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Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act of 1906 gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to regulate railroads. Passed following several unpopular price increases by rail companies, The Hepburn Act allowed the government to set "fair, just, and reasonable" rates for the railroads. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
In fact, the nauseating condition of the meat-packing industry that Upton Sinclair captured in The Jungle was the final precipitating force behind both a meat inspection law and a comprehensive food and drug law. -
Meat Inspection Act
This public indignation was increased by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle (Sinclair, 1906), in which he described the horrendous working conditions and poor sanitation in Chicago slaughterhouses. This led to the enactment on June 30, 1906 of the comprehensive Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (P.L. -
16th Amendment
Amendment Sixteen to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1913. It grants Congress the authority to issue an income tax without having to determine it based on population. -
17th Amendment
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. -
Federal Reserve Act
December 23, 1913. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act in December 1913, culminating three years of discussion and debate over the development of a central bank. -
Federal Trade Commission Act
The Federal Trade Commission was created on September 26, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act into law. The FTC opened its doors on March 16, 1915. Our mission is to protect consumers and promote competition. The FTC established its headquarters at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., with President Franklin D. Roosevelt laying the cornerstone himself. -
19th Amendment
When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. -
18th Amendment
The amendment came as a result of roughly a century of reform movements. Early temperance advocates aimed to reduce alcohol consumption and prevent alcoholism, drunkenness, and the disorder and violence it could result in. Theses early efforts promoted temperate consumption with hopes for eventual prohibition. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
Prohibits anti-competitive mergers, predatory and discriminatory pricing, and other forms of unethical corporate behavior.