Acts + Policies + Treaties on USH1 Final

Monroe Doctrine

• Would not tolerate further colonization of Western Hemisphere

• Monroe wanted to grow the country

  • Most spanish-american colonies had established independence, and Monroe did not want Spain coming back to US to colonize them

  • Doctrine protected Monroe’s interests and the newly independent spanish-american colonies

Adams-Onis Treaty

• 1819; John Quincy Adam managed to purchase Florida essentially for free

• During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson attacked a lot of Natives in Florida

  • He was offended by two men and put them on trial in Florida. He appointed himself as the judge, jury and executioner. 

  • However, Florida was not owned by America. Executing people and declaring yourself as a judge in someone else’s territory was shameful, a stain in America’s history.

• So Quincy wanted to buy Florida to cover up Jackson’s mistake

• QA bought the land for $5 million; but he didn’t actually pay anything

  • He said that over the course of a century, there were a lot of Seminole attacks on Georgia, South Carolina, etc.

  • QA believed that the Spanish should’ve been able to control their Natives, and so confronted the Spanish with a List of Damages that totalled up to $5 million.

  • So, the land was essentially given to QA in place of $5 million

Transcontinental Treaty

• 1819-1821; Oregon Country surrounded by US, England, Russia, Mexico (Spain), and they all wanted it

  • Russia eventually relinquishes claims there because it was too far

  • US wants to get rid of Spanish claims

• US promises to not attack Spanish colonies (would recognize Spain's authority over Texas) if Spain renounced control over Oregon

  • Note: US entering Texas did not violate promise since when US entered Texas, Texas was no longer under Spanish control

• Spanish agrees; US and Spain clarify borders of US, Mexico, and the Louisiana Purchase and Spain renounces control over Oregon

Spanish Cession

• 1848; Texas was independent now, but there were disputes over the border between Mexico and Texas

  • Texicans said Rio Grande was the border, Mexico said it was a river that was higher North.

  • Mexico wanted Rio Grande for trade purposes

  • They go to war (Mexican-American War) over this

• During this war, US is able to help since Texas is now independent

  • US wins; War ended by Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

  • US gets more land from Mexico (Mexico ceded 55% of its territory)

  • Rio Grande becomes Texas’s border

Rush-Bagot Treaty

• Demilitarized Great lakes, established Canadian-American border

• US Needed use of the great lakes

  • Canada was willing to negotiate

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

• Divided land in Great Lakes between British and US, also gave us some of Maine

  • Settled a little tiny piece of land in Minnesota and maine; rest of border was settled by Oregon treaty

• Reinforced Rush-Bagot Treaty (demilitarized Great Lakes; established Canadian-American border)

• Negotiated With Canada/England

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

• Mexican-American War

  • 1848; Texas was independent nation, but there were disputes over the border between Mexico and Texas

    • Texicans said Rio Grande was the border, Mexico said it was a river that was higher North.

    • Mexico wanted Rio Grande for trade purposes

  • They go to war (Mexican-American War) over this

    • During this war, US is able to help since Texas is now independent

  • US wins; War ended by Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

    • US gets more land from Mexico (Mexico ceded 55% of its territory)

    • Rio Grande becomes Texas’s border

Ordinance of Nullification

individual states can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional (theory of nullification)

Indian Removal Act

• Implemented by Andrew Jackson, continued into Martin Van Buren’s presidency

  • Relocated Natives to reserves (lands west of Mississippi, Oklahoma)

  • Natives were promised medical care, food, etc. on their journey

Missouri Compromise

• Balance between slave and free states was delicate

  • Missouri wanted to join as a slave state, which would disrupt the balance

  • So Maine was added as a free state

• Outlawed slave states above 36º 30' line

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Added kansas and Nebraska as two new territories, and allowed popular sovereignty for them

  • Nebraska was up North so they became free

• Meanwhile, people flooded to Kansas to try and sway the vote

  • Led to a lot of scuffles, creating Bleeding Kansas

Kansas ended up joining as free state

Popular Sovereignty

Allowed states to vote on whether or not they wanted to be a free or slave state

Compromise of 1850

• California wanted to join the Union (would disrupt balance)

  • Joined as free state

  • To appease South, Fugitive Slave Act established

    • Required slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state

    • People were allowed to go North to recapture escaped slaves

• Slave trade outlawed in DC

Dred Scott Decisions

• Justice Taney said

  • Slaves are not citizens and therefore cannot sue for rights

  • Bringing property into another state does not make it so you don’t own it anymore

    • So Scott was not free, and it basically invalidated 36’30 line in Missouri Compromise

Emancipation Proclamation

• Declared that all slaves in states that were rebelling were now considered free

  • Lincoln viewed this as a gentle invite to the Confederation to rejoin the Union (states not in rebellion kept their slaves)

  • Confederation felt it was an attack

• Happened after Battle of Antietam

  • The victory needed forLincoln to take the step to make the war about slavery

  • Then the South lost their ally, England (didn’t like slavery)

  • Slaves not freed by Emancipation Proclamation, freed by 13th amendment (ON THE TEST)

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Homer Plessy (was African American but looked white) sat in a Whites-only car and was arrested, so he sued for segregation 

  • Was a set-up to get equal treatment

• Supreme Court case that stated that segregation is not illegal according to the Constitution. It said that as long as the separate parts were equal in manner it would be fine.

