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TIMELINE

ABBREVIATIONS:

A = Administration

AM = Anti-Masonic

D= Democratic

DR = Democratic-Republican

F = Federalist

J = Jacksonian

NR = National Republican

O= Other

Opp. = Opposition

R= Republican

W = Whig

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1787     Constitutional Convention, Independence Hall, Philadelphia Northwest Ordinance
1788     Congress picks New York City as site of government  
1789 George Washington: 1789–1797 (Nonpartisan) 1st 1789–1791
Senate: 17 F; 9 Opp.
House: 38 F; 26 Opp.
House of Representatives, Senate, executive branch organized, Supreme Court is established
George Washington inaugurated in New York City
Pres. Washington signs first act of Congress
Judiciary Act
Tariff Act of 1789
1790     1st census: U.S. population 3,929,214
Congress meets in Philadelphia, new temporary capital
Congress submits Bill of Rights to states for ratification
Supreme Court meets for the first time
Copyright Act of 1790
Naturalization Act
Patent Act
Southwest Ordinance
1791   2d 1791–1793
Senate: 16 F; 13 DR
House: 37 F; 33 DR
Bill of Rights ratified Bank of the United States
1792     U.S. Mint established through Coinage Act
New York Stock Exchange organized
Cornerstone to White House laid
Coinage Act of 1792
1793   3d 1793–1795
Senate: 17 F; 13 DR
House: 57 DR; 48 F
Cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney Anti-Injunction Act Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1794     Excise tax on distilled liquor causes Whiskey Rebellion
Creation of U.S. Navy authorized by Congress
 
1795   4th 1795–1797
Senate: 19 F; 13 DR
House: 54 F; 52 DR
Eleventh Amendment goes into effect (limits judicial powers)
First state university, University of North Carolina, opens
 
1796     Hylton v. United States is first Supreme Court case that upholds an act of Congress
George Washington's farewell address is published, but never delivered as speech
 
1797 John Adams: 1797–1801 (Federalist) 5th 1797–1799
Senate: 20 F; 12 DR
House: 58 F; 48 DR
Congress creates 80,000 member militia  
1798     Undeclared war with France begins (conflict ends 1800)
Rebellion in Haiti ends slavery there; many white Haitians flee to U.S., increasing fears among whites of slave rebellion and French revolution
Alien and Sedition Acts
1799   6th 1799–1801
Senate: 19 F; 13 DR
House: 64 F; 42 DR
   
1800     2d census: U.S. population 5,308,483
Library of Congress established
Site of government moves to Washington, DC
 
1801 Thomas Jefferson: 1801–1809 (Democratic-Republican) 7th 1801–1803
Senate: 18 DR; 13 F
House: 69 DR; 36 F
  Judiciary Act of 1801
1802        
1803   8th 1803–1805
Senate: 25 DR; 9 F
House: 102 DR; 39 F
Marbury v. Madison is first Supreme Court case that declares an act of Congress unconstitutional
Lewis and Clark expedition begins
Louisiana Purchase (U.S. purchased about 828,000 square miles between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains from France, for $15 million)
 
1804     Twelfth amendment ratified (separate ballots for president and vice president)  

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1805   9th 1805–1807
Senate: 27 DR; 7F
House: 116 DR; 25 F
   
1806        
1807   10th 1807–1809
Senate: 28 DR; 6 F
House: 118 DR; 24 F
Steamboat (Robert Fulton's Clermont) completes round trip from New York to Albany in 62 hours, first practical steamboat trip
Importation of slaves into the U.S. prohibited
Prohibition of the Slave Trade
1808     Anthracite coal first used as stove fuel in Pennsylvania  
1809 James Madison: 1809–1817 (Democratic-Republican) 11th 1809–1811
Senate: 28 DR; 6 F
House: 94 DR; 48 F
Supreme Court case United States v. Peters affirms federal government power over states Nonintercourse Act
1810     3d census: U.S. population 7,239,881
Revolt against Spanish by southern expansionists results in the U.S. gaining territory in the south
 
1811   12th 1811–1813
Senate: 30 DR; 6 F
House: 108 DR; 36 F
Non-intercourse policy against Great Britain renewed
Senate declines to renew charter of Bank of the United States
Construction of Cumberland Road begins (completed 1818; Cumberland, MD, to Wheeling, WV)
 
1812     First war-bond issue; first interest-bearing U.S. Treasury notes are authorized
War is declared on Great Britain (War of 1812, 1812-1814)
 
1813   13th 1813–1815
Senate: 27 DR; 9 F
House: 112 DR; 68 F
Creek War with Indian nations in southern United States  
1814     Peace treaty signed ending Creek War; Americans led to victory over Native Americans by Gen. Andrew Jackson
Treaty of Ghent (Belgium) signed ending war with Britain
 
1815   14th 1815–1817
Senate: 25 DR; 11 F
House: 117 DR; 65 F
Treaties signed with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli ending piracy on U.S. ships  

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1816     Second Bank of United States is created  
1817 James Monroe: 1817–1825 (Democratic-Republican) 15th 1817–1819
Senate: 34 DR; 10 F
House: 141 DR; 42 F
First Seminole War begins; Andrew Jackson named as commander of U.S. forces  
1818     Seminole War ends after American capture of St. Marks and Pensacola, FL  
1819   16th 1819–1821
Senate: 35 DR; 7 F
House: 156 DR; 27 F
Adams-Onis treaty signed with Spain; Spain cedes East Florida to U.S., ends claim on West Florida
Financial panic of 1819, economic recession begins
First American savings banks open and begin paying interest on deposits
 
1820     4th census: U.S. population 9,638,453 Missouri Compromise
1821   17th 1821–1823
Senate: 44 DR; 4 F
House: 158 DR; 25 F
Republic of Liberia founded by American Colonization Society as haven for freed African-American slaves
Sante Fe trail opened (Independence, MO, to Sante Fe, NM)
 
1822     Planned slave revolt in Charleston, SC, blocked  
1823   18th 1823–1825
Senate: 44 DR; 4 F
House: 187 DR; 26 F
In annual message to Congress, Pres. Monroe lays out what will become known as the Monroe Doctrine
Treaties signed with Osage and Kansa Indian nations that cede lands in present-day Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri to the U.S.
Great Britain abolishes slavery in its territories
 
