Transcript us history remediation

US HISTORY
REMEDIATION
MRS. FARRELL
Presidents and their policies
Chester A. Arthur
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1881-1885
Pendelton Act of United States is a federal law
established in 1883 that 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
Grover Cleveland
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1885-1889
Interstate Commerce Act 1887 is a United States
federal law that was 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.
Benjamin Harrison
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1889-1893
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is a landmark federal statute
on competition law passed by Congress in 1890. It
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.
Grover Cleveland
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1893-1897
Pullman Strike was a nationwide conflict between the new American
Railway Union (ARU) and railroads that occurred in the United States in
summer 1894. It shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic
west of Detroit. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois, on May
11 when nearly 4,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began
a wildcat strike in response to recent reductions in wages. Most factory
workers who built Pullman cars lived in the planned worker community of
Pullman, which Pullman had designed as a model community, but which he
controlled. When the company laid off workers, it did not reduce rents, and
the workers called for a strike; they had not formed a union. The ARU was
an organization of unskilled railroad workers founded in 1893 by Eugene V.
Debs. Debs brought in ARU organizers and signed up many of the
disgruntled workers. When Pullman refused arbitration the ARU called a
strike against his factory, but it showed no sign of success. To win the strike,
Debs decided to stop the movement of Pullman cars on railroads. The overthe-rail Pullman employees (such as conductors and porters) did not go on
strike. Debs and the ARU then called a massive boycott (usually called a
"strike") that affected most lines west of Detroit and involved some 250,000
workers in 27 states at its peak.
William McKinley
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1897-1901 (assassinated)
The Gold Standard Act of the United States
was passed in 1900 (approved on March 14)
and established gold as the only standard for
redeeming paper money, stopping bimetallism
(which had allowed silver in exchange for
gold).
Theodore Roosevelt
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1901-1909
Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a
United States federal law that provided the federal
inspection of meat products and forbade the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of poisonous
patent medicines. The Act arose due to public
education and exposés from Muckrakers such as
Upton Sinclair and Samuel Hopkins Adams, social
activist Florence Kelley, researcher Harvey W. Wiley,
and President Theodore Roosevelt.
William Howard Taft
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1909-1913
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25,
1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of
New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an
industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the second deadliest
disaster in New York City – after the burning of the General Slocum on
June 15, 1904 – until the destruction of the World Trade Center 90
years later. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who
died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling to their deaths. Most of
the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged
sixteen to twenty-three; the oldest victim was 48, the youngest was 11
year old Mary Goldstien.
Because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits
– a common practice at the time to prevent pilferage and unauthorized
breaks[5] – many of the workers who could not escape the burning
building jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors to the streets
below. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety
standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions
for sweatshop workers.
Woodrow Wilson
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1913-1921
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 was enacted in the United
States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime
by seeking to prevent anticompetitive practices in their
incipiency. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust Act
of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices considered
harmful to consumers (monopolies, cartels, and trusts).
Warren G Harding
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1921-1923 (died of heart attack in office)
Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery incident that took place
in the United States from 1922–1923, during the
administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of
the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at
Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies
at low rates without competitive bidding. In 1922 and 1923,
the leases became the subject of a sensational investigation by
Senator Thomas J. Walsh. Fall was later convicted of accepting
bribes from the oil companies
Franklin D Roosevelt
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1933-1945 (died of cerebral hemorrhage)
New Deal was a series of economic programs enacted in
the United States between 1933 and 1936. They involved
presidential executive orders or laws passed by Congress
during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The programs were in response to the Great Depression,
and focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief,
Recovery, and Reform. That is, Relief for the unemployed
and poor; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; and
Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat
depression.
Harry Truman
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1945-1953
Fair Deal - the domestic reform agenda of
the Truman Administration. The most
important proposals were aid to education,
universal health insurance, FEPC and repeal
of the Taft-Hartley Act. (Desegregated the
military in 1948)
Dwight D Eisenhower
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1953-1961
Brown vs Board of Education(1954), was a landmark United States
Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws
establishing separate public schools for black and white students
unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson
decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation. Handed
down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous (9–0) decision
stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a
result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration and the civil
rights movement.