  •  "Separate but equal"

Freedmen’s Bureau

• Established near end of Civil War to provide relief (food, shelter, clothing, etc.) to displaced Americans (Southerners) and newly freed African Americans

• KKK (and other white people that opposed this) would often attack members of the Bureau

Compromise of 1877

• After civil war was over, southern states came back to union

  • Accepted reconstruction plan

  • Had to take Iron clad oath 50% had to swear that they were loyal to the Union

  • Divided south into regions 1-4(military districts)

  • Once they all adopted 13-15 amendments

• Hayes elected -> Reconstruction ends

• Settled issue over election of 1876

  • Allegations of fraud (Hayes [republican] V Tilden [democratic], Tilden won popular vote)

  • Republicans accused of not allowing African Americans to vote

  • Electoral Commission formed to settle dispute

    • Hayes became president because commission was mostly made of republicans

• enabled Hayes to take office in return for the end of Reconstruction

  • If Hayes was allowed to be president, then all the other Southern states, even ones that didn’t fulfill the requirements, could rejoin the Union

• all states admitted back into Union, states can enter

• Informal, unwritten agreement

  • Ended Reconstruction Era after federal troops removed from South

Lincoln Reconstruction Plan

• 10% plan:

  • Would allow southern states to rejoin if 10% of their male population swore an oath of loyalty and recognized freedom of slaves

• Confederacy Leaders would not be allowed to run for office

• Also wanted to establish new state constitutions hand in hand with south

  • Wanted to offer pardons to confederate soldiers, sympathizers, etc.

• Main goal was to keep Union together, so wasn’t too harsh on South

Andrew Johnson Reconstruction Plan

• Johnson was a southern Democrat with slaves, disliked by Radical Republicans → strategic move done by Lincoln to promote unification

• lenient

• offered pardon to former southern citizens who took oath of loyalty and returned their property

  • excluded large plantation owners

    • had to beg for Johnson’s forgiveness

  • former Confederate states had to revoke Ordinance of Secession, ratify 13th Amendment, and reject all Civil War debts

• passed Black Codes

  • series of laws that severely limited African Americans’ rights; intended to keep African Americans under slavery

Radical Republican Reconstruction Plan

• rejected Johnson’s plan + impeachment of Johnson

• more punishing towards southerners → believed they were responsible for so much violence

• continued Freedmen's Bureau

  • provided basic needs for African Americans

  • some displaced southerners took advantage of opportunities

• Iron Clad Oath: 51% of state needed to swear oath of allegiance to union to be admitted back into union

• Military Districts + Martial Law (Reconstruction Act of 1867): split south into 5 military districts that were governed by union military personnel

  • each district needed to create constitution, which was approved by Congress

• passed 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

• passed Civil Rights Act of 1866

13th Amendment

no slavery except as punishment

14th Amendment

•  enslaved people became citizens; Confederate leaders could no longer vote + hold office

  • Combated by Black Codes

15th Amendment

emancipated men could vote, own property, hold office, have rights, and pursue education

Civil Rights Act of 1866

first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens (except Natives) are equally protected by the law

Voting Restrictions

• Poll Tax: A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote, tried to stop African Americans from voting

• Grandfather Clause: allowed people to vote if their father or grandfather had voted before Reconstruction, tried to stop African Americans from voting

• Literacy Tests: only people who could read and write could vote

Pendleton Act and Civil Service Reform

• “Guarantee the rights of all citizens to compete for federal jobs without preferential treatment given based on politics, race, religion or origin.”

