Apush Key Legislations 1860-1900

Front 1

Dawes Severalty Act

Back 1

1887, divided land into sections for assimilation of Native Americans into society, i.e. reservations, destroyed the concept of the "tribe"

Front 2

Homestead Act

Back 2

1862, gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River, file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title.

Front 3

Thirteenth Amendment

Back 3

1864, officially outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, except for punishment for crime

Front 4

Fourteenth Amendment

Back 4

1868, revoked Dredscott vs Sanford decision, blacks considered citizens

Front 5

Fifteenth Amendment

Back 5

1870, Blacks could vote, did not allow government deny suffrage based on race

Front 6

Civil Rights Act

Back 6

1866, mainly intended to protect the civil rights of African-Americans, in the wake of the American Civil War, response to Black Codes

Front 7

Morill Land Act

Back 7

1862, allowed for land grant colleges to be created, focused on agriculture and mechanics

Front 8

Reconstruction Act

Back 8

1867, divided south into 5 military districts

Front 9

Tenure of Office

Back 9

1867, intended to restrict the power of the President of the United States to remove certain office-holders without the approval of the Senate. The law was enacted on March 3, 1867, over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It purported to deny the president the power to remove any executive officer who had been appointed by a past president, without the advice and consent of the Senate, unless the Senate approved the removal during the next full session of Congress.

Front 10

Interstate Commerce Act

Back 10

1887, 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. The Act created a federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which it charged with monitoring railroads to ensure that they complied with the new regulations.

Front 11

Chinese Exclusion Act

Back 11

1882, allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of Chinese immigration, a ban that was intended to last 10 years. This law was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943.

Front 12

Pendleton Act

Back 12

1883, 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. To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission.

Front 13

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Back 13

1890, 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.

Front 14

Pacific Railway Act

Back 14

1862, 34th Congress by the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad and Telegraph.[1] Signed into law by the President Abraham Lincoln on July 1, 1862, the 1862 Act authorized extensive land grants[2] in the Western United States and the issuance of 30-year government bonds (at 6 percent) to the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad (later the Southern Pacific Railroad) companies in order to construct a transcontinental railroad

Front 15

Hatch Act

Back 15

1887, gave federal funds, initially of $15,000 each, to state land-grant colleges in order to create a series of agricultural experiment stations, as well as pass along new information, especially in the areas of soil minerals and plant growth.

Front 16

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

Back 16

While not authorizing the free and unlimited coinage of silver that the Free Silver supporters wanted, it increased the amount of silver the government was required to purchase every month. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act had been passed in response to the growing complaints of farmers and miners interests. Farmers had immense debts that could not be paid off due to deflation caused by overproduction, and they urged the government to pass the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in order to boost the economy and cause inflation, allowing them to pay their debts with cheaper dollars. Mining companies, meanwhile, had extracted vast quantities of silver from western mines; the resulting oversupply drove down the price of their product, often to below the point where it was not profitable to mine it. They hoped to enlist the government to artificially increase the demand for silver.

Front 17

Bland Allison Act

Back 17

1878, requiring the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Though the bill was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes, the Congress overrode Hayes' veto on February 28, 1878 to enact the law.

Front 18

Pension Act

Back 18

An act passed by Congress on June 27, 1890, to provide a pension for any Civil War veteran of the Union Army. Created in response to political pressure from Union veterans, many of whom were members of the Grand Army of the Republic, it also provided a pension to a soldier's widow under certain condition

Front 19

McKinley Tariff

Back 19

1890, The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition

Front 20

Resumption Act

Back 20

1883 culmination of the struggle between “soft money” forces, who advocated continued use of Civil War greenbacks, and their “hard money” opponents, who wished to redeem the paper money and resume a specie currency.