1957- Little Rock 9- tested it
John F Kennedy
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1961-1963 (assassinated)
New Frontier- Kennedy administration policy
“We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier — the frontier of 1960s, the frontier of unknown
opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled
hopes and unfilled dreams. ... Beyond that frontier
are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved
problems of peace and war, unconquered problems
of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions
of poverty and surplus.”
Lyndon B Johnson
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1963-1969
Great Society- was a set of domestic
programs in the United States announced by
President Lyndon B. Johnson at Ohio
University and subsequently promoted by
him and fellow Democrats in Congress in
the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great
Society social reforms were the elimination
of poverty and racial injustice.
Richard Nixon
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1969-1974
Watergate was a political scandal that occurred in
the United States in the 1970s as a result of the
June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National
Committee headquarters at the Watergate office
complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon
administration's attempted cover-up of its
involvement. The scandal eventually led to the
resignation of Richard Nixon, the President of the
United States, on August 9, 1974, the only
resignation of a U.S. President. The scandal also
resulted in the indictment, trial, conviction and
incarceration of 43 people, including dozens of
Nixon's top administration officials.
Gerald Ford
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1974-1977
Nixon Pardon -On September 8, 1974, Ford issued
Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and
unconditional pardon for any crimes he may have
committed against the United States while President. In a
televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt
the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that
the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all
have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or
someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only
I can do that, and if I can, I must."
Jimmy Carter
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1977-1981
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Energy Crisis1979 (or second) oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake
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of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the
new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil sector, with production
being greatly curtailed and exports suspended. When oil exports were later resumed
under the new regime, they were inconsistent and at a lower volume, which pushed
prices up. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations, under the presidency of Dr. Mana
Alotaiba increased production to offset the decline, and the overall loss in production
was about 4 percent.[2] However, a widespread panic resulted, added to by the decision
of U.S. President Jimmy Carter to order the cessation of Iranian imports,[3] driving the
price far higher than would be expected under normal circumstances. In April of the
same year, President Carter began a phased deregulation of oil prices. At the time, the
average price of crude oil was $15.85 per barrel (42 US gallons (160 L)). Deregulating
domestic oil price controls allowed U.S. oil output to rise sharply from the Prudhoe Bay
fields, although oil imports fell sharply. Long lines once again appeared at gas stations
and convenience stores, just as they did in 1973.
In 1980, following the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War, oil production in Iran nearly
stopped, and Iraq's oil production was severely cut as well.
Ronald Reagan
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1981-1989
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies
promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan
during the 1980s. These policies are commonly
associated with supply-side economics, or
pejoratively as trickle-down economics or voodoo
economics.
The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were
to reduce the growth of government spending,
reduce income tax and capital gains tax, reduce
government regulation of economy, and control
money supply to reduce inflation.
George Herbert Walker Bush
(Daddy)
1989-1993
 Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that
prohibits, under certain circumstances,
discrimination based on disability. It affords
similar protections against discrimination to
Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, which made discrimination based on
race, religion, sex, national origin, and other
characteristics illegal. Disability is defined by the
ADA as "a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits a major life activity".
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William Jefferson Clinton
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1993-2001
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 1993 is a
United States federal law requiring covered
employers to provide employees job-protected and
unpaid leave for qualified medical and family
reasons. Qualified medical and family reasons
include: personal or family illness, family military
leave, pregnancy, adoption, or the foster care
placement of a child.
George Walker Bush
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2001-2009
USA Patriot Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into
law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the
act is a ten letter ackronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting
(and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools
Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.
The act, as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th,
significantly reduced restrictions in law enforcement agencies'
gathering of intelligence within the United States; expanded the
Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions,
particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and
broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration
authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of
terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism
to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities
to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded law enforcement powers
can be applied.
