 1881-1885
 Pendelton Act of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons

 1885-1889
 Interstate Commerce Act 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The
Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. It also required that railroads publicize shipping rates and prohibited short haul/long haul fare discrimination, a form of price discrimination against smaller markets, particularly farmers.



1889-1893
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is a landmark federal statute on competition law passed by Congress in 1890. It prohibits certain business activities that reduce competition in the marketplace, and requires the
United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts , companies, and organizations suspected of being in violation. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies , and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by the United States federal government.



1893-1897
Pullman Strike was a nationwide conflict between the new American
Railway Union (ARU) and railroads that occurred in the United States in summer 1894. It shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois , on May
11 when nearly 4,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to recent reductions in wages. Most factory workers who built Pullman cars lived in the planned worker community of
Pullman, which Pullman had designed as a model community, but which he controlled. When the company laid off workers, it did not reduce rents, and the workers called for a strike; they had not formed a union. The ARU was an organization of unskilled railroad workers founded in 1893 by Eugene V.
Debs . Debs brought in ARU organizers and signed up many of the disgruntled workers. When Pullman refused arbitration the ARU called a strike against his factory, but it showed no sign of success. To win the strike,
Debs decided to stop the movement of Pullman cars on railroads. The overthe-rail Pullman employees (such as conductors and porters) did not go on strike. Debs and the ARU then called a massive boycott (usually called a
"strike") that affected most lines west of Detroit and involved some 250,000 workers in 27 states at its peak.




 1901-1909
 Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a
United States federal law that provided the federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of poisonous patent medicines . The Act arose due to public education and exposés from
Muckrakers such as
Upton Sinclair and Samuel Hopkins Adams , social activist Florence Kelley , researcher Harvey W. Wiley , and President Theodore Roosevelt .




1909-1913
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25,
1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of
New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the second deadliest disaster in New York City – after the burning of the General Slocum on
June 15, 1904 – until the destruction of the World Trade Center 90 years later . The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers , who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three; the oldest victim was 48, the youngest was 11 year old Mary Goldstien.
Because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits
– a common practice at the time to prevent pilferage and unauthorized breaks [5] – many of the workers who could not escape the burning building jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors to the streets below. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union , which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.



1913-1921
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 was enacted in the United
States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime by seeking to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipiency. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices considered harmful to consumers (monopolies, cartels, and trusts).



1921-1923 (died of heart attack in office)
Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States from 1922–1923, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding . Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at
Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. In 1922 and 1923, the leases became the subject of a sensational investigation by
Senator Thomas J. Walsh . Fall was later convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies



1933-1945 (died of cerebral hemorrhage)
New Deal was a series of economic programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They involved presidential executive orders or laws passed by Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt .
The programs were in response to the Great Depression , and focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief,
Recovery, and Reform. That is, Relief for the unemployed and poor; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; and
Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression.







1953-1961
Brown vs Board of Education(1954), was a landmark United States
Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court 's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution . This ruling paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement .
1957- Little Rock 9- tested it

 1961-1963 (assassinated)


New FrontierKennedy administration policy
“We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier -
— the frontier of 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled dreams. ...
Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”






1969-1974
Watergate was a political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s as a result of the
June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National
Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of Richard Nixon , the President of the
United States, on August 9, 1974, the only resignation of a U.S. President. The scandal also resulted in the indictment , trial, conviction and incarceration of 43 people, including dozens of
Nixon's top administration officials.



1974-1977
Nixon Pardon -On September 8, 1974, Ford issued
Proclamation 4311 , which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States while President. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only
I can do that, and if I can, I must."




1977-1981
Energy Crisis 1979 (or second ) oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution . Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran , Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi , fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran . Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil sector, with production being greatly curtailed and exports suspended. When oil exports were later resumed under the new regime, they were inconsistent and at a lower volume, which pushed prices up. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations, under the presidency of Dr. Mana
Alotaiba increased production to offset the decline, and the overall loss in production was about 4 percent.
[2] However, a widespread panic resulted, added to by the decision of U.S. President Jimmy Carter to order the cessation of Iranian imports, [3] driving the price far higher than would be expected under normal circumstances. In April of the same year, President Carter began a phased deregulation of oil prices. At the time, the average price of crude oil was $15.85 per barrel (42 US gallons (160 L)). Deregulating domestic oil price controls allowed U.S. oil output to rise sharply from the Prudhoe Bay fields, although oil imports fell sharply. Long lines once again appeared at gas stations and convenience stores , just as they did in 1973.
In 1980, following the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War , oil production in Iran nearly stopped, and Iraq's oil production was severely cut as well.

