Acts in U.S. History

Question 1

A 1649 act proposed by Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore) to allow for toleration of both Protestants and Catholics in Maryland

Answer 1

Act of Toleration

Question 2

This 1662 act loosened the requirement for church membership in Puritan Massachusetts. The act was passed in response to a drop in church attendance amongst second generation Puritans

Answer 2

Halfway Covenant

Question 3

This act passed by British Parliament restricting colonial settlement to land east of the Appalachian Mountains. The act was passed in response to clashes with Indians (notably Pontiac’s War) as colonists moved west into land acquired from France after the French and Indian War

Answer 3

Proclamation of 1763

Question 4

Direct Tax placed on the American colonies by British Parliament in 1765. The act required colonists to purchase stamps for a variety of printed material. The uproar over the act led to a Congress named after it, one of the first organized protests of British taxation policy

Answer 4

Stamp Act

Question 5

1767 series of revenue-producing taxes placed on the American colonies by Britain in an attempt to pay for continued occupation of the colonies by British troops. The act taxed items like lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea.

Answer 5

Townshend Acts

Question 6

1774 series of four acts designed to punish the city of Boston for the damage caused by the Boston Tea Party. The British refer to the acts as the “Coercive Acts’

Answer 6

intolerable acts

Question 7

While not intended as such, many American colonists considered this to be one of the Intolerable acts. the 1774 act est. Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec, and expanded Quebec to include territory that today makes up Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota

Answer 7

Quebec Act

Question 8

Passed by the Article of Confederation Congress, this 1785 act est. an orderly method for surveying and selling western land of the early U.S. Notably, the act divided the land into 6 square mile “townships” that were further subdivided into homesteads

Answer 8

Land Ordinance

Question 9

Also passed by the Articles of Confederation Congress, this 1787 act est. the method by which new territory could join the union as states

Answer 9

northwest ordinance

Question 10

a series of 1798 acts sponsored by the Federalists imposing severe restrictions on aliens out of fear of treason. the acts were an attempt to limit the power of Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party

Answer 10

Alien and Sedition Acts

Question 11

Essentially forbade US maritime trade with foreign nations. This was signed in 1807 by Jefferson in order to maintain American neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars. It was opposed by New England Federalists

Answer 11

Embargo Act

Question 12

Repealed the Embargo Act with regards to all nations except France and Britain in 1809

Answer 12

Non-Intercourse Act

Question 13

Also known as the Compromise of 1820, it admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, thus preserving sectional balance. It also set the border of Missouri as the future border between slave and free states. This provision was ruled unconstitutional by the Dred Scott decision of 1857

Answer 13

Missouri Compromise

Question 14

Also known as the “Tariff of Abominations”, opposition to this act led to the Nullification Crisis, the resignation of John C. Calhoun as VP, and the writing of the “South Carolina Exposition” and “Protest”

Answer 14

Tariff of 1828

Question 15

Andrew Jackson’s forcible removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the South (particularly the Cherokee from Georgia). Most of the Indians were removed via the Trail of Tears. The 1830 act was a direct response to the 1828 case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and was later challenged with the 1832 case of Worcester v. Georgia

Answer 15

Indian Removal Act

Question 16

a series of five laws intended to compromise on the issue of slavery in the lands acquired after the Mexican War. California was admitted as a free state, the slave trade was ended in the District of Columbia, and the North agreed to a stricter Fugitive Slave Law

Answer 16

Compromise of 1850

Question 17

provided for the admission of Kansas and Nebraska with or without slavery, essentially repealed the Missouri Compromise in 1854

Answer 17

Kansas- Nebraska Act

Question 18

created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) to aid the states through grants in 1933

Answer 18

Federal Emergency Relief Act

Question 19

Establised the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in 1933 which paid farmers subsides to farm less land and therefore drive crop prices up

Answer 19

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Question 20

Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1933 for guaranteeing individual bank deposits

Answer 20

Glass-Steagall Act

Question 21

Also known as the National Labor Relations Act, created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 1935

Answer 21

Wagner Act

Question 22

Enabled any country whose defense is deemed necessary to the nation to acquire arms and other war supplies from the US. This 1941 arrangement to help the UK during the Battle of Britain followed earlier “Cash and Carry” and “Destroyers for Bases” programs

Answer 22

Lend-Lease Act

Question 23

Passed over Truman’s veto, this 1947 act heavily restricted the actions of Unions including banning the “closed shop” and forbidding union contributions to political campaigns. Allowed the federal government to apply for injunctions to stop strikes

Answer 23

Taft-Hartley Act

Question 24

Combined all military departments into a single department, Defense. James Forrestal was the first Secretary of Defense. 1947

Answer 24

National Security Act

Question 25

Among other provisions, it outlawed discrimination in employment on the basis of race,religion, or sex. It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1964 to investigate claims of discrimination

Answer 25

Civil Rights Act

Question 26

Eliminated Literacy and other tests as requirements for voting in 1965

Answer 26

Voting Rights Act

Question 27

mandated that employers provide employment “free from recognized hazards to employees” in 1970

Answer 27

Occupational Safety and Health Act

Question 28

Set a 60 day limit on the presidential commitment of troops to hostilities abroad without Congressional approval. Passed over Nixon’s veto, the 1973 act is considered by many to be a reaction to LBJ’s actions with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Answer 28

War Powers Act

Question 29

Required Congress to balance the budget 1985

Answer 29

Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act

Question 30

Regulates campaign financing. Specifically, it targets “soft money” contributions and “issue ads” not financed by a specific candidate. 2002

Answer 30

McCain- Feingold Act