• 1883 law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons

US Immigration Restrictions

• Limits on how many immigrants pass thru Ellis/Angel Island

• Chinese Exclusion Act

  • First law restricting immigration

  • “an absolute 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States”

Interstate Commerce Act

• Established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) 

  • monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states 

  • created to regulate railroad prices

Sherman Antitrust Act

• First United States law to limit trusts and big business

• Said that any trust that was purposefully restraining interstate trade was illegal

• Was ineffective because most courts used this to stop Unions instead of big businesses

  • Judges (being bribed) said strikes were disrupting trade and so they were illegal

Dawes Act

• Broke up reservations into small parcels to be handed out to individuals

  • Granted citizenship to natives if they stay for 25 years

  • Natives practiced communal farming which made it less effective

    • Dawes Act forced the natives to farm by themselves, which they were not used to

Pacific Railway Act

• developed transcontinental railway line 

  • Construction funded by bonds + grants (by government)

Standard Time Act

• establishment of time zones 

  • Coordinated trains

Morrill Act

• set aside land for colleges 

  • “the creation of land-grant colleges”

Homestead Act

• Provided incentive for people to move west

• Tend to 160 acres for 5 years to keep land

Civil Service Act

• Required people to take a test if they wanted to work as a civil servant

• Eliminated Spoils System

Secret Ballot

• Each party had their colored paper and could see how people were voting

  • Would pressure people into voting for certain candidates

• Secret ballot made it so people voted in a booth with government issued papers

Direct Primary

• In the past, Party leaders would choose candidates

• Direct primary made it so the people voted for candidates, and could also nominate candidates with a petition

Keating-Owens Act

• Children often used in mines because they were small and could fit through small tunnels

• State laws stopped child labor; children under 16 can’t work

Employers Liability Act

If employee gets hurt, employer can be held liable

Adamson Act

• 8-hour work day

• Overtime means compensation

Federal Children Bureau

• Reported child death and labor condition

• Restricted child labor

• Started foster system

Clayton Antitrust Act

• Very clearly stated what big companies could and could not do 

  • Didn’t allow for easy loopholes like Sherman Antitrust Act 

• Made it easier for big business to be broken down

• Union and strikes were easier to hold

Newlands Reclamation Act

• Made lands out west cheaper, and used profits to irrigate lands out west

  • Built a dam for water source, angered Sierra Club (believed in preservation not conservation)

    • Preservation: don’t touch the nature

    • Conservation: save it for future use

Pure Food and Drug Act

• Prohibited unsanitary practices in food factories

  • meats/foods were inspected

• Ingredients were required to be listed on the product

Meat Inspection Act

prevent adulterated or misbranded meat and meat products from being sold as food and to ensure that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary condition

Federal Reserve Act of 1913

• Created Federal Reserve Board, with head appointed by President

  • Put economic control in hands of government, not big businesses

• Made federal banks that loaned money to other banks at a rediscount rate

  • Then those banks loan money to people at a higher rate so they can make profit

• created a central banking system

  • twelve regional banks governed by the Federal Reserve Board

  • provide the United States with a sound yet flexible currency

  • still exists

Payne Aldrich Tariff

• Signed by Taft

• Was supposed to lower tariff rates but Senator Nelson N. Aldrich of Rhode Island put revisions that raised tariffs

• According to Britannica: “lowered rates on 650 items, raised rates on 220, and made no change on 1,150”

• Failed to decrease rates -> Taft lost support of progressives

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

• Ballinger was Secretary of Interior + supported by Taft, not to be confused with Colleen Ballinger

• Pinchot was Chief of Forestry + supported by Roosevelt

• Ballinger opened public lands in Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska against Roosevelt's conservation policies

  • Pinchot demanded that Taft dismiss Ballinger

  • Ballinger was accused of supporting private trusts to help them gain illegal access to mines, water sources, and other natural resources 

• Ballinger was exonerated, but the damage was already done

• Led to split of Republican Party

Northern Securities Case

• JP Morgan was planning to join 4 railroads into one company

• Roosevelt takes them to court for breaking Sherman Antitrust Law

  • JP felt betrayed, since they were buds

  • Roosevelt got nickname “Trust Buster”

The Hepburn Act

• Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

  • Gave it power to set railroad rates directly

    • Originally established to outlaw rebates for railroads and makes it illegal to charge higher rates for shorter passages

  • Authority also expanded to bridges, tunnels, terminals, ferries & oil pipelines

Mann Elkins Act

• Passed in 1910

•  empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for the first time to initiate rate changes, extend regulation to telephone and telegraph companies, and set up a Commerce Court to expedite appeals from the ICC rulings

16th Amendment

Allows the federal government to collect income tax

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Farm Loan Act

Farmers can renegotiate farm mortgage

Federal Trade Commission

• Watched over economic practices

• Outlawed unfair methods of competition

Underwood Tariff

• lowered average tariff rates from about 40 percent to about 27 percent

• Encourage foreigners to buy American goods

Jim Crow Laws

• Enforced segregation in the south

  • Enacted by states

  • Used various barriers (literacy tests) to prevent rights to blacks

  • Was meant to be indirect laws

    • But severely restricted rights of black people