1824     Supreme Court case Gibbons v. Ogden upholds Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce  
1825 John Quincy Adams: 1825-1829 (Democratic-Republican) 19th 1825–1827
Senate: 26 A; 20 J
House: 105 A; 97 J
Erie canal opens between Buffalo, NY, and New York City  
1826     John Stevens demonstrates use of first steam locomotive in Hoboken, NJ  

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1827   20th 1827–1829
Senate: 28 J; 20 A
House: 119 J; 94 A
Mechanics Union of Trades Association, first central labor union, is created in Philadelphia  
1828     Treaty signed by United States and Mexico establishes Sabine River as common boundary  
1829 Andrew Jackson: 1829–1837 (Democratic) 21st 1829–1831
Senate: 26 D; 22 NR
House: 139 D; 74 NR
   
1830     5th census: U.S. population 12,860,702
Various Native American tribes sign treaties ceding western lands of present-day Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota
Mexico prohibits further settlement of Texas by Americans
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad begins operation (first U.S. passenger railroad)
Indian Removal Act
1831   22d 1831–1833
Senate: 25 D; 21 NR; 2 O
House: 141 D; 58 NR; 14 O
Nat Turner leads a slave rebellion in Virginia, is captured and executed along with 19 other blacks
First U.S. built locomotive goes into service
 
1832     Black Hawk War with Sac and Fox Indians; Creek nation cedes all its lands east of the Mississippi River to the United States; Seminoles cede lands in Florida
Virginia legislature considers, but rejects, gradual termination of slavery
 
1833   23d 1833–1835
Senate: 20 D; 20 NR; 8 O
House: 147 D; 53 AM; 60 O
Oberlin College (Ohio) is first college in U.S. to adopt coeducation  
1834        
1835   24th 1835–1837
Senate: 27 D; 25 W
House: 145 D; 98 W
Texas declares independence from Mexico; Mexico establishes military state in Texas
Second Seminole War begins in response to attempts to remove Seminoles by force
Cherokee nation cedes lands east of the Mississippi River
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1836     Siege of the Alamo in San Antonio, TX, by Mexicans; entire garrison killed
Mexican general Santa Anna captured at Battle of San Jacinto; Sam Houston installed as president of Republic of Texas
 
1837 Martin Van Buren: 1837–1841 (Democratic) 25th 1837–1839
Senate: 30 D; 18 W; 4 O
House: 108 D; 107 W; 24 O
Financial panic of 1837 leads to economic depression that lasts until 1842  
1838     Underground railroad becomes force in assisting slaves to reach the North and Canada
Forced removal of Cherokee Indians from their native land in Georgia to Oklahoma begins (Trail of Tears)
 
1839   26th 1839–1841
Senate: 28 D; 22 W
House: 124 D; 118 W
   
1840     6th census: U.S. population 17,063,353
Great National Pike completed (Cumberland, MD, to Vandalia, IL; formerly known as the Cumberland Road)
 
1841 William Henry Harrison: 1841 (Whig)
John Tyler: 1841-1845 (Whig)
27th 1841–1843
Senate: 28 W; 22 D; 2 O
House: 133 W; 102 D; 6 O
First wagon train leaves for California from Independence, MO (47 people) Bankruptcy Act of 1841
1842     Dorr's Rebellion in Rhode Island (demanded new state constitution guaranteeing equal voting rights)
Settlement of Oregon begins via Oregon Trail
Webster-Ashburton Treaty fixes northern border of U.S. in Maine and Minnesota
 
1843   28th 1843–1845
Senate: 28 W; 25 D; 1 O
House: 142 D; 79 W; 1 O
   
1844     Treaty of Wanghia signed with China; opens five Chinese ports to American commerce
Commercial telegraph service begins
 
1845 James K. Polk: 1845–1849 (Democratic) 29th 1845–1847
Senate: 31 D; 25 W
House: 143 D; 77 W; 6 O
Texas annexed by U.S.; Mexico breaks off relations with U.S.  

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1846     Mexican-American War begins (1846-1848)
Treaty with Great Britain setting northern boundary of Oregon Territory at 49th parallel
 
1847   30th 1847–1849
Senate: 36 D; 21 W; 1 O
House: 115 W; 108 D; 4 O
Establishment of new government in California begins after treaty ends Mexican-American War hostilities there  
1848     Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War
California gold rush begins
First women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY
 
1849 Zachary Taylor: 1849–1850 (Whig) 31st 1849–1851
Senate: 35 D; 25 W; 2 O
House: 112 D; 109 W; 9 O
Mormons establish state of Deseret after migration to Utah from Illinois (1846); Deseret becomes Territory of Utah in 1850  
1850 Millard Fillmore: 1850–1853 (Whig)   7th census: U.S. population 23,191,876 Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
1851   32d 1851–1853
Senate: 35 D; 24 W; 3 O
House: 140 D; 88 W; 5 O
   
1852     Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin  
1853 Franklin Pierce: 1853–1857 (Democratic) 33d 1853–1855
Senate: 38 D; 22 W; 2 O
House: 159 D; 71 W; 4 O
Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan to deliver letter from the president, who wants to open trade
Gadsden Purchase (southern areas of present-day Arizona and New Mexico)
 
1854     Treaty of Kanagawa opens Japanese ports to the U.S.
Large-scale immigration of Chinese begins
First American oil company incorporated (Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co.)
Kansas Nebraska Act
1855   34th 1855–1857
Senate: 40 D; 15 R; 5 O
House: 108 R; 83 D; 43 O
U.S. Court of Claims established
Congress authorizes construction of telegraph line from Mississippi River to Pacific Ocean
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1856     Violence in Kansas breaks out between pro- and anti-slavery factions over question of slavery; federal troops keep temporary peace  
1857 James Buchanan: 1857–1861 (Democratic) 35th 1857–1859
Senate: 36 D; 20 R; 8 O
House: 118 D; 92 R; 26 O
Dred Scott case decided by Supreme Court (decision says Scott is not a citizen, therefore cannot sue in federal court; his residence in a free state does not make him free; Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional)
Financial panic results from speculation in railroad securities and real estate
 
1858        
1859   36th 1859–1861
Senate: 36 D; 26 R; 4 O
House: 114 R; 92 D; 31 O
Kansas approves constitution making it a free state
Harper's Ferry incident (abolitionist John Brown and 21 other men seize a U.S. Armory, are captured, Brown is hanged)
First trip of a Pullman sleeping car on a railroad is completed
 