 1981-1989
 Reaganomics refers to the economic policies promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associated with supply-side economics , or pejoratively as trickle-down economics or voodoo economics .
 The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce income tax and capital gains tax, reduce government regulation of economy, and control money supply to reduce inflation.

 1989-1993
 Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability . It affords similar protections against discrimination to
Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which made discrimination based on race , religion , sex , national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Disability is defined by the
ADA as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity".



1993-2001
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 1993 is a
United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. Qualified medical and family reasons include: personal or family illness, family military leave, pregnancy , adoption , or the foster care placement of a child.




2001-2009
USA Patriot Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the act is a ten letter ackronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting
(and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools
Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.
The act, as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th , significantly reduced restrictions in law enforcement agencies' gathering of intelligence within the United States; expanded the
Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism , thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded law enforcement powers can be applied.





ST


nd


rd


TH


TH






TH


TH


TH




TH


TH


TH


TH


TH


TH


ST


TH


 was a highly controversial case that intensified the national debate over slavery. The case involved Dred
Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a free territory. Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney disagreed, ruling that blacks were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. Taney further inflamed antislavery forces by declaring that Congress had no right to ban slavery from U.S. territories.

 Munn, a partner in a Chicago warehouse firm, had been found guilty by an Illinois court of violating the state laws providing for the fixing of maximum charges for storage of grain (see Granger movement ).
He appealed, contending that the fixing of maximum rates constituted a taking of property without due process of law. The Supreme Court upheld the
Granger laws, establishing as constitutional the principle of public regulation of private businesses involved in serving the public interest.

 was the infamous case that asserted that “equal but separate accommodations” for blacks on railroad cars did not violate the “equal protection under the laws” clause of the 14th Amendment. By defending the constitutionality of racial segregation, the Court paved the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws of the South. The lone dissenter on the Court, Justice
John Marshall Harlan
, protested, “The thin disguise of ‘equal’ accommodations…will not mislead anyone.”







 guaranteed a defendant's right to legal counsel. The
Supreme Court overturned the Florida felony conviction of Clarence Earl Gideon, who had defended himself after having been denied a request for free counsel. The Court held that the state's failure to provide counsel for a defendant charged with a felony violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause. Gideon was given another trial, and with a court-appointed lawyer defending him, he was acquitted.

 helped define the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
At the center of the case was Ernesto Miranda, who had confessed to a crime during police questioning without knowing he had a right to have an attorney present. Based on his confession, Miranda was convicted. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that criminal suspects must be warned of their rights before they are questioned by police.
These rights are: the right to remain silent, to have an attorney present, and, if the suspect cannot afford an attorney, to have one appointed by the state. The police must also warn suspects that any statements they make can be used against them in court. Miranda was retried without the confession and convicted.

 legalized abortion and is at the center of the current controversy between “pro-life” and “pro-choice” advocates. The Court ruled that a woman has the right to an abortion without interference from the government in the first trimester of pregnancy, contending that it is part of her “right to privacy.” The
Court maintained that right to privacy is not absolute, however, and granted states the right to intervene in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

 The Court ruled unanimously that President Richard
Nixon had to surrender the tapes. Chief Justice
Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
Burger wrote, “The impediment that an absolute, unqualified [executive] privilege would place in the way of the primary constitutional duty of the Judicial
Branch to do justice in criminal prosecutions would plainly conflict with the function of the courts under
Art[icle] III.”

 imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words, affirmative action was unfair if it lead to reverse discrimination. The case involved the University of Calif.,
Davis, Medical School and Allan Bakke, a white applicant who was rejected twice even though there were minority applicants admitted with significantly lower scores than his. A closely divided Court ruled that while race was a legitimate factor in school admissions, the use of rigid quotas was not permissible.



 Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court decision ordering manual recount of presidential election ballots. A majority of justices (7–2) agreed that the recount violated the Constitution's equal protection and due process guarantees, since counting standards varied among counties. The Court remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court for remedy but, in 5-4 split, maintained that deadline for recount ended at midnight. The decision effectively ended the presidential election, handing a victory to George W.
Bush.




