Landmark Legislation

Before You Start: How a Bill Becomes Law

A bill may be introduced in either house, except revenue bills, which must start in the House. It goes to committee, passes both houses in identical form, and is sent to the president. The president may sign it or veto it. Congress can override a veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses. If the president neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days (excluding Sundays) while Congress is in session, it becomes law without a signature. If Congress adjourns during that time, the bill dies, which is called a pocket veto. See Article I. Several laws below, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the War Powers Resolution, were passed over a veto.

Conflicts and Compromises: Slavery and the Union

Before the Civil War, Congress repeatedly tried to balance free and slave states as the nation expanded westward.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Arranged largely by Henry Clay, it admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the balance in the Senate. It banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ line. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed it in 1854, and Dred Scott (1857) declared it unconstitutional.

Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas assembled this set of laws after the Mexican-American War raised the question of slavery in new territories:

• California admitted as a free state;
• the territories of New Mexico and Utah would decide slavery by popular sovereignty (a vote of settlers);
• the slave trade (not slavery) was abolished in Washington, D.C.;
• a much stricter Fugitive Slave Act required citizens in free states to help return people who had escaped slavery and denied the accused a jury trial;
• Texas gave up disputed land claims in return for federal payment of its debts.

It postponed the crisis, but the Fugitive Slave Act enraged many Northerners and pushed them toward abolitionism. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) was partly a response.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Sponsored by Senator Stephen Douglas, it created the Kansas and Nebraska territories and let their settlers decide slavery by popular sovereignty. This repealed the Missouri Compromise line. Pro- and anti-slavery settlers rushed into Kansas, and violence followed in "Bleeding Kansas." Opposition to the act led to the founding of the Republican Party and helped bring on the Civil War.

Territorial Expansion and the Structure of Government

Homestead Act (1862)

Signed by Lincoln during the Civil War, it offered 160 acres of public land in the West to settlers who lived on and improved it for five years, for a small filing fee. Claimants could include women who were heads of household and immigrants who intended to become citizens. It encouraged massive westward settlement, which also hastened the displacement of Native American nations.

Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862)

It gave states federal land to sell to fund colleges teaching agriculture, engineering ("mechanic arts"), and military tactics. Many state universities, including the University of Florida, are land-grant institutions.

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883)

In 1881, President James Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker. In response, Congress required that many federal jobs be filled on the basis of merit, through competitive exams, rather than the spoils system (patronage). It created the Civil Service Commission and barred firing covered employees for political reasons. It is the foundation of today's professional federal bureaucracy.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

It regulated railroad rates and created the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory agency. It was an early use of the Commerce Clause to regulate business.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

It outlawed monopolies, trusts, and agreements that restrain interstate trade. It was later used to break up Standard Oil (1911).

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

It created the Federal Reserve System, the nation's central bank, which manages the money supply and supervises banks.

Civil Rights and Liberties: Expanded or Restricted

Federal laws have both restricted and expanded rights. The FCLE expects you to tell which is which.

Laws that restricted rights or liberties

Laws that expanded rights

Social Programs: The New Deal, the Great Society, and Beyond

In the 20th century, Congress greatly expanded the federal government's role in the economy and social welfare. Two periods stand out: Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s.

Progressive Era regulation

The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act (both 1906) followed public outrage, fueled partly by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. The Pure Food and Drug Act banned mislabeled or adulterated food and medicine and led to today's Food and Drug Administration.

New Deal acts (1930s)

• Social Security Act (1935): old-age pensions funded by payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children. It is the foundation of the American social safety net.
• National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act (1935): guaranteed workers' right to form unions and bargain collectively, and created the National Labor Relations Board.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): set a federal minimum wage and a standard 40-hour work week with overtime, and restricted child labor.
• Other New Deal programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the FDIC, which insures bank deposits.

The GI Bill (1944)

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act gave World War II veterans tuition for college or job training, low-interest home loans, and unemployment pay. It helped build the postwar middle class. Black veterans, however, often faced discrimination in using its benefits.

Great Society acts (1960s)

• Economic Opportunity Act (1964): launched the "War on Poverty" with Job Corps, VISTA, and community action programs, later including Head Start.
• Social Security Amendments of 1965: created Medicare (health insurance for Americans 65 and older) and Medicaid (health coverage for low-income people, run jointly with states).
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965): federal funding for schools serving low-income students (Title I). The Higher Education Act (1965) created federal college aid.
• The Great Society also included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act, and the Immigration Act of 1965.

Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970)

It created OSHA to set and enforce workplace safety standards.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)

Signed by President Barack Obama, it expanded health coverage through insurance marketplaces with subsidies, an expansion of Medicaid, and rules barring insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. It also let young adults stay on a parent's plan until age 26. Its individual mandate was upheld as a tax in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012). Congress reduced the mandate's penalty to zero beginning in 2019.

Environmental Protection

Rising concern about pollution in the 1960s, spurred partly by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), and the first Earth Day (1970) produced a wave of environmental laws, many signed by President Richard Nixon.

• National Environmental Policy Act (signed January 1, 1970): requires federal agencies to study the environmental effects of major projects (environmental impact statements).
• Clean Air Act (1970): authorized national air-quality standards and limits on emissions from factories and vehicles, enforced by the newly created Environmental Protection Agency. It was significantly strengthened in 1990, including provisions against acid rain.
• Clean Water Act (1972): regulated pollution discharged into the nation's waters.
• Endangered Species Act (1973): protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The bald eagle's recovery is a famous success.

Presidential and War Powers

The Constitution divides war powers. Congress declares war and funds the military, while the president is commander in chief. See presidential war powers. Two laws show how that balance has shifted.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

After reported attacks on U.S. Navy destroyers off North Vietnam in August 1964, Congress, with only two votes against in the Senate and none in the House, authorized President Johnson to "take all necessary measures" to repel attacks and prevent further aggression in Southeast Asia. It became the legal basis for a major escalation of the Vietnam War without a declaration of war. Congress repealed it in 1971.

War Powers Resolution (1973)

Passed over President Nixon's veto in reaction to Vietnam, it requires the president to:

• notify Congress within 48 hours of sending armed forces into hostilities; and
• withdraw them within 60 days (plus 30 days to withdraw safely) unless Congress declares war or authorizes the action.

Presidents of both parties have questioned its constitutionality, and enforcement has been limited. It remains Congress's main statutory check on presidential war-making.

Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001)

Days after September 11, Congress authorized force against those responsible for the attacks. Presidents have relied on it for military operations against terrorist groups ever since.