1860     8th census: U.S. population 31,443,321
South Carolina is first state to secede from Union
 
1861 Abraham Lincoln: 1861–1865 (Republican) 37th 1861–1863
Senate: 31 R; 10 D; 8 O
House: 105 R; 43 D; 30 O
Confederate government created; Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
Civil War begins (1861-1865)
First transcontinental telegraph line is completed
Civil War Pensions
First Confiscation Act
1862       Homestead Act
Militia Act
Morrill Land Grant Act
Second Confiscation Act
1863   38th 1863–1865
Senate: 36 R; 9 D; 5 O
House: 102 R; 75 D; 9 O
Pres. Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
Draft riots in New York City, about 1000 killed, some blacks lynched
Enrollment Act (Conscription Act)
1864     J. P. Morgan & Co. established National Bank Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1865 Andrew Johnson: 1865–1869 (Democratic) 39th 1865–1867
Senate: 42 U; 10 D
House: 149 U; 42 D
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders to Gen. U. S. Grant at Appomattox Court House
Pres. Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theater, Washington, DC
Thirteenth Amendment is ratified (abolished slavery)
Freedmen's Bureau Act
1866     Reconstruction of the South begins
Ku Klux Klan founded
Fourteenth Amendment enacted by Congress (guarantees that no person is to be denied life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness by a state without due process of law)
First refrigerated rail car built
Civil Rights Act of 1866
1867   40th 1867–1869
Senate: 42 R; 11 D
House: 143 R; 49 D
U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
National Grange is formed to protect farmer's interests
Reconstruction Acts (1867–1868)
1868     House of Representatives votes to impeach Andrew Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act after he tries to remove the secretary of war from office; Senate one vote short of two-thirds required for conviction  
1869 Ulysses S. Grant: 1869–1877 (Republican) 41st 1869–1871
Senate: 56 R; 11 D
House: 149 R; 63 D
Congress enacts Fifteenth Amendment (makes it illegal to deprive a citizen of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude)
National Woman Suffrage Association organized
Freedmen's Bureau goes out of operation
First transcontinental railroad completed with the joining of Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads at Promontory, UT
Knights of Labor (national labor union) formed
 
1870     9th census: U.S. population 38,558,371
Justice Department is created
Standard Oil Co. is incorporated
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1871   42d 1871–1873
Senate: 52 R; 17 D 5 O
House: 134 R; 104 D; 5 O
The Tweed Ring in New York City (led by Boss William Tweed of Tammany Hall) is broken up
Race riots against Chinese in Los Angeles; 15 lynched
Disastrous fire in Chicago destroys over 17,000 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless
Ku Klux Klan Act
Force Act
1872       Mail Fraud Statute
Yellowstone National Park Act
1873   43d 1873–1875
Senate: 49 R; 19 D; 5 O
House: 194 R; 92 D; 14 O
U.S. monetary policy shifts from bimetallic standard to gold standard
Financial panic of 1873 results in New York Stock Exchange closing for ten days, substantial unemployment, and drastic fall in security prices
Bethlehem Steel Co. begins operating
Coinage Act
Comstock Act
1874        
1875   44th 1875–1877
Senate: 45 R; 29 D; 2 O
House: 169 D; 109 R; 14 O
  Civil Rights Act of 1875
1876     Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana; Col. George Custer and 266 are surrounded and killed in "Custer's last stand"
Alexander Graham Bell receives patent for telephone, makes first telephone call
 
1877 Rutherford B. Hayes: 1877–1881 (Republican) 45th 1877–1879
Senate: 39 R; 36 D; 1 O
House: 153 D; 140 R
Federal troops withdraw from South in return for allowing Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in disputed election (Compromise of 1877)
Strike on Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in protest of wage cuts leads to strikes on other railroads; 100,000 workers eventually involved
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1878     First commercial telephone exchange opened, New Haven, CT Bland-Allison Act
Posse Comitatus Act
1879   46th 1879–1881
Senate: 42 D; 33 R; 1 O
House: 149 D; 130 R; 14 O
First Woolworth five-and-dime store opens
Incandescent electric lamp invented by Thomas Edison
 
1880     10th census: U.S. population 50,155,783  
1881 James A. Garfield: 1881 (Republican)
Chester A. Arthur: 1881-1885 (Republican)
47th 1881–1883
Senate: 37 R; 37 D; 1 O
House: 147 R; 135 D; 11 O
Pres. Garfield shot and killed in Washington, DC, by disappointed office seeker
Sitting Bull and Sioux surrender to U.S. Army
Southern Pacific Railroad completed (New Orleans to Pacific)
Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington
Western Union Telegraph Co. formed
 
1882     First trust formed by Standard Oil Co.
Severe strikes in iron and steel industry
Chinese Exclusion Act
1883   48th 1883–1885
Senate: 38 R; 36 D; 2 O
House: 197 D; 118 R; 10 O
Brooklyn Bridge in New York City completed
Northern Pacific Railroad completed
Civil Services Act (Pendleton Act)
1884     Statue of Liberty presented to U.S. by France (arrives in U.S. 1885, dedicated 1886)
First tall building to use steel beams is erected (Home Insurance Building, Chicago)
First large-scale electric street car system established in Richmond, VA
First long-distance telephone service established between New York and Boston
 
1885 Grover Cleveland: 1885–1889 (Democratic) 49th 1885–1887
Senate: 43 R; 34 D
House: 183 D; 140 R; 2 O
   
1886     Apache Indians (Southwest) surrender to U.S.
Haymarket Massacre in Chicago
American Federation of Labor (AFL) organized by 25 labor groups
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1887   50th 1887–1889
Senate: 39 R; 37 D
House: 169 D; 152 R; 4 O
Free mail delivery begins in cities of 10,000 or more
The Interstate Commerce Commission, first U.S. regulatory commission, is created to regulate railroads
Indian General Allotment Act (Dawes Act)
Interstate Commerce Act
1888     Department of Labor established  
1889 Benjamin Harrison: 1889–1893 (Republican) 51st 1889–1891
Senate: 39 R; 37 D
House: 166 R; 159 D
Carnegie Steel Co. organized by Andrew Carnegie  
1890     11th census: U.S. population 62,979,766
Sioux Indians are defeated at Wounded Knee; last major battle of Indian wars
Sherman Antitrust Act
1891   52d 1891–1893
Senate: 47 R; 39 D; 2 O
House: 235 D; 88 R; 9 O
Immigration and Naturalization Service is established  
1892     Ellis Island opens as an immigration receiving station  
1893 Grover Cleveland:1893–1897 (Democratic) 53d 1893–1895
Senate: 44 D; 38 R; 3 O
House: 218 D; 127 R; 11 O
Free mail delivery extended to rural communities
Stock market crash, financial panic of 1893 begins, 491 banks and 15,000 commercial institutions fail; economy in severe depression until 1897
 