Barack Obama
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2009-present
Healthcare reform (ObamaCare)
informally called Obamacare, is a United
States federal statute signed into law by
President Barack Obama on March 23,
2010. Together with the Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act, it represents
the most significant regulatory overhaul of
the U.S. healthcare system since the passage
of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
AMENDMENTS
1ST AMENDENT
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Freedom of Religion,
Assembly, Petition, Speech,
Press
2nd Amendment
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Right to keep and bear
arms
3rd AMENDMENT
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NO LODGING OF
TROOPS IN PRIVATE
HOMES
4TH AMENDMENT
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FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE
SEARCH OR SEIZURE
5TH AMENDMENT
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DUE PROCESS OF LAW
1. NO DBL JEOPARDY
2. NO SELF INCRIMINATION
3. GRAND JURY INDICTMENT
4 EMINENT DOMAIN
6TH AMENDMENT
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RIGHT TO COUNCIL
AND SPEEDY TRIAL
7TH AMENDMENT
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TRIAL BY JURY
8TH AMENDMENT
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NO CRUEL AND
UNUSUAL
PUNISHMENT- RIGHT
TO HAVE BAIL
13 AMENDMENT
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ABOLISHED SLAVERY
14TH AMENDMENT
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GAVE CITIZENSHIP TO
FORMER SLAVES
15TH AMENDMENT
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PROHIBITS THE
DENIAL OF SUFFRAGE
16TH AMENDMENT
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ALLOWS THE
GOVERNMENT TO
COLLECT INCOME TAX
17TH AMENDMENT
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DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS
18TH AMENDMENT
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PROHIBITION
19TH AMENDMENT
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GIVES WOMEN THE
RIGHT TO VOTE
21ST AMENDMENT
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REPEALS PROHIBITION
26TH AMENDMENT
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CHANGED THE VOTING
AGE TO 18
COURT CASES
Dred Scott v Sandford 1857
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was a highly controversial case that intensified the
national debate over slavery. The case involved Dred
Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a
free territory. Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that
because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to
his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney disagreed,
ruling that blacks were not citizens and therefore
could not sue in federal court. Taney further inflamed
antislavery forces by declaring that Congress had no
right to ban slavery from U.S. territories.
Munn v Illinois 1876
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Munn, a partner in a Chicago warehouse firm, had
been found guilty by an Illinois court of violating the
state laws providing for the fixing of maximum
charges for storage of grain (see Granger movement).
He appealed, contending that the fixing of maximum
rates constituted a taking of property without due
process of law. The Supreme Court upheld the
Granger laws, establishing as constitutional the
principle of public regulation of private businesses
involved in serving the public interest.
Plessy v Ferguson 1896
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was the infamous case that asserted that “equal but
separate accommodations” for blacks on railroad cars
did not violate the “equal protection under the laws”
clause of the 14th Amendment. By defending the
constitutionality of racial segregation, the Court
paved the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws of
the South. The lone dissenter on the Court, Justice
John Marshall Harlan, protested, “The thin disguise
of ‘equal’ accommodations…will not mislead
anyone.”
Korematsu v United States 1944
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Court ruled it legal to intern Japanese
Americans into camps
Brown v Board of Education 1954
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Separate is not equal (desegregation of public
schools)
Mapp v Ohio 1961
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Police must follow the fourth amendment- or
have evidence that they find excluded from
trial
Gideon v Wainwright 1963
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guaranteed a defendant's right to legal counsel. The
Supreme Court overturned the Florida felony
conviction of Clarence Earl Gideon, who had
defended himself after having been denied a request
for free counsel. The Court held that the state's failure
to provide counsel for a defendant charged with a
felony violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due
process clause. Gideon was given another trial, and
with a court-appointed lawyer defending him, he was
acquitted.
Miranda v Arizona 1966
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helped define the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
At the center of the case was Ernesto Miranda, who had
confessed to a crime during police questioning without
knowing he had a right to have an attorney present. Based on
his confession, Miranda was convicted. The Supreme Court
overturned the conviction, ruling that criminal suspects must
be warned of their rights before they are questioned by police.
These rights are: the right to remain silent, to have an attorney
present, and, if the suspect cannot afford an attorney, to have
one appointed by the state. The police must also warn suspects
that any statements they make can be used against them in
court. Miranda was retried without the confession and
convicted.
