US History Subject Tests
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- Federal Reserve Act
- Woodrow Wilson pushed through this act, one of his most ledislative successes. It reorganized the American banking system by creating a network of 12 Federal Reserve banks authorized to distribute currency
- Manhattan Project
- Secret project to develop an atomic bomb; the bombs where used against Japan at the end of WWII
- Freedom of Information Act
- It required government agencies to provide proof of why items were classified as secreta dn to provide information not labeled secret for public use
- Selective Service Act of 1917
- Institued conscription to build up US military forces after it was realized that the military was not able to effectively fight in World War I w/o many more soldiers. Required all men aged 21 to 30 to register for military duty.
- Civil Rights Act of 1957
- First civil rights law since Reconstruction. It created the Civil Rights Commission and special division within Justice Department that could fight against those preventing people from voting. However, it was not particularly effective. Nonetheless, it paved the way for future laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Adams- Onis Treaty
- It was critical in defining the border b/t the US and Mexico. Fearing the loss of Florida w/o compensation, the Spanish foreign minister agreed to a border b/t the Louisiana Purchase and Spanish Lands
- Great Compromise
- virginia plan(population representation) and new jersey plan(equal representation) were combined to establish two Houses in conrgress
- Jim Crow Laws
- Established seperate society in the South. Black people where segregated
- Treaty of Guadalupe- Hildalgo
- It granted the US possession of Texas above the Rio Grande, New Mexico, and California in exchange for $15 million. The US assumed all monetary claims of US citizens against the Mexican gov.
- Hartford Convention
- In december 1814, in reaction the the War of 1812. The Federalist part fell apart after this was b/c they were unable to recover from the stigma of discussing secession
- Compromise of 1850
- Henry Clay sponsored five proposals that became known as this. California was to be admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico were to decide the legality of slavery within their territories, the slave trade was to be prohibited in the District of Columbia, Texas was to be prohibited in the District of Columbia, Texas was to give up its claim to New Mexico for $10 Millionn, and the Fugitive Slave Trade was to be passed
- Dawes Act
- (1887) gave any Indian who was willing to leave a reservation and take up farming citizenship and 160 acres of land. It was not until 1924 that all indians were granted citizenship
- Election of 1860
- Before the election of 1860, the Democratic Party split in two. The Northern half selected Stephe Douglas, and the Southerners nominated John Breckenridge. The Republicans selected Lincoln. John Bell ran for the Constitutioal Union party. The key issues were slavery, internal improvements, and trade regulations. Abraham Lincoln won with a sectional victory. His election would lead to secession i many states
- Gadsden Purchase
- In 1853, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis pushed for the purchase of land from Mexico for present-day New Mexico and Arizona. The purpose of the $10 million purchase was to create a coast to coast rail line in the South
- Camp David Accords
- Major accomplishment of the Carter presidency, created framework for peace in the Middle East Failed
- Open Door Policy
- Developed by John Hay in 1899, this aimed to combat the European spheres of influence that threatened to squeeze American business interests out of Chinese markets. The policy consisted of pressuring European powers to open key ports within their spheres of influence to US businessmen
- National Origins Act (1924)
- In the 1920s, the National Origins Act restricted immigration from any one nation to two percent of the number of people already in the US who were of that national origin in 1890. This law severely restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and excluded Asians entirely
- Wheeler- Howard Act
- AKA Indian Reorganization Act, was passed on June 18, 1934. It is significant b/c US policy became one of self-determination rather than assimilation for Native Americans. One of the important effects of this act was to allow the tribes to create their own governments on the reservations
- Morrill Land Grant Act
- In 1862, Congress gave each state 30,000 acres of land per Congress member to seel for creation of universities. Focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts
- Platt Amendment
- Restricted the independence of the Cuban government. It authorized American withdrawal from Cuba only on the following conditions: Cuba vowed to make no treaty with a foreign power limiting its independence, the US reserved the right to intervene in Cuba and the US could maintain a naval base at Guantanamo Bay
- Navigation Acts
- Allowed only English ships to transport goods to or from the colonies. Reinforced the economic concept of mercantilism
- Albany Plan
- Called for the colonies to unify in the face of french and Native American threats. colonists did not support it but delegates approved