1894     American Railway Union strikes at Pullman plant in Chicago; federal injunction breaks strike 1894 Income Tax and the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act
1895   54th 1895–1897
Senate: 43 R; 39 D; 6 O
House: 244 R; 105 D; 7 O
Internal combustion engine patented; first automobile company started  
1896     Supreme Court upholds Louisiana law calling for "separate but equal" accommodations on public transportation in Plessy v. Ferguson  
1897 William McKinley: 1897–1901 (Republican) 55th 1897–1899
Senate: 47 R; 34 D; 7 O
House: 204 R; 113 D; 40 O
Thomas Edison patents a movie camera
First section of a U.S. subway opens, in Boston
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1898     Spanish-American War begins and ends; Spain cedes Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam to U.S. and relinquishes all claims to Cuba  
1899   56th 1899–1901
Senate: 53 R; 26 D; 8 O
House: 197 R; 151 D; 9 O
Filipino nationalists revolt against U.S.
First Hague Conference held; 26 nations participate
 
1900     12th census: U.S. population 76,212,168
U.S. announces Open Door Policy in China (opens Chinese markets to all nations)
Gold Standard Act
1901 Theodore Roosevelt: 1901–1909 (Republican) 57th 1901–1903
Senate: 55 R; 31 D; 4 O
House: 197 R; 151 D; 9 O
Pres. McKinley assassinated in Buffalo, NY, by an anarchist  
1902     Pres. Roosevelt asks attorney general to bring first antitrust suit to dissolve a railroad holding company National Reclamation Act
Panama Canal Purchase Act
1903   58th 1903–1905
Senate: 57 R; 33 D
House: 208 R; 178 D
Hay-Herran Treaty with Colombia provides for 100-year lease of 10-mile-wide strip across isthmus of Panama for canal
Wright brothers demonstrate first motor-driven airplane
 
1904     Muckraker Ida Tarbell publishes The History of the Standard Oil Company
First section of New York City subway opens
 
1905   59th 1905–1907
Senate: 57 R; 33 D
House: 250 R; 136 D
   
1906     Upton Sinclair publishes The Jungle, muckraking account of the meat-packing industry
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 100 for the first time
Antiquities Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
1907   60th 1907–1909
Senate: 61 R; 31 D
House: 222 R; 164 D
Food and Drug Administration begins operation
Financial panic of 1907
Indiana passes world's first compulsory sterilization law for "all confirmed criminals, idiots, rapists, and imbeciles" held in state institutions; 32 states eventually adopt such laws
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1908     Bureau of Investigation formed (later to become FBI)
Model T automobile introduced by Henry Ford, sells for $850
Federal Employers' Liability Act
1909 William Howard Taft:1909-1913 (Republican) 61st 1909–1911
Senate: 61 R; 32 D
House: 219 R; 172 D
Congress passes Sixteenth Amendment (allows federal income tax; ratified 1913)
NAACP created
Corporate Income Tax Act
1910     13th Census: U.S. population 92,228,496 Mann Act
1911   62d 1911–1913
Senate: 51 R; 41 D
House: 228 D; 161 R; 1 O
Supreme Court orders dissolution of Standard Oil Co. as a monopoly; same goes for the American Tobacco Co. and the DuPont Co.  
1912        
1913 Woodrow Wilson: 1913–1921 (Democratic) 63d 1913–1915
Senate: 51 D; 44 R; 1 O
House: 291 D; 127 R; 17 O
Seventeenth Amendment ratified (calls for popular election of senators)
First drive-in gasoline station opens in Pittsburgh, PA
Ford Motor Co. introduces conveyor-belt assembly-line production of cars
Federal Income Tax Act of 1913
Federal Reserve Act
1914     War breaks out in Europe; Woodrow Wilson issues neutrality proclamation
Federal Trade Commission established
Commercial traffic begins on Panama Canal
Margaret Sanger launches The Woman Rebel, feminist magazine dedicated to birth control; is indicted for "inciting violence and promoting obscenity" (goes on to found first family planning clinic, 1916; American Birth Control League, precursor to planned parenthood, 1921)
Clayton Act
Federal Trade Commission Act
Narcotics Act
 
1915   64th 1915–1917
Senate: 56 D; 40 R
House: 230 D; 196 R; 9 O
First transcontinental telephone call
Film Birth of a Nation debuts and increases support for the new Ku Klux Klan
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1916   Congress votes to increase size of army; authorizes 450,000 person national guard
U.S. buys Danish West Indies
In first half of year, nearly 2,100 strikes and lockouts occur
First woman elected to House of Representatives (Jeanette Rankin, R-MT)
Keating-Owen Act
National Park Service Act
1917 65th 1917–1919
Senate: 53 D; 42 R
House: 216 D; 210 R; 6 O
U.S. declares war on Germany and on Austria-Hungary; first U.S. troops arrive in Europe
Puerto Rico becomes U.S. territory
Espionage Act
Selective Service Act
Trading With the Enemy Act
Vocational Education Act
1918   Woodrow Wilson outlines "Fourteen Points" for a peace program
Armistice signed with Germany and Austria-Hungary
Regular airmail service established (between Washington, DC, and New York City)
Influenza epidemic kills around 20 million people worldwide; 548,000 die in U.S.
Sedition Act
1919 66th 1919–1921
Senate: 49 R; 47 D
House: 240 R; 190 D; 3 O
Treaty of Versailles signed by Germany and Allies (excluding Russia)
In Schenck v. United States, Supreme Court finds that free speech can be restricted in wartime, upholding Espionage and Sedition Acts
Riots in Chicago, Washington, and many other cities
National Prohibition Act
1920   14th Census: U.S. population 106,021,537
Eighteenth Amendment goes into effect (Prohibition)
Nineteenth Amendment goes into effect (women's suffrage)
American Civil Liberties Union founded
First commercial radio broadcasts
Merchant Marine Act
Mineral Leasing Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1921 Warren G. Harding: 1921–1923 (Republican) 67th 1921–1923
Senate: 59 R; 37 D
House: 301 R; 131 D; 1 O
Congress limits the number of immigrants from each country to 3 percent of the number of that foreign-born nationality living in U.S.
First state sales tax levied (West Virginia)
 
