Acts / Compromises / Treaties / Amendments / Etc. (APUSH)

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494. Pope Alexander IV split the newly discovered lands. East to Spain (Latin America) and West to Portugal (some of Brazil and Africa)

Toleration Act

1649. Freedom of religion in Maryland.

Navigation Acts

1660s. Used to strengthen British mercantilist theory but poorly enforced.

Treaty of Paris of 1763

1763. Ended French and Indian War. France lost Canada and land East of the Mississippi to Britain, and New Orleans and West of Mississippi to Spain.

Proclamation Act

1763. Forbade colonists from moving West of the Appalachians.

Writ of Assistance

Enabled British officers to search homes and warehouses for goods that might be smuggled without search warrant.

Sugar Act

1764. Taxed colonists on sugar or molasses. First tax to raise revenue for the mother country.

Stamp Act

1765. Taxed printed goods. First internal tax since colonists could produce paper products (New England)

Townshend Act

1767. Taxed leader, paper, glass, tea, and paint. Repealed EXCEPT for tea.

Tea Act

1773. Made colonists buy tea from British East India Company only, monopolizing tea to raise prices later.

Intolerable Acts

1774. Punishment on Boston for Boston Tea Party.

1. Boston Port Act

2. Massachusetts Gov. Act

3. Administration of Justice Act

4. More quartering

Olive Branch Petition

1775. Last attempt at reconciliation. Letter to King George II, who did not respond.

Treaty of Paris of 1783

1783. Ended the American Revolution

Articles of Confederation

1781-1789. Created by 2nd Continental Congress. Gave too much power to state gov. Unicameral congress. No national guard. No executive leader.

Federalist Paper #10

Written by James Madison to promote a republic over a pure democracy so that minority groups could be heard.

Federalist Paper #51

Written by Madison to promote the ideas of checks and balances so that no one branch of government would overpower the other

Constituion

1787. Replaced Articles of Confederation

Connecticut Compromise

Created bicameral congress.

3/5 Compromise

Counted 3 people for every 5 slaves living for the purpose of both representation in Congress and property taxes.

Judiciary Act

1789. Created lower federal courts and court districts

Proclamation of Neutrality

1793. US would not get involved in French Revolution.

Jay Treaty

1794. Britain agreed to evacuate its posts on the US western frontier

Pinckney Treaty

1795. U.S given right by Spanish to navigate the Mississippi.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798. John Adams (federalist). Made it more difficult for immigrants to come into the country.

1. Naturalization - 14 years to become citizens

2. Sedition - punishment for speaking against the U.S

3. Alien Act - president could deport any dangerous immigrant

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

1798. Found Alien and Sedition Acts null and void. t

Treaty of Ghent

1814. Ended War of 1812 in stalemate.

Rush-Bagot Treaty

1817. Signed between the U.S and Great Britain who agreed upon naval disarmament along the Great Lakes to ease tension at the northern border.

Adams-Onis Treaty

1819. U.S bought Florida from Spain.

Embargo Act

1807. Ended all of America's importation and exportation, hoping to pressure the French and British to recognize U.S. neutrality rights in exchange for U.S. goods but hurt the economy.

Non-Intercourse Act

1809. Jefferson. Stated that the US would trade with all foreign nations, except Great Britain and France. Replaced Embargo Act.

Treaty of 1818

1818. Treaty between Britain and America after the War of 1812, it allowed the Americans to share the Newfoundland fisheries with Canada, and gave both countries a joint occupation of the Oregon Territory for the next 10 years. 42 was U.S border, and 42-49th parallel was jointly owned.

Missouri Compromise

1820. Created by Henry Clay, stating that Missouri would enter the union as a slave state. Maine broke away from Massachusetts and enter as a free state. Territory north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes would enter as a free state.

