Historische Organisatie
United States Congress
United States Congress
Details
Tijdlijn van de Organisatie
The Indian Removal Act enables forced dispossession
📅 28 Mei 1830President Andrew Jackson signed legislation authorizing negotiated removal of Indigenous nations to lands west of the Mississippi. In practice, pressure and coercion made removal devastating. The...
Slavery ends in the US capital
📅 16 April 1862The District of Columbia Emancipation Act ended slavery in Washington. The law compensated loyal enslavers and encouraged voluntary emigration. Its provisions illustrate the limits of reform that...
Congress approves the constitutional abolition amendment
📅 31 Januari 1865Congress approved the proposed Thirteenth Amendment after years of abolitionist struggle and wartime emancipation. A constitutional change could remove slavery beyond the limited reach of the...
Congress establishes citizenship and civil rights over a veto
📅 9 April 1866Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act over Andrew Johnson’s veto, asserting citizenship and equal civil rights regardless of race or previous enslavement, with exclusions. The law confronted...
The Indian Citizenship Act grants citizenship without ending colonial control
📅 2 Juni 1924Congress granted US citizenship to Indigenous people born in the United States who had not already received it. State barriers still restricted voting, and citizenship did not restore lost land or end...
A civil rights law expands federal tools against voting discrimination
📅 9 September 1957The Civil Rights Act of 1957 strengthened federal institutions for investigating and challenging voting-rights violations. It established a Commission on Civil Rights and authorized additional...
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 adds voting-rights enforcement measures
📅 6 Mei 1960A new federal law required preservation of election records and provided procedures for addressing discriminatory denial of voting rights. It strengthened tools available against exclusion, amid...
The Twenty-fourth Amendment is ratified
📅 23 Januari 1964Ratification prohibited poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections. Such payments had helped exclude Black citizens and poor voters from political participation. The amendment addressed...
The Civil Rights Act becomes law
📅 2 Juli 1964President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation prohibiting discrimination in specified public accommodations and employment and strengthening federal action against segregation. Years of organizing...
The Voting Rights Act becomes law
📅 6 Augustus 1965President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act after sustained organizing against racial disenfranchisement. It supplied federal tools to address discriminatory registration and election...
Immigration reform ends the national-origins quota system
📅 3 Oktober 1965Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act, replacing the national-origins quota system that privileged some national populations over others. The reform challenged a major institutional...
The Fair Housing Act becomes law
📅 11 April 1968Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibited specified discrimination in housing sales, rentals and financing. The law addressed institutions that restricted residential access by race and...
The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act becomes law
📅 4 Januari 1975The new law enabled federally recognized tribes to contract to administer programmes previously managed by federal agencies. It reflected sustained Indigenous demands for greater control over services...
The US Congress overrides Reagan's veto of sanctions
📅 2 Oktober 1986Congress enacted the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, restricting trade and investment despite President Reagan's opposition.
The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act becomes law over Reagan's veto
📅 2 Oktober 1986Congress completed its override of President Ronald Reagan's veto, bringing sanctions against South Africa into law. The measure restricted important economic relationships sustaining apartheid. It...
Japanese American redress campaigning wins the Civil Liberties Act
📅 10 Augustus 1988President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act after sustained Japanese American advocacy. It provided an apology and authorized payments to eligible surviving victims of wartime...
NAGPRA creates a legal route for Indigenous repatriation claims
📅 16 November 1990The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act became law. It addressed Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and cultural patrimony held by covered institutions,...
The USA PATRIOT Act expands federal security powers
📅 26 Oktober 2001President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, expanding investigative and immigration-related security powers. Its enactment is an institutional context for studying the post-9/11 struggle over...
Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday
📅 17 Juni 2021The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law, recognizing 19 June as a federal public holiday. The measure gave national status to a commemoration sustained by Black communities....
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act becomes law
📅 29 Maart 2022The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was signed into law, adding specific federal hate-crime provisions for conspiracies resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Naming the measure for Till...