 353 Japanese fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes that came I two waves and attacked an American base. 2,402 Americans were killed and 1282 were wounded. This marked the start of WWII. -
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan
Under the Presidency of Harry S. Truman, the decision to drop an atomic bomb on Japan was made. One bomb was in Hiroshima, and the other in Nagasaki. This attack therefore ended World War II -
The War Brides Act
The War Brides Act was enacted on December 28, 1945, to allow alien spouses, natural children, and adopted children of members of the United States Armed Forces, "if admissible," to enter the U.S. as non-quota immigrants after World War II. -
The Employment Act of 1946
The Employment Act of 1946 is a United States federal law. Its main purpose was to lay the responsibility of economic stability of inflation and unemployment onto the federal government -
Cold War
The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others). -
The Second Red Scare
The second Red Scare occurred after World War II (1939–45), and was popularly known as "McCarthyism" after its most famous supporter, Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthyism coincided with increased popular fear of communist espionage consequent to a Soviet Eastern Europe, the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), the Chinese Civil War, the confessions of spying for the Soviet Union given by several high-ranking U.S. government officials, and the Korean War. -
The Selective Service Act of 1948
The Selective Service Act of 1948, also known as the Elston Act, was a major revision of the Articles of War of the United States enacted June 24, 1948 that established the current implementation of the Selective Service System. -
North Atlantic Treaty is Signed
April 4th, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty is signed to establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a military alliance between 29 North American and European countries. It helped keep peae in Europe due to all the war at the time, and still does so today. -
Brown vs. Board of Ed
Supreme Court Case that stated that the decison of "seperate but equal" made under Plessy v Ferguson was unequal. this was important becuase it made the courts decide to immediately integrate the schools despite the resentment of some citizens. -
The Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a conference among several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland from April 26 – July 20, 1954. It was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This left a huge negative impct on the U.S economy. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement. The campaign lasted from December 5, 1955—the Monday after Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person—to December 20, 1956 -
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Federal-Aid Highway Act passed in June 1956 authorized the construction of a 41,000-mile network of interstate highways that would span the nation. -
Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex -
I Have a Dream Speech
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In which Dr.King calls for an end to racism in the United States and called for civil and economic rights. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement. -
March on Washington
The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. At the march, Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism. -
The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT)
The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground. -
JFK's Assassination
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. All of American society mourned the loss of a President who represented a fresh change to the nation. -
Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws, and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world. -
Medicare
In July 1965, under the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, Congress enacted Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history. -
Nixon Becomes President
In January 1969, Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States. Nixon was one of the more controversial Presidents due to the Watergate Scandal, which caused Americans to be skeptical towards governmnet officals -
Moon Landing
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. This mission sent a message to Americans that we are advancing scientifically, and we beat Russia in the Space Race. -
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
On March 23rd, 1971, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment made it legal for anyone 18 or older to vote. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States during the early 1970s, following a break-in by five men at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. President Richard Nixon's administration attempted to then cover up its involvement. Watergate was investigated by the United States Congress. This changed the way Americans trusted Government officals. -
Policy of Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops. -
Cabell v. Chavez-Salido
Cabell v. Chavez-Salido, was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that upheld a state law as constitutional that excluded aliens from positions as probation officers. -
Tax reform act of 1986
The U.S. Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to simplify the income tax code, broaden the tax base and eliminate many tax shelters. This eased the unemployment in the United States and reduced inflation. -
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability -
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. -
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 is a United States federal law of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted. -
Bill Clinton is Impeached
The impeachment of Bill Clinton was initiated in December 1998 by the House of Representatives and led to a trial in the Senate for the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. -
September 11 Attacks
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001 -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. The act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. -
Homeland Security Act
After the September 11th Attacks, the Homeland Security Act was passed a year later. The primary mission of the Homeland Security Act is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism, and minimize damage and assist in recovery for terrorist attacks that occur in the United States. -
Do-Not-Call Implementation Act of 2003
The National Do Not Call Registry is a database maintained by the United States federal government, listing the telephone numbers of individuals and families who have requested that telemarketers not contact them. -
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was designed primarily to address the subprime mortgage crisis. It authorized the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages -
Stock Market Crash 2008
The stock market crash of 2008 occurred on September 29, 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points in intra-day trading. Until 2018, it was the largest point drop in history. It plummeted because Congress rejected the bank bailout bill. -
Barack Obama Becomes President
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017. Obama became the very first black President in American History. -
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is a federal statute in the United States that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2009. The Act gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements. -
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy, allowing gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation. -
Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
On June 26th, 2015, gay marraige becomes legal in the United States under President Barrack Obama. -
The Fixing America's Surface Transportation
The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a funding and authorization bill to govern United States federal surface transportation spending. It was passed by Congress on December 3, 2015, and President Barack Obama signed it on December 4. -
The Every Student Succeeds Act
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the United States K–12 public education policy. The law replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students. -
2016 Presidential Election
The United States presidential election of 2016 was the 58th quadrennial American presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. This particular election was historic since there was female in the running for president. This particular election also divided the nation more so than ever -
Donald Trump Becoming President
On January 20th, 2017, President Trump took office. This particular Presidency has created a major divide that hasn't been seen in society of political views in a long time. -
The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act
The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) are the U.S. Senate and House bills that as the FOSTA-SESTA package became law on April 11, 2018. They clarify the country's sex trafficking law to make it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking,