1922        
1923 Calvin Coolidge: 1923–1929 (Republican) 68th 1923–1925
Senate: 51 R; 43 D; 2 O
House: 225 R; 205 D; 5 O
Pres. Harding dies in San Francisco during return trip from Alaska
First transcontinental nonstop plane flight
First sound-on-film motion picture (Phonofilm) shown in New York City
 
1924     Regular transcontinental air service begins
Annual immigration quota reduced to 2 percent of number of that foreign-born nationality living in U.S.
Congress passes law making all Indians U.S. citizens
First woman elected state governor (Nellie Tayloe Ross, D-WY)
Bonus Bill (Adjusted Compensation Act)
1925   69th 1925–1927
Senate: 56 R; 39 D; 1 O
House: 247 R; 183 D; 4 O
National Aircraft Board created to investigate government's role in aviation  
1926     First liquid-fuel rocket demonstrated by Robert H. Goddard, Auburn, MA  
1927   70th 1927–1929
Senate: 49 R; 46 D; 1 O
House: 237 R; 195 D; 3 O
Charles Lindbergh makes first New York-Paris nonstop flight  
1928        
1929 Herbert Hoover: 1929–1933 (Republican) 71st 1929–1931
Senate: 56 R; 39 D; 1 O
House: 267 R; 167 D;1 O
Teapot Dome scandal (former secretary of state is found guilty of leasing government land for bribes)
Stock market crash sets off Great Depression (1929-1939)
Migratory Bird Conservation Act
1930     15th census: U.S. population 123,202,624
Bank of the United States in New York closes; over 2,100 banks close between late 1929 and end of 1930
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1931   72d 1931–1933
Senate: 48 R; 47 D; 1 O
House: 220 R; 214 D; 1 O
   
1932     Bonus March on Washington, DC (WWI veterans demand early payment of their bonus)
First woman elected to U.S. Senate (Hattie W. Caraway, D-AR)
Federal Home Loan Bank Act
Norris-LaGuardia Act
1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933–1945 (Democratic) 73d 1933–1935
Senate: 60 D; 35 R; 1 O
House: 310 D; 117 R; 5 O
An estimated 25 percent of the workforce is unemployed
First 100 days of Roosevelt administration marked by passage of much New Deal social and economic legislation
U.S. officially goes off gold standard
Congress passes legislation providing for independence of the Philippine Islands after 12 years
U.S. recognizes U.S.S.R.
Twentieth Amendment ratified (moves presidential inauguration and beginning of congressional term to January; were previously in March)
Twenty-first Amendment goes into effect (repeals Eighteenth Amendment)
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Farm Credit Act
Federal Deposit Insurance Act
Glass-Steagall Act
National Industrial Recovery Act
Securities Act of 1933
Tennessee Valley Authority Act
1934     Dust storms in Midwest blow thousands of tons of topsoil away (Dust Bowl)
Longshoremen strike in San Francisco leads to first general strike in the U.S.
Communications Act
Gold Reserve Act
Indian Reorganization Act
Securities Exchange Act
1935   74th 1935–1937
Senate: 69 D; 25 R; 2 O
House: 319 D; 103 R; 10 O
George H. Gallup founds Institute of Public Opinion, which holds Gallup polls
First U.S. Savings Bonds issued
Committee of Industrial Organization, precursor to Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), created
Aid to Dependent Children
Motor Carrier Act
National Labor Relations Act
Neutrality Acts (1935-1939)
Public Utility Holding Company Act
Social Security Act
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
1936       Commodity Exchange Act
Rural Electrification Act
Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1937   75th 1937–1939
Senate: 76 D; 16 R; 4 O
House: 331 D; 89 R; 13 O
First African-American federal judge (William H. Hastie)
Pres. Roosevelt's plan to increase number of Supreme Court justices from 9 to 16 is defeated
United States Housing Act
1938     House Committee on Un-American Activities created to investigate subversive activities
Federal minimum wage established
Civil Aeronautics Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Natural Gas Act
1939   76th 1939–1941
Senate: 69 D; 23 R; 4 O
House: 261 D; 164 R; 4 O
U.S. declares neutrality in World War II
Scientists, including Albert Einstein, warn Pres. Roosevelt of possibility of atomic bomb
Federal Unemployment Tax Act
Hatch Act
1940     16th census: U.S. population 132,164,569
Congress approves first peacetime draft
 
1941   77th 1941–1943
Senate: 66 D; 28 R; 2 O
House: 268 D; 162 R; 5 O
First commercial television license issued to NBC
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
U.S. enters World War II
Lend-Lease Act
Public Debt Act
1942     Manhattan Project organized for production of atomic bomb
10,000 Japanese-Americans on West Coast are relocated to camps in the interior
 