Roe v Wade 1973
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legalized abortion and is at the center of the current
controversy between “pro-life” and “pro-choice”
advocates. The Court ruled that a woman has the right
to an abortion without interference from the
government in the first trimester of pregnancy,
contending that it is part of her “right to privacy.” The
Court maintained that right to privacy is not absolute,
however, and granted states the right to intervene in
the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
US v Nixon 1974
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The Court ruled unanimously that President Richard
Nixon had to surrender the tapes. Chief Justice
Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
Burger wrote, “The impediment that an absolute,
unqualified [executive] privilege would place in the
way of the primary constitutional duty of the Judicial
Branch to do justice in criminal prosecutions would
plainly conflict with the function of the courts under
Art[icle] III.”
Regents of the University of
California v Bakke 1978
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imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that
providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at
the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words,
affirmative action was unfair if it lead to reverse
discrimination. The case involved the University of Calif.,
Davis, Medical School and Allan Bakke, a white applicant
who was rejected twice even though there were minority
applicants admitted with significantly lower scores than his. A
closely divided Court ruled that while race was a legitimate
factor in school admissions, the use of rigid quotas was not
permissible.
Texas v Johnson 1989
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Flag burning is protected by the first
amendment
Bush v Gore 2000
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Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court decision
ordering manual recount of presidential election
ballots. A majority of justices (7–2) agreed that the
recount violated the Constitution's equal protection
and due process guarantees, since counting standards
varied among counties. The Court remanded the case
to the Florida Supreme Court for remedy but, in 5-4
split, maintained that deadline for recount ended at
midnight. The decision effectively ended the
presidential election, handing a victory to George W.
Bush.
American Laws
HOMESTEAD ACT 1862
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The Act provided that any adult citizen could claim up to 160
acres of federal land outside of the 13 colonies if the
homesteader improved the plot by building a dwelling and
cultivating the land. After five years, the homesteader was
entitled to the property (after paying a nominal fee).
Between 1862 and 1934, the federal government granted 1.6
million homesteads. By 1934, approximately 10% of formerly
federal land was privatized. Because much of the land made
available to homesteaders was originally populated by
indigenous American tribes, the Act essentially stripped the
land from tens of thousands of Native Americans.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended
homesteading in all states except Alaska, where it ended in
1986.
MORRILL LAND GRANT ACT
1862
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also known as the Land Grant College Act, was a major boost
to higher education in the United States. It gave each state
30,000 acres of public land for every member to its
congressional delegation based on the 1860 census. The land,
or the proceeds from its sale, was to be used toward funding
educational institutions that would teach agriculture, home
economics, mechanical arts (engineering), and other
professions. Major universities such as Nebraska, Washington
State, and Cornell began as land-grant schools. At the time the
grants were established, African Americans were not allowed
to attend the institutions. When the Second Morrill Act was
passed in 1890, funding expanded to include institutions that
served African American students (under a system considered
at the time to be separate but equal). Over the years, the
Morrill Act has brought higher education within the reach of
millions of students.
CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF
1882
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was the first major legislation that restricted immigration in
the United States. During the 1800s, many people left China
due to a collapsing economy and traveled to America in search
of opportunities, particularly during the gold rush of 1849.
Anti-Chinese sentiment increased as Chinese immigrants
occupied jobs and created competition in the job market. The
Chinese immigrants faced discrimination from many different
groups, including native workers and other immigrant groups
who felt that the low-paid Chinese were reducing their wages.
The Chinese became a scapegoat for the financially unstable
economy of the 1870s. Discrimination against the Chinese
ultimately resulted in the Act, which originally suspended
Chinese immigration for a period of ten years. It was extended
for an additional ten years before becoming permanent in
1902. Immigration from China remained very limited for 61
years, until the Act was repealed in 1943.
DAWES GENERAL
ALLOTTMENT ACT OF 1887
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was disastrous for Native Americans because it broke up reservations and
allowed non-Indians to own portions of tribal lands. In an attempt to
facilitate the assimilation of American Indians into white culture, the Act
converted American Indian tribal lands into separate tracks. The tracks
were distributed to individual tribe members to be used for farming and
cattle grazing. The hope was that the Native Americans would become
farmers and embrace an agrarian lifestyle. Unfortunately, many Native
Americans were not successful at cultivating the land because, among
other things, most allotted lands were not suitable for agriculture and the
tribe members typically didnt have the equipment and supplies needed to
successfully farm the land.