Tariff of 1828 (Tariff of Abominations)

1828. Highest tariff the nation had seen. Hated by John Calhoun (led to Exposition and Protest Act)

Exposition and Protest

1828. Written by John Calhoun in support of nullification, calling on compact theory, he argued the Tariff of 1828 was unconstitutional and that South Carolina could lawfully refuse to collect it (nullification)

Monroe Doctrine

1823. European powers could not colonize or interfere with the affairs of the U.S,

Indian Removal Act

1830. Andrew Jackson. Authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River.

Compromise of 1833

1833. Proposed by Henry Clay. Tariff of Abominations would gradually decrease to the tax that had been set before 1828.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1842. Established Maine's northern border and the boundaries of the Great Lake states.

Oregon Treaty

1846. Settled dispute of Oregon boundary dispute, stemming from the Treaty of 1818 in which both U.S. and British settlers were granted free navigation of the territory. U.S expanded to the 49th parallel.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty that ended the Mexican War, granting the U.S. control of Texas, New Mexico, and California in exchange for $15 million. The U.S acquired the Mexican Cession.

Wilmot Proviso

1846. Proposal to outlaw slavery in the land acquired by Mexican Cession.

Compromise of 1850 (Omnibus Bill)

1850. Proposed by Henry Clay when California had to decide whether to become a free or slave and had 5 provisions:

-California would be free

-Slave trade and auctions would be forbidden in D.C

-However, slavery would still be permitted in D.C

-Stricter fugitive slave laws would be enforced if caught using the underground railroad

-Rest of Mexican session would use theory of popular sovereignty

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854. Kansas and Nebraska (both north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes) had to enter as a free state according to the third provision of the Missouri Compromise, but this act gave them ability to exercise popular sovereignty. This resulted in the formation of the Republican party and Bleeding Kansas.

Crittenden Compromise

1860. Proposed by John Crittenden to avoid the Civil War. It would allow any state below 36 degrees, 30 minutes to enter the Union as a slave state. This was not passed by Lincoln, who opposed extension of slavery.

Emanicipation Proclamation

1863. Presidential order proclaimed by Lincoln. Any state still taking up arms against the US must free their slaves.

Conscription Act

1862. Drafted men between ages of 20 and 45 to serve in the Union Army.

13th Amdendment

1865. Lincoln. Officially abolished slavery after the war.

Morill Tariff Act

1861. James Buchanan. Increased tariff rates to help the Union get additional money and due to this new high tariff rate, new factories boomed in the North.

Morill Land Grant Act

1862. Federal government gave money to states in the West to improve education in their regions.

Homestead Act

1862. Lincoln. Encouraged Americans to continue to move to the West; government granted 160 acres of land in exchange for the land to be plowed and had 5 years of continued residence.

10% Plan

1863. Lincoln. A state could be reinstated into the union if 10% pledged allegiance.

Wade Davis Bill

1864. Proposed by Radical Republicans who wanted harsh punishments on the southerners so that they would never try to secede again. Required 51% of southerners to pledge allegiance.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

1866. Proposed by Radical Republicans and passed by over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous conditions, but was POORLY ENFORCED.

1st Reconstruction Act

1867. Congress required that the south be divided into 5 military districts and supposedly placed under martial laws so that the acts passed by congress were enforced. Vetoed by Johnson.

Black Codes

laws created by Southern states to overlook the new laws passed in attempts to restrict the newfound freedoms of African Americans

-could only work with letter of recommendation from their previous employers

-could not testify against whites in court

-some had curfews

Freedman's Bureau

1865. Wealth fare agency that gave good, housing, medical aid, schooling, and legal assistance to poor whites or former black slaves after the Civil War. Vetoed by Johnson.

Tenure Office Act

1867. Forbade the President to remove any cabinet member from office without permission of the senate. Viewed as unconstitutional by Johnson since cabinet is not even mentioned in Constitution.

14th Amendment

1868. Guaranteed citizenship and protection to all people of the U.S (entitled to "due process"). Also banned many ex-Confederates from holding public office and repealed 3/5 Compromise.

15th Amendment

1870. Granted male African Americans right to vote.

Compromise of 1877

1877. Ended Reconstruction by removing military troops from the South, appointing one southerner to serve in the cabinet, and allocating federal funds to recover the South.

Jim Crow Laws

Limited rights of blacks and enforced segregation. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights

Amnesty Act of 1872

1872. Pardoned ex-Confederates by Ulysses S. Grant, except for highest leaders, such as Robert E. Lee

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882. Denied any additional Chinese laborers to enter the country while allowing students and merchants to immigrate.