1943   78th 1943–1945
Senate: 58 D; 37 R; 1 O
House: 218 D; 208 R; 4 O
Building of Pentagon (to house Department of Defense) completed  
1944     Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, lays groundwork for United Nations
First large scale digital computer completed by IBM, given to Harvard University
Veterans' Preference Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1945 Harry S. Truman: 1945–1953 (Democratic) 79th 1945–1947
Senate: 56 D; 38 R; 1 O
House: 242 D; 190 R; 2 O
Pres. Roosevelt dies suddenly while on vacation
First atomic bomb detonated successfully in New Mexico
Germany agrees to unconditional surrender; German occupational zones established
Pres. Truman orders dropping of two atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan quickly surrenders; U.S. begins occupation
United Nations is formed as representatives of 50 nations meet in San Francisco
Nuremberg War Crimes Trials begin
Lend-Lease program ends
Export-Import Bank Act
United Nations Participation Act
1946     U.S. gives Philippine Islands independence
U.N. General Assembly holds first session
World Bank organizes
Administrative Procedure Act
Atomic Energy Act
Employment Act of 1946
Farmers Home Administration Act
Federal Tort Claims Act
Foreign Service Act
Hill-Burton Act
Hobbs Anti-Racketeering Act
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
1947   80th 1947–1949
Senate: 51 R; 45 D
House: 245 R; 188 D; 1 O
The president pledges aid to Greece and Turkey (to prevent the spread of communism), known as the "Truman Doctrine"
U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force combined into Defense Department; Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council created (National Security Act)
National Security Act
Taft-Hartley Act
1948     U.S.S.R. blockades Allied sectors of Berlin; U.S. and British airlift food and coal into city (blockade ends in 1949)
Universal Declaration on Human Rights adopted by U.N. General Assembly
Israel declared an independent state
Executive order issued by Pres. Truman outlawing racial segregation in armed forces
Organization of American States formed by 21 Western Hemisphere nations
Economic Cooperation Act (Marshall Plan)
United States Information and Educational Exchange Act
Federal Water Pollution Control Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1949   81st 1949–1951
Senate: 54 D; 42 R
House: 263 D; 171 R; 1 O
North Atlantic Treaty signed; NATO created Central Intelligence Agency Act
1950     17th census: U.S. population 151,325,798
Korean War begins when North Korea invades South Korea; U.S. leads U.N. troops
Thirty-five military advisers, along with arms and supplies, sent to South Vietnam to aid anti-Communist government
Army seizes railroads to prevent general strike (ordered by Pres. Truman)
Federal Civil Defense Act
1951   82d 1951–1953
Senate: 49 D; 47 R
House: 234 D; 199 R; 1 O
Twenty-second Amendment ratified (sets a maximum of two terms for the presidency)
Credit card is introduced by Franklin National Bank of New York
Mutual Security Act
1952     First hydrogen bomb tested
Pres. Truman orders seizure of steel mills to prevent strike; Supreme Court rules seizure is unconstitutional
Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man published
Immigration and Nationality Act
1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953–1961 (Republican) 83d 1953–1955
Senate: 48 R; 47 D; 1 O
House: 221 R; 211 D; 1 O
Armistice signed in Korea Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
Small Business Act
1954     Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas)
Senator Joseph McCarthy conducts televised hearings concerning Communists in the U.S. government and Democratic Party
Southeast Treaty Organization created
First atomic-powered submarine is launched
Communist Control Act
Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act
Internal Revenue Act of 1954

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1955   84th 1955–1957
Senate: 48 D; 47 R; 1 O
House: 232 D; 203 r
American occupation of Germany ends
U.S. agrees to help train South Vietnamese Army
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, AL; this leads to a boycott of buses and to Supreme Court decision that outlaws segregation in public transportation
AFL and CIO, two largest labor organizations in U.S., merge
McDonald's fast-food chain founded
National Housing Act (Capehart Act)
1956     Commercial telephone service over transatlantic cable begins
Minimum wage raised to __BODY__ per hour
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 500 for the first time
Highway Act of 1956
1957   85th 1957–1959
Senate: 49 D; 47 R
House: 233 D; 200 R
Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded, Martin Luther King, Jr., president Civil Rights Act of 1957
1958     National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) created Federal Aviation Act
National Aeronautics and Space Act
1959   86th 1959–1961
Senate: 64 D; 34 R
House: 283 D; 153 R
Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet premier, visits U.S.  
1960     18th Census: U.S. population 179,323,175
Russia announces it shot down an American U-2 spy plane; President Eisenhower says he authorized the flight
Sit-ins begin when 4 black college students refuse to move from a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee established
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1961 John F. Kennedy: 1961–1963 (Democratic) 87th 1961–1963
Senate: 65 D; 35 R
House: 263 D; 174 R
Bay of Pigs invasion by Cuban exiles is crushed
Peace Corps created by executive order; legislation follows
Twenty-third Amendment ratified (allows residents of District of Columbia to vote for president)
Minimum wage raised to __BODY__.25 per hour
Arms Control and Disarmament Act
Foreign Assistance Act
Peace Corps Act
1962     Cuban missile crisis (Soviet missile buildup in Cuba)
Cesar Chavez organizes National Farm Workers Association
John Glenn becomes first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth
Bribery Act
1963 Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963–1969 (Democratic) 88th 1963–1965
Senate: 67 D; 33 R
House: 258 D; 177 R
Pres. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, TX
Dr. Martin Luther King gives "I have a dream" speech during March on Washington for equal rights, Washington, DC
Ninety-nine nations, including U.S., U.S.S.R., and Great Britain agree to limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Clean Air Act
Equal Pay Act
1964     Pres. Johnson announces air attacks on Vietnam; Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress gives the president broad authority for military action in Vietnam
Three civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, MS; 21 white men arrested, 7 convicted of conspiracy in killings
Twenty-fourth Amendment ratified (bars poll tax in federal elections)
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Economic Opportunity Act
Food Stamp Act
Urban Mass Transportation Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1965   89th 1965–1967
Senate: 68 D; 32 R
House: 295 D; 140 R
First combat troops land in South Vietnam (125,000 total troops in Vietnam by year's end)
Malcolm X assassinated in New York City
Civil rights activists march 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, AL
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
Higher Education Act
Highway Beautification Act
Housing and Urban Development Act
Medicaid Act
Medicare Act
National Emissions Standard Act
Solid Waste Disposal Act
Voting Rights Act
1966     More than 10,000 protest Vietnam War in front of White House
National Organization for Women (NOW) established
Freedom of Information Act
Highway Safety Act
National Historic Preservation Act
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act
1967   90th 1967–1969
Senate: 64 D; 36 R
House: 246 D; 187 R
First African-American Supreme Court justice (Thurgood Marshall)
Blacks riot in Newark, NJ, and Detroit, MI
Twenty-fifth Amendment ratified (sets up presidential succession scheme)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Public Broadcasting Act
1968     Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy are assassinated
Lyndon B. Johnson announces that he will not seek reelection
Alcoholic and Narcotic Rehabilitation Act
Fair Housing Act
Gun Control Act
Indian Civil Rights Act
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
1969 Richard M. Nixon: 1969–1974 (Republican) 91st 1969–1971
Senate: 57 D; 43 R
House: 245 D; 189 R
Peace talks to end Vietnam War begin; 250,000 protest war in Washington, DC
U.S. astronauts land on moon
Consumer Credit Protection Act
National Environmental Policy Act
Truth in Lending Act
1970     19th Census: U.S. population 203,302,031
Four students at Kent State College in Ohio are killed during an antiwar demonstration
First draft lottery since WWII is held
Intel introduces its first computer memory chip
Controlled Substances Act
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Organized Crime Control Act
Plant Variety Protection Act
Rail Passenger Service Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1971   92d 1971–1973
Senate: 54 D; 44 R; 2 O
House: 254 D; 180 R
Pentagon Papers, classified documents on Vietnam War leaked to the press, published in newspapers
Amtrak begins operation
Twenty-sixth Amendment ratified (lowers voting age to 18)
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Federal Election Campaign Act
1972     Pres. Nixon makes historic visits to China and U.S.S.R.
Peace talks on Vietnam War begin and then stall
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I signed with U.S.S.R.
Five men are arrested for breaking into Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington, DC, beginning a series of events that would lead to Richard Nixon's resignation
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 1,000 for the first time
Federal Advisory Committee Act
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Title IX, Education Amendments
1973   93d 1973–1975
Senate: 56 D; 42 R; 2 O
House: 239 D; 192 R; 1 O
Cease fire signed between U.S., South Vietnam, and North Vietnam
OPEC oil embargo (Arab countries ban oil exports to U.S. because of U.S. support to Israel in Arab-Israeli War)
In Roe v. Wade Supreme Court rules that a state cannot prevent a woman from having an abortion in the first six months of pregnancy
Domestic Volunteer Service Act (VISTA)
Endangered Species Act
War Powers Resolution
1974 Gerald R. Ford: 1974–1977 (Republican)   House of Representatives authorizes an impeachment investigation of Pres. Nixon, votes and approves three impeachment articles; Nixon resigns
Work begins on Alaskan oil pipeline
Minimum wage raised to $2.00 per hour
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
Legal Services Corporation Act
Privacy Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Trade Act of 1974

