Acts & Rebellions unit 3-6

Stamp Act (1765)

Direct tax on printed goods like newspapers and legal documents; colonists protested with "no taxation without representation."

Declaratory Act (1766)

Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but declared it could legislate for colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts (1767)

Indirect taxes on imported goods (glass, paper, tea); led to widespread colonial boycotts.

Tea Act (1773)

Gave British East India Company a monopoly on tea; led to Boston Tea Party.

Intolerable Acts (1774)

British punishment for Boston Tea Party; closed Boston Harbor, limited self-government.

Proclamation of 1763

Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after French & Indian War; angered colonists who wanted land.

Shays' Rebellion (1786–87)

Massachusetts farmers rebelled against taxes and debt; showed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Pennsylvania farmers protested tax on whiskey; crushed by Washington, proving strength of new federal gov’t.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Laws targeting immigrants and restricting criticism of the federal government; seen as violation of free speech.

Embargo Act (1807)

Jefferson banned foreign trade to avoid war; hurt U.S. economy, especially merchants.

Hartford Convention (1814)

Federalists met to oppose War of 1812; seen as unpatriotic, led to decline of Federalist Party.

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

High tariff hated by the South; helped Northern industry.

Nullification Crisis (1832–33)

South Carolina attempted to nullify federal tariff; Jackson used force to assert federal authority.

Compromise of 1850

California admitted as a free state; stricter Fugitive Slave Law; popular sovereignty in Mexican Cession.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Required citizens to return runaway slaves; angered Northerners, increased sectional tension.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed popular sovereignty on slavery; overturned Missouri Compromise.

Bleeding Kansas (1856)

Violent conflict between pro- and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas; symbol of sectional crisis.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court ruled slaves were property; declared Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

John Brown’s Raid (1859)

Failed slave revolt at Harper’s Ferry; increased Southern fears of abolitionist violence.

Crittenden Compromise (1860)

Failed attempt to resolve secession crisis by guaranteeing slavery in southern territories.

Draft Riots (1863)

Violent protests in NYC over Civil War draft; mainly by poor Irish immigrants.

Reconstruction Acts (1867)

Divided South into 5 military districts; laid out requirements for Southern states to rejoin Union.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Limited president's power to remove officials; led to Johnson’s impeachment after violation.

Black Codes (1865–66)

Southern laws restricting rights of freedmen after Civil War; tried to maintain racial hierarchy.

Force Acts (1870–71)

Federal laws to combat KKK violence and protect Black voting rights.

Homestead Strike (1892)

Steelworkers protested wage cuts at Carnegie plant; broken by private security.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Railroad strike over wage cuts; federal troops used to end it, showing gov't sided with business.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Ended the spoils system; established merit-based hiring for government jobs.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Regulated railroads and required rates to be "reasonable and just"; first federal regulatory law.

Dawes Act (1887)

Broke up tribal lands and gave plots to Native American families; aimed to assimilate Native Americans.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First major U.S. law to ban immigration based on race; targeted Chinese laborers.