Any tribal lands that were left over after the allotment process were
considered surplus and sold to non-Indians. In 1887, the tribes owned
about 138 million acres of land. By 1900, tribal ownership was reduced to
78 million acres. In 1934, this policy was reversed by the Indian
Reorganization Act which recognized the importance of maintaining
American Indian culture and permitted surplus land to be returned to the
tribes.
FEDERAL MEAT INSPECTION
ACT OF 1906
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was the beginning of federal regulation of the countrys meat, poultry, and
egg products supply. Within months of the publication of Upton Sinclairs
1906 novel, The Jungle, which was filled with nauseating detail about the
unhealthy practices of Chicagos meat packing district, the public
demanded sweeping reforms in the meat industry. President Roosevelt sent
in Labor Commissioner Charles P. Neill to examine the industrys practices
and learned that the practices were even worse than those depicted in the
novel. A short while later, Congress passed the Federal Meat Inspection
Act of 1906.
The Act established standards for inspecting all meat processing plants that
conducted business across state lines. It has since been amended and
strengthened by subsequent acts, including 1967s Wholesome Meat and
Wholesome Poultry Products Acts. The Act paved the way for the eventual
creation of the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies.
VOLSTEAD ACT 1919
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At the turn of the 20th century, the temperance movement sought
governmental control over intoxicating beverages. In response to mounting
pressure, Congress passed the 18th Amendment (prohibiting the sale,
manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption). A short time
later, it passed the National Prohibition Act (also known as the Volstead
Act), which established the legal definition of intoxicating liquor.
Enforcing prohibition proved to be extremely difficult and an illegal
network of bootleggers and speakeasies cropped up across the country.
Certain criminalsAl Capone, for exampleprofited greatly during this
period, making millions of dollars from transporting liquor. By 1925, there
were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs in New York City
alone. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT OF 1935
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935
in the midst of the Great Depression. At that time, the poverty rate among senior
citizens had climbed to more than 50%, and increasing concerns for their welfare
led to numerous proposals for a national insurance system to protect aged workers.
Under the Act, Social Security insurance funds were established through taxes on
individuals wages and employers payrolls.
The Act also created unemployment insurance, established a lump-sum Social
Security death benefit, and initiated a system of benefits for workers injured in
industrial accidents, dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically
disabled.
As passed, the Act excluded many individuals -- primarily women and minorities -from unemployment insurance and old-age benefits. Those provisions of the Act
have changed steadily over the years, resulting in better protection for all
Americans. Recent decades, however, have brought growing worries that the Social
Security system will not be adequately funded to pay benefits to retirees in the
future. There are ongoing arguments about the best way to reform the system,
including debate over whether or not Social Security should be privatized.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
ACT AKA WAGNER ACT 1935
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Senator Robert F. Wagner -- was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July
5, 1935. Its purpose was to protect the rights of employees, support collective
bargaining, and put an end to the abusive practices of antiunion employers. The
NLRA applied to all employers participating in interstate commerce, with the
exception of the government, agricultural employers, and the railroad and airline
industries.
During the Great Depression, organized labor petitioned vigorously to gain relief
from employers who harassed, penalized, fired, and blacklisted union members and
supporters. A previous law offering some protection -- the National Industrial
Recovery Act -- had been declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in
May of 1935.
The NLRA established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce the
rights of employees to self organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations,
to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to
engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other
mutual aid and protection. Today, the NLRB continues to determine standards for
unions and investigate charges of unfair labor practices by employers.
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (G.I.
Bill) 1944
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemens Readjustment Act
on June 22, 1944. The Act, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, provided
returning World War II veterans with funds for medical care,
unemployment insurance, higher education, and housing.
Servicemen took full advantage of the G.I. Bills education and housing
benefits. After World War II, almost 2.5 million veterans went to college,
while 3.5 million received other school training and almost as many
received training on the job. In addition, the government issued more than
$33 billion in home loans to veterans. The G.I. Bill is often credited for
initiating a period of unparalleled prosperity in the United States.