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1975   94th 1975–1977
Senate: 61 D; 37 R; 2 O
House: 291 D; 144 R
Remaining U.S. military evacuated from Vietnam after the shelling of Saigon by Communist forces; South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally to the Viet Cong
U.S. military academies open to women
Minimum wage raised to $2.10 per hour
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
1976     Homestead Act of 1862 repealed for all states except Alaska
Apple I desktop computer introduced
Minimum wage raised to $2.30 per hour
Copyright Act of 1976
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
Government in the Sunshine Act
National Forest Management Act
Toxic Substances Control Act
1977 James E. Carter: 1977–1981 (Democratic) 95th 1977–1979
Senate: 61 D; 38 R; 1 O
House: 292 D; 143 R
Agreement between U.S. and Canada for oil pipeline from Alaska to continental U.S.
Pres. Carter pardons most Vietnam War draft evaders
Microsoft corporation is formed
Community Reinvestment Act
Department of Energy Organization Act
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
International Emergency Economic Powers Act
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
1978     Deregulation of the airline industry
Minimum wage raised to $2.65 per hour
Bankruptcy Act of 1978
Civil Service Reform Act
Contract Disputes Act
Ethics in Government Act
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
National Energy Conservation Policy Act
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Whistleblower Protection Laws
1979   96th 1979–1981
Senate: 58 D; 41 R; 1 O
House: 276 D; 157 R
Sixty-three U.S. citizens taken hostage when Iranian militants seize U.S. embassy in Tehran; black and women hostages released in just over two weeks
Nuclear accident (partial meltdown) at Three Mile Island, Middletown, PA
Minimum wage raised to $2.90 per hour
 

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1980     20th Census: U.S. population 226,542,203
Military mission to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran fails
Residents are evacuated from homes in Love Canal, Niagara Falls, NY, a former toxic waste dump
Minimum wage raised to $3.10 per hour
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act
Paperwork Reduction Act
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Staggers Rail Act
1981 Ronald W. Reagan: 1981–1989 (Republican) 97th 1981–1983
Senate: 53 R; 46 D; 1 O
House: 242 D; 189 R
Iran releases remaining 52 U.S. hostages
First manned space shuttle (Columbia) launched into space
Nationwide strike by Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association; most controllers are fired
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes first woman Supreme Court justice
Minimum wage raised to $3.35 per hour
 
1982     Equal Rights Amendment to Constitution defeated (would assure equal rights regardless of sex)
Unemployment reaches 10.8 percent of the labor force, highest since 1940
U.S. and Soviet Union hold arms control talks in Geneva, Switzerland
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
1983   98th 1983–1985
Senate: 54 R; 46 D
House: 268 D; 167 R
Soviet Union shoots down a Korean Airlines plane, killing all 269 passengers, including 52 Americans
U.S. Embassy in Beirut is bombed, killing 17 U.S. citizens; a truck bomb kills 241 Americans at a U.S. Marine compound in Beirut
 
1984     Truck filled with explosives strikes U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut; U.S. Marines are withdrawn from Beirut
As a result of an antitrust settlement, AT&T gives up 22 local Bell System telephone companies
Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Sentencing Reform Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1985   99th 1985–1987
Senate: 53 R; 47 D
House: 253 D; 182 R
U.S. and Soviet Union hold arms control talks in Geneva Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act)
1986     Pres. Reagan signs secret order authorizing sale of arms to Iran; Lt. Col. Oliver North is dismissed when it is learned that some proceeds from the arms sales helped finance Nicaraguan Contras
Space shuttle Challenger explodes in air after liftoff, killing entire crew
Anti-Drug Abuse Act
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Tax Reform Act
1987   100th 1987–1989
Senate: 55 D; 45 R
House: 258 D; 177 R
Iran-Contra hearings in Congress last about three months
U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign treaty banning medium- and short-range missiles
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 2,000 for the first time
Computer Security Act
McKinney-Vento Act
1988     Senate approves free trade agreement made with Canada (1987), all tariffs between the two countries will be eliminated by 1999 Civil Liberties Act
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
1989 George H. W. Bush: 1989–1993 (Republican) 101st 1989–1991
Senate: 55 D; 45 R
House: 260 D; 175 R
Oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, runs aground on a reef in Prince William Sound, off the coast of Alaska, creating largest oil spill in American history
Failing savings and loan industry receives $159 million bailout legislated by Congress
20,000 U.S. troops invade Panama, overthrow regime of Manuel Noriega
Minimum wage raised to $4.25 per hour
Flag Protection Act
1990     21st census: U.S. population 249,632,692
U.N. forces begin air attacks on Iraq, after Iraq invades Kuwait
Administrative Dispute Resolution Act
Americans with Disabilities Act
Negotiated Rulemaking Act
Oil Pollution Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1991   102d 1991–1993
Senate: 56 D; 44 R
House: 267 D; 167 R; 1 O
First Persian Gulf War begins and ends, freeing Kuwait from Iraqi occupation
U.S.S.R. is formally dissolved, effectively ending the Cold War
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 3,000 for the first time
 
