Acts in U.S. History Flashcards
A 1649 act proposed by Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore) to allow for toleration of both Protestants and Catholics in Maryland
Act of Toleration
This 1662 act loosened the requirement for church membership in Puritan Massachusetts. The act was passed in response to a drop in church attendance amongst second generation Puritans
Halfway Covenant
This act passed by British Parliament restricting colonial settlement to land east of the Appalachian Mountains. The act was passed in response to clashes with Indians (notably Pontiac’s War) as colonists moved west into land acquired from France after the French and Indian War
Proclamation of 1763
Direct Tax placed on the American colonies by British Parliament in 1765. The act required colonists to purchase stamps for a variety of printed material. The uproar over the act led to a Congress named after it, one of the first organized protests of British taxation policy
Stamp Act
1767 series of revenue-producing taxes placed on the American colonies by Britain in an attempt to pay for continued occupation of the colonies by British troops. The act taxed items like lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea.
Townshend Acts
1774 series of four acts designed to punish the city of Boston for the damage caused by the Boston Tea Party. The British refer to the acts as the “Coercive Acts’
intolerable acts
While not intended as such, many American colonists considered this to be one of the Intolerable acts. the 1774 act est. Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec, and expanded Quebec to include territory that today makes up Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
Quebec Act
Passed by the Article of Confederation Congress, this 1785 act est. an orderly method for surveying and selling western land of the early U.S. Notably, the act divided the land into 6 square mile “townships” that were further subdivided into homesteads
Land Ordinance
Also passed by the Articles of Confederation Congress, this 1787 act est. the method by which new territory could join the union as states
northwest ordinance
a series of 1798 acts sponsored by the Federalists imposing severe restrictions on aliens out of fear of treason. the acts were an attempt to limit the power of Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party
Alien and Sedition Acts
Essentially forbade US maritime trade with foreign nations. This was signed in 1807 by Jefferson in order to maintain American neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars. It was opposed by New England Federalists
Embargo Act
Repealed the Embargo Act with regards to all nations except France and Britain in 1809
Non-Intercourse Act
Also known as the Compromise of 1820, it admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, thus preserving sectional balance. It also set the border of Missouri as the future border between slave and free states. This provision was ruled unconstitutional by the Dred Scott decision of 1857
Missouri Compromise
Also known as the “Tariff of Abominations”, opposition to this act led to the Nullification Crisis, the resignation of John C. Calhoun as VP, and the writing of the “South Carolina Exposition” and “Protest”
Tariff of 1828
Andrew Jackson’s forcible removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the South (particularly the Cherokee from Georgia). Most of the Indians were removed via the Trail of Tears. The 1830 act was a direct response to the 1828 case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and was later challenged with the 1832 case of Worcester v. Georgia
Indian Removal Act
a series of five laws intended to compromise on the issue of slavery in the lands acquired after the Mexican War. California was admitted as a free state, the slave trade was ended in the District of Columbia, and the North agreed to a stricter Fugitive Slave Law
Compromise of 1850
provided for the admission of Kansas and Nebraska with or without slavery, essentially repealed the Missouri Compromise in 1854
Kansas- Nebraska Act
created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) to aid the states through grants in 1933
Federal Emergency Relief Act
Establised the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in 1933 which paid farmers subsides to farm less land and therefore drive crop prices up
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1933 for guaranteeing individual bank deposits
Glass-Steagall Act
Also known as the National Labor Relations Act, created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 1935
Wagner Act
Enabled any country whose defense is deemed necessary to the nation to acquire arms and other war supplies from the US. This 1941 arrangement to help the UK during the Battle of Britain followed earlier “Cash and Carry” and “Destroyers for Bases” programs
Lend-Lease Act
Passed over Truman’s veto, this 1947 act heavily restricted the actions of Unions including banning the “closed shop” and forbidding union contributions to political campaigns. Allowed the federal government to apply for injunctions to stop strikes
Taft-Hartley Act
Combined all military departments into a single department, Defense. James Forrestal was the first Secretary of Defense. 1947
National Security Act
Among other provisions, it outlawed discrimination in employment on the basis of race,religion, or sex. It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1964 to investigate claims of discrimination
Civil Rights Act
Eliminated Literacy and other tests as requirements for voting in 1965
Voting Rights Act
mandated that employers provide employment “free from recognized hazards to employees” in 1970
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Set a 60 day limit on the presidential commitment of troops to hostilities abroad without Congressional approval. Passed over Nixon’s veto, the 1973 act is considered by many to be a reaction to LBJ’s actions with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
War Powers Act
Required Congress to balance the budget 1985
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act
Regulates campaign financing. Specifically, it targets “soft money” contributions and “issue ads” not financed by a specific candidate. 2002
McCain- Feingold Act