The Act provided that any adult citizen could claim up to 160 acres of federal land outside of the 13 colonies if the homesteader improved the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After five years, the homesteader was entitled to the property (after paying a nominal fee).
Between 1862 and 1934, the federal government granted 1.6 million homesteads. By 1934, approximately 10% of formerly federal land was privatized. Because much of the land made available to homesteaders was originally populated by indigenous American tribes, the Act essentially stripped the land from tens of thousands of Native Americans.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended homesteading in all states except Alaska, where it ended in
1986.

 also known as the Land Grant College Act, was a major boost to higher education in the United States. It gave each state
30,000 acres of public land for every member to its congressional delegation based on the 1860 census. The land, or the proceeds from its sale, was to be used toward funding educational institutions that would teach agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts (engineering), and other professions. Major universities such as Nebraska, Washington
State, and Cornell began as land-grant schools. At the time the grants were established, African Americans were not allowed to attend the institutions. When the Second Morrill Act was passed in 1890, funding expanded to include institutions that served African American students (under a system considered at the time to be separate but equal). Over the years, the
Morrill Act has brought higher education within the reach of millions of students.


 was the first major legislation that restricted immigration in the United States. During the 1800s, many people left China due to a collapsing economy and traveled to America in search of opportunities, particularly during the gold rush of 1849.
Anti-Chinese sentiment increased as Chinese immigrants occupied jobs and created competition in the job market. The
Chinese immigrants faced discrimination from many different groups, including native workers and other immigrant groups who felt that the low-paid Chinese were reducing their wages.
The Chinese became a scapegoat for the financially unstable economy of the 1870s. Discrimination against the Chinese ultimately resulted in the Act, which originally suspended
Chinese immigration for a period of ten years. It was extended for an additional ten years before becoming permanent in
1902. Immigration from China remained very limited for 61 years, until the Act was repealed in 1943.



was disastrous for Native Americans because it broke up reservations and allowed non-Indians to own portions of tribal lands. In an attempt to facilitate the assimilation of American Indians into white culture, the Act converted American Indian tribal lands into separate tracks. The tracks were distributed to individual tribe members to be used for farming and cattle grazing. The hope was that the Native Americans would become farmers and embrace an agrarian lifestyle. Unfortunately, many Native
Americans were not successful at cultivating the land because, among other things, most allotted lands were not suitable for agriculture and the tribe members typically didnt have the equipment and supplies needed to successfully farm the land.
Any tribal lands that were left over after the allotment process were considered surplus and sold to non-Indians. In 1887, the tribes owned about 138 million acres of land. By 1900, tribal ownership was reduced to
78 million acres. In 1934, this policy was reversed by the Indian
Reorganization Act which recognized the importance of maintaining
American Indian culture and permitted surplus land to be returned to the tribes.



was the beginning of federal regulation of the countrys meat, poultry, and egg products supply. Within months of the publication of Upton Sinclairs
1906 novel, The Jungle, which was filled with nauseating detail about the unhealthy practices of Chicagos meat packing district, the public demanded sweeping reforms in the meat industry. President Roosevelt sent in Labor Commissioner Charles P. Neill to examine the industrys practices and learned that the practices were even worse than those depicted in the novel. A short while later, Congress passed the Federal Meat Inspection
Act of 1906.
The Act established standards for inspecting all meat processing plants that conducted business across state lines. It has since been amended and strengthened by subsequent acts, including 1967s Wholesome Meat and
Wholesome Poultry Products Acts. The Act paved the way for the eventual creation of the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies.



At the turn of the 20th century, the temperance movement sought governmental control over intoxicating beverages. In response to mounting pressure, Congress passed the 18th Amendment (prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption). A short time later, it passed the National Prohibition Act (also known as the Volstead
Act), which established the legal definition of intoxicating liquor.
Enforcing prohibition proved to be extremely difficult and an illegal network of bootleggers and speakeasies cropped up across the country.
Certain criminalsAl Capone, for exampleprofited greatly during this period, making millions of dollars from transporting liquor. By 1925, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs in New York City alone. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.




President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression. At that time, the poverty rate among senior citizens had climbed to more than 50%, and increasing concerns for their welfare led to numerous proposals for a national insurance system to protect aged workers.
Under the Act, Social Security insurance funds were established through taxes on individuals wages and employers payrolls.
The Act also created unemployment insurance, established a lump-sum Social
Security death benefit, and initiated a system of benefits for workers injured in industrial accidents, dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically disabled.
As passed, the Act excluded many individuals -- primarily women and minorities -from unemployment insurance and old-age benefits. Those provisions of the Act have changed steadily over the years, resulting in better protection for all
Americans. Recent decades, however, have brought growing worries that the Social
Security system will not be adequately funded to pay benefits to retirees in the future. There are ongoing arguments about the best way to reform the system, including debate over whether or not Social Security should be privatized.




Senator Robert F. Wagner -- was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July
5, 1935. Its purpose was to protect the rights of employees, support collective bargaining, and put an end to the abusive practices of antiunion employers. The
NLRA applied to all employers participating in interstate commerce, with the exception of the government, agricultural employers, and the railroad and airline industries.
During the Great Depression, organized labor petitioned vigorously to gain relief from employers who harassed, penalized, fired, and blacklisted union members and supporters. A previous law offering some protection -- the National Industrial
Recovery Act -- had been declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in
May of 1935.
The NLRA established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce the rights of employees to self organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection. Today, the NLRB continues to determine standards for unions and investigate charges of unfair labor practices by employers.