1992     Representatives from Canada, Mexico, and U.S. approve draft agreement establishing free trade among the three nations in 15 years
Riots in south-central Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white police officers on charges of brutality against a black man, Rodney King
Twenty-seventh Amendment is ratified (legislated pay raises for congress don't take effect until a new Congress is convened)
Weapons of Mass Destruction Control Act
1993 William J. Clinton: 1993–2001 (Democratic) 103d 1993–1995
Senate: 56 D; 44 R
House: 258 D; 176 R; 1 O
Bomb explodes in parking garage beneath World Trade Center, killing 6 people
Twenty U.S. soldiers are killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, in an effort to protect food shipment and distribution to the population
Second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed with Russia
U.S. and 117 other countries agree to GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), to be signed in 1995, will remove export barriers and tariffs on thousands of products
Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act
Family and Medical Leave Act
NAFTA Implementation Act
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
1994     U.S. and North Korea sign agreement that allows for U.N. inspection of North Korea nuclear facilities
Republicans win control of Congress for the first time since 1952; Newt Gingrich to become Speaker of the House (1995-1999)
Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act
Federal Blackmail Statute
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
Violence Against Women Act
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1995   104th 1995–1997
Senate: 52 R; 48 D
House: 230 R; 204 D; 1 O
U.S. troops arrive in Balkans as part of U.N. force, mission is to halt years of fighting in Bosnia
Bombing of Oklahoma City Federal Building, killing 160 people
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 4,000 (Feb.) and 5,000 (Nov.) for the first time
Lobbying Disclosure Act
1996     Nineteen U.S. military personnel die, several hundred wounded, in bombing of military complex near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Minimum wage raised to $4.75 per hour
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 6,000 for the first time
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
Communications Decency Act
Defense of Marriage Act
Food Quality Protection Act
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
1997   105th 1997–1999
Senate: 55 R; 45 D
House: 226 R; 208 D; 1 O
Settlement for $368.5 billion reached between four major tobacco companies and several state attorneys general (a $200 billion settlement with 46 states would happen in 1998)
Minimum wage raised to $5.15
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 7,000 (Feb.) and 8,000 (July) for the first time
 
1998     House of Representatives approves two articles of impeachment against Pres. Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice; he is accused of lying under oath about his relationship with a White House intern
Newt Gingrich steps down as Speaker of the House and leaves Congress amid ethics charges and poor results in the midterm congressional elections
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 9,000 for the first time
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
Taxpayer Bill of Rights III

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
1999   106th 1999–2001
Senate: 54 R; 46 D
House: 222 R; 208 D; 1 O
Two students of Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, open fire and kill 12 students and a teacher, then commit suicide; at least 4 other school shootings occur during the year
Pres. Clinton impeached but not convicted; investigation led by independent council Kenneth Starr reveals much about Clinton's sexual indiscretions
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes over 10,000 (Mar.) and 11,000 (May) for the first time
 
2000     Disputed results in the presidential election, centering around election results and ballot irregularities in Florida, lead to a Supreme Court decision that does not allow a vote recount to proceed in that state; George W. Bush declared winner over Al Gore, who won the popular vote
U.S.S. Cole, an American ship, is bombed by terrorists while refueling in Yemen; 17 sailors killed, 39 injured in the blast
"Dot com" boom experienced throughout the late 1990s begins to go bust, starting with the bursting of the stock market "bubble" in March; 4 of the 10 greatest point losses on the Dow Jones Industrial Average occur this year (3 of the 10 greatest point increases occur as well)
Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
2001 George W. Bush: 2001–(Republican) 107th 2001–2003
Senate: 50 D; 49 R; 1 O
House: 222 R; 211 D; 1 O
On September 11, the U.S. comes under terrorist attack when two hijacked planes fly into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, another plane flies into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in Pennsylvania
Letters containing Anthrax spores, sent to congressmen and journalists, contaminate the U.S. mail system
U.S. begins bombing of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban (Islamic fundamentalist party in power) and capture Osama Bin Laden (leader of Al-Qaeda, the group thought responsible for the September 11 attacks); Taliban removed from power, Bin Laden not captured
No Child Left Behind Act
USA Patriot Act
2002     The Enron Corporation collapses as a scandal regarding the company's accounting practices emerges, its share prices plummet and the company declares bankruptcy; other similar corporate scandals follow
Bush administration begins to announce an aggressive policy toward Iraq, including the possibility of a "preemptive" strike with the aim of "regime change"; U.N. passes resolution sending weapons inspectors to Iraq; Congress passes resolution authorizing the president to use military force in Iraq
Born-Alive Infants Protection Act
Department of Homeland Security Act

YEAR PRESIDENT CONGRESS US HISTORY LEGISLATION
2003   108th 2003-2005
Senate: 51 R; 48 D; 1 O
House: 229 R; 205 D; 1 O
Although U.N. weapons inspectors are still at work, U.S., Britain, and allies declare that Iraq has not disarmed and is in violation of a U.N. resolution passed in November 2002; U.S. is unable to get U.N. approval for the use of force against Iraq because of international opposition; U.S. and a "coalition of the willing" attack Iraq without U.N. approval and win war easily; after Pres. Bush declares an end to major combat a guerilla war ensues; reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure proves to be more costly than thought; as of five months after Bush's declaration of victory, banned weapons—the major rationale for the war—had not been found
Space shuttle Columbia breaks apart during reentry killing all seven crew members; independent investigation of accident lasts nearly seven months and concludes that flaws in NASA's management and culture were underlying causes of the disaster
In California, a petition gathers enough signatures to force a recall election for governor (incumbent is Gray Davis [D]); 135 candidates to appear on ballot, including actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
Massive, rolling blackout across northern Midwest, Canada, and northeastern U.S. results in 50 million people losing power
 
Timeline

©2004 by Macmillan Reference USA. Macmillan Reference USA is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.


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