Dawes Act

1887. Authorized the federal government to break up tribal lands by partitioning them into individual cheaper plots. Only those Indians who accepted the individual allotments were allowed to become US citizens.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890. Banned any trust that restrained interstate trade or commerce

Interstate Commerce Comission

1887. Regulate railroads and other interstate trade.

Newlands Reclamation Act

1902. Roosevelt. Authorized the use of federal money to develop the west, it helped to protect national resources by building irrigation projects and dams in dry areas.

Hepburn Act

1906. Roosevelt. Used the Interstate Commerce Commission Act to regulate the maximum charge that railroads to place on shipping goods. Allowed ICC to regulate shipping prices of railroads [pro farmer, populist demand]

Meat Inspection Act

1906. Roosevelt. Set rules for sanitary meat packing and government inspection of meat products crossing state lines.

Mann-Elkins Act

1910. Taft. Allowed the federal government to regulate the telephone and telegraph companies.

16th Amendment

1913. Wilson. National income tax.

17th Amendment

1913. Wilson. Allowed. direct election of senators

Federal Trade Commission Act

1914. Woodrow. Made sure business remained fair by outlawing unfair methods of competition (Better Business Bureau)

Federal Reserve Act

1913. Woodrow. Put the nation's banking system under the supervision of the federal government for the first time.

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914. Woodrow. Enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act. Purpose was to restore competition in the business world.

Keating-Owen Act

1916. Woodrow. Tried to eliminate child labor in factories and sweatshops.

18th Amendment

1917. Woodrow. Prohibited the sale of alcohol. (Woody vetoed but congress passed it)

19th Amendment

1920. Woodrow. Women's suffrage.

Treaty of Paris of 1898

1898. Ended the Spanish-American War. US acquired Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. U.S now protectorate of Cuba (Truman granted Philippines their independence)

Teller Amendment

1898. Legislation that promised the US would not annex Cuba after winning the Spanish-American war

Open Door Policy

1899. Demanded open trade in China in order to protect US economic interests in that national. US wanted equal commercial access by all nations to the existing spheres of influence in China. Resulted in Boxer Rebellion in China in opposition.

Roosevelt Corollary

1904. Extension of Monroe Doctrine. Policed Latin America (protectorate) (big stick foreign policy of Roosevelt)

Gentlemen's Agreement

1907. Agreement between the United States and Japan that restricted Japanese immigration and segregated Japanese children from white students.

Proclamation of Neutrality 1914

1914. Wilson declared that the United States would remain "impartial in thought as well as in action." Aapproved of Wilson's policy.

Selective Service Act

1917. Required all men from ages 21 to 30 to register for the military draft

Sedition Act

1918. Made it illegal to speak against American war effort

Espionage Act

1917. Allowed postal authorities to ban treasonable newspapers, magazines, or novels.

Treaty of Versaille

1920. Imposed on Germany by the Allied powers after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

Wilson's 14 Points

1920. Plan for post-war peace: no secret treaties; freedom of the seas; removal of economic barriers; reduction of arms; adjust colonial claims. Rejected by Senate. US never joined League of Nations.

Volstead Act

1919. Enforced 18th amendment. Did not work.

Immigration Act of 1924

1924. Also known as the Johnson-Reed Act. Federal law limiting the number of immigrants that could be admitted from any country to 2% of the amount of people from that country who were already living in the U.S. as of the census of 1890.

McNary-Haugen Bill

1926. Designed to allow the federal government to purchase agricultural surpluses and sell them abroad at lowered prices.

Kellog-Briand Pact

1928. Nations denounced war.

Good Neighbor Policy

1933. Repealed Roosevelt Corollary, stating the US would intervene if Latin America asked.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

1930. Raised tariff rates hoping Americans would buy American goods..

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

1932. Poured millions of dollars into big business but did not provide immediate relief to the destitute.

Agricultural Administration Act

Paid farmers to reduce supply so that it could exceed demand. Found unconstitutional since it exceeded how federal government could spend money and showed favortism towa