The only funds that went largely unused were those set aside for
unemployment insurance. Most returning servicemen quickly found work or
went back to school; less than 20% of the unemployment funds were
distributed.
The G.I. Bill has been renewed several times since its passage, adding
other benefit programs and opening participation to veterans of subsequent
wars and those who serve during peacetime.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION ACT
(MARSHALL PLAN) 1948
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On April 3, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Economic Cooperation
Act, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan. As described by the plans
originator, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, its purpose was twofold: to
help restore the devastated economies of postwar Europe and, in so doing, reduce
the threat of Communist takeover in those vulnerable countries.
At the end of World War II, Europe was shattered. There was an urgent need for
both a reconstruction plan and economic assistance. In a speech at Harvard
University on June 5, 1947, Marshall proposed that European countries develop a
plan to rebuild while the United States would supply the funds. Shortly afterward,
participating countries met in Paris to discuss the terms of the program. Though
invited to attend, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries rejected the
plan.
In December 1947, President Truman asked Congress to provide funds for the
Marshall Plan, and Congress responded by passing the Economic Cooperation Act
in 1948. Over the next four years, the United States provided $13.3 billion for the
recovery of Europe. The Marshall Plan was largely viewed as a successful effort to
stabilize Western European governments while holding the Communist movement at
bay. Detractors claimed, however, that the Marshall Plan escalated the hostilities of
the developing Cold War.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this sweeping civil rights legislation on July 2, 1964. The
Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited segregation in public places, terminating Jim Crow laws
in the South. It also outlawed segregation in businesses, required the integration of schools,
eliminated unequal voter registration requirements, and prohibited employment
discrimination. The law was a significant step toward equal treatment of both blacks and
women in the United States.
President John F. Kennedy called for passage of a civil rights law in a speech on June 11,
1963. He wanted legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are
open to the public -- hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments. He
also wanted greater protection of voting rights. After his assassination in November 1963,
President Johnson took up the task, encouraging Congress to pass the civil rights bill that was
on the table at the time of Kennedys death. It met significant resistance, including a 57-day
filibuster in the Senate. Both houses of Congress eventually agreed to support an amended
version of the bill, which gave the government less power to regulate private businesses.
As initially passed, the Civil Rights Act included few provisions for enforcing the law. The act
grew teeth in succeeding years, as federal agencies, such as the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, were formed to receive, investigate, and remedy complaints.
However, enforcement of the Civil Rights Act remains an issue to this day.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that
had been used to disenfranchise black Americans since the Civil War. It was an act
to enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which had been ratified nearly a
century earlier.
Despite the voting rights granted by the 15th Amendment, black citizens in the
South were discouraged or prevented from voting by means such as literacy tests,
poll taxes, and outright harassment or violence. The mid-1960s brought about a sea
of change, as a growing number of voting rights activists put their lives on the line
across states in the Deep South.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965 at a
ceremony attended by Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and other civil rights
leaders. The act outlawed literacy tests and gave federal examiners considerable
power to oversee voting practices in states that had an established pattern of
denying voting rights. It had an immediate effect: A quarter of a million new black
voters registered by the end of the year in which the act was passed.
The Voting Rights Act withstood several challenges to its constitutionality and was
repeatedly upheld by the U.S Supreme Court in the years following its passage. It
has been readopted and strengthened numerous times since its passage, most
recently in 2006
FAIR HOUSING ACT AND
AMENDMENTS 1968
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, also known as Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, on April 11, 1968. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1866 had
arguably required fair housing practices, it contained no provisions for federal enforcement.
The new Fair Housing Act was a far-reaching law that prevented discrimination based on
race, color, religion, or national origin. Practices covered by the act included:
housing advertisements
terms of rental or sale
denial of housing
interfering with a persons enjoyment of housing rights, and
retaliating against an organization assisting individuals with the exercise of fair housing
rights.
In 1974, the Fair Housing Act was amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. In
1988, another amendment added the disabled and families with children to the list of
protected classes. The law allows exceptions under limited circumstances, including some
waivers for landlords of small properties who live on the premises and small property owners
who conduct transactions without real estate brokers.
The Fair Housing Act is enforced by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development.