President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemens Readjustment Act on June 22, 1944. The Act, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, provided returning World War II veterans with funds for medical care, unemployment insurance, higher education, and housing.
Servicemen took full advantage of the G.I. Bills education and housing benefits. After World War II, almost 2.5 million veterans went to college, while 3.5 million received other school training and almost as many received training on the job. In addition, the government issued more than
$33 billion in home loans to veterans. The G.I. Bill is often credited for initiating a period of unparalleled prosperity in the United States.
The only funds that went largely unused were those set aside for unemployment insurance. Most returning servicemen quickly found work or went back to school; less than 20% of the unemployment funds were distributed.
The G.I. Bill has been renewed several times since its passage, adding other benefit programs and opening participation to veterans of subsequent wars and those who serve during peacetime.




On April 3, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Economic Cooperation
Act, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan. As described by the plans originator, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, its purpose was twofold: to help restore the devastated economies of postwar Europe and, in so doing, reduce the threat of Communist takeover in those vulnerable countries.
At the end of World War II, Europe was shattered. There was an urgent need for both a reconstruction plan and economic assistance. In a speech at Harvard
University on June 5, 1947, Marshall proposed that European countries develop a plan to rebuild while the United States would supply the funds. Shortly afterward, participating countries met in Paris to discuss the terms of the program. Though invited to attend, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries rejected the plan.
In December 1947, President Truman asked Congress to provide funds for the
Marshall Plan, and Congress responded by passing the Economic Cooperation Act in 1948. Over the next four years, the United States provided $13.3 billion for the recovery of Europe. The Marshall Plan was largely viewed as a successful effort to stabilize Western European governments while holding the Communist movement at bay. Detractors claimed, however, that the Marshall Plan escalated the hostilities of the developing Cold War.




President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this sweeping civil rights legislation on July 2, 1964. The
Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited segregation in public places, terminating Jim Crow laws in the South. It also outlawed segregation in businesses, required the integration of schools, eliminated unequal voter registration requirements, and prohibited employment discrimination. The law was a significant step toward equal treatment of both blacks and women in the United States.
President John F. Kennedy called for passage of a civil rights law in a speech on June 11,
1963. He wanted legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public -- hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments. He also wanted greater protection of voting rights. After his assassination in November 1963,
President Johnson took up the task, encouraging Congress to pass the civil rights bill that was on the table at the time of Kennedys death. It met significant resistance, including a 57-day filibuster in the Senate. Both houses of Congress eventually agreed to support an amended version of the bill, which gave the government less power to regulate private businesses.
As initially passed, the Civil Rights Act included few provisions for enforcing the law. The act grew teeth in succeeding years, as federal agencies, such as the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, were formed to receive, investigate, and remedy complaints.
However, enforcement of the Civil Rights Act remains an issue to this day.





The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that had been used to disenfranchise black Americans since the Civil War. It was an act to enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution , which had been ratified nearly a century earlier.
Despite the voting rights granted by the 15th Amendment, black citizens in the
South were discouraged or prevented from voting by means such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and outright harassment or violence. The mid-1960s brought about a sea of change, as a growing number of voting rights activists put their lives on the line across states in the Deep South.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965 at a ceremony attended by Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and other civil rights leaders. The act outlawed literacy tests and gave federal examiners considerable power to oversee voting practices in states that had an established pattern of denying voting rights. It had an immediate effect: A quarter of a million new black voters registered by the end of the year in which the act was passed.
The Voting Rights Act withstood several challenges to its constitutionality and was repeatedly upheld by the U.S Supreme Court in the years following its passage. It has been readopted and strengthened numerous times since its passage, most recently in 2006









President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, also known as Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, on April 11, 1968. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1866 had arguably required fair housing practices, it contained no provisions for federal enforcement.
The new Fair Housing Act was a far-reaching law that prevented discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Practices covered by the act included: housing advertisements terms of rental or sale denial of housing interfering with a persons enjoyment of housing rights, and retaliating against an organization assisting individuals with the exercise of fair housing rights.
In 1974, the Fair Housing Act was amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. In
1988, another amendment added the disabled and families with children to the list of protected classes. The law allows exceptions under limited circumstances, including some waivers for landlords of small properties who live on the premises and small property owners who conduct transactions without real estate brokers.
The Fair Housing Act is enforced by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development.