U.S. Congress

Kansas-Nebraska Act Repeals Missouri Compromise, Triggering Violent Territorial Conflict

1854-05-30 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Congress passes and President Franklin Pierce signs the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska while repealing the Missouri Compromise’s prohibition on slavery north of the 36°30’ parallel. The Act, drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, …

Stephen A. Douglas Franklin Pierce U.S. Congress Pro-slavery Border Ruffians Free-State settlers kansas-nebraska-act slavery-expansion popular-sovereignty bleeding-kansas legislative-corruption +1 more

California Land Act of 1851 Enables Systematic Legal Theft from Mexican Land Grant Holders

1851-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress passes the California Land Act of 1851 (9 Stat. 631), sponsored by California Senator William M. Gwin, establishing a three-member Board of Land Commissioners to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants. The Act places the burden of proof of title on …

William M. Gwin U.S. Congress Board of Land Commissioners Californio landowners Anglo settlers +1 more california-land-act land-theft treaty-violation institutional-corruption legal-dispossession +1 more

Fugitive Slave Act Transforms Federal Government into Kidnapping Apparatus for Slaveholders

1850-09-18 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 10/10

Congress passes and President Millard Fillmore signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850, transforming the capture of freedom seekers from a state matter into a federal responsibility and converting the entire apparatus of federal law enforcement into an instrument of …

U.S. Congress Millard Fillmore Federal commissioners Federal marshals Slaveholders +1 more fugitive-slave-act slave-power federal-complicity institutional-corruption kidnapping +1 more

California Legislature Begins Funding State Militia Expeditions for Indigenous Genocide

1850-04-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

California achieves statehood on September 9, 1850, and the newly formed state legislature immediately begins authorizing and funding militia expeditions explicitly designed to kill Indigenous Californians and drive them from their ancestral lands. Between 1850 and 1861, California governors call …

California State Legislature California governors State militia Indigenous Californians U.S. Congress indigenous-genocide state-violence california-genocide institutional-corruption ethnic-cleansing

Mexican-American War Begins as Deliberate Land Grab for Slavery Expansion

1846-05-13 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

President James K. Polk obtains a declaration of war against Mexico after deliberately provoking hostilities by sending American troops into disputed territory between the Nueces River (Mexico’s claimed boundary) and the Rio Grande (Texas’s claimed boundary) in January 1846. When Mexican …

James K. Polk U.S. Congress Mexico Whig Party opposition Abraham Lincoln mexican-american-war slavery-expansion land-grab manifest-destiny institutional-corruption +1 more

Polk Deceives Congress into War Declaration with False American Blood Claims

1846-05-11 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

President James K. Polk presented Congress with a war message on May 11, 1846, claiming that Mexico “has at last invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil” after Mexican forces killed or wounded 16 U.S. soldiers in disputed territory between the …

James K. Polk Zachary Taylor U.S. Congress Abraham Lincoln Whig Party institutional-capture political-deception executive-overreach territorial-expansion slave-power

Texas Annexed as Slave State Despite Nine Years of Antislavery Opposition

1845-03-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Congress admits Texas to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845, following a nine-year political struggle that delayed annexation due to opposition from antislavery forces. The annexation represents a clear victory for Slave Power expansion: Texas arrives as a vast slave-holding region …

James K. Polk John Tyler John C. Calhoun U.S. Congress Mexico +1 more slavery-expansion texas-annexation manifest-destiny sectional-conflict institutional-corruption +1 more

Panic of 1837 Begins as Banks Refuse Specie Conversion, Triggering Five-Year Depression

1837-05-10 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Just two months into Martin Van Buren’s presidency, major New York state banks refuse to convert paper money into gold or silver on May 10, 1837, having exhausted their hard currency reserves. Other financial institutions across the country quickly follow suit, triggering the Panic of 1837—a …

Martin Van Buren Andrew Jackson New York banks State banks U.S. Congress financial-crisis economic-policy banking-system panic-1837 jackson-era +1 more

Treaty of New Echota Signed by Unauthorized Cherokee Minority Provides Legal Pretext for Forced Removal

1835-12-29 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

U.S. government officials sign the Treaty of New Echota with approximately 500 Cherokee Indians claiming to represent the 16,000-member Cherokee Nation, ceding all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River in exchange for territory in present-day Oklahoma and $5 million. The treaty is negotiated …

Cherokee Nation John Ross Treaty Party U.S. Congress Andrew Jackson +1 more indian-removal treaty-fraud ethnic-cleansing institutional-corruption trail-of-tears +1 more

Nicholas Biddle Deliberately Contracts Credit to Create "Biddle's Panic" and Force Bank Recharter

1833-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Following Andrew Jackson’s September 1833 removal of federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States, Bank president Nicholas Biddle responds by deliberately contracting credit nationwide to create economic distress and force Jackson to reverse his policy. Biddle raises interest …

Nicholas Biddle Second Bank of the United States Andrew Jackson Henry Clay U.S. Congress +2 more financial-manipulation economic-sabotage banking-system jackson-era institutional-corruption

Jackson Removes Federal Deposits to "Pet Banks" Selected Through Political Patronage, Not Financial Merit

1833-09-26 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President Andrew Jackson orders the removal of federal government deposits from the Second Bank of the United States and their redistribution to state-chartered banks derisively called “pet banks” because they are selected based on political loyalty rather than financial soundness. The …

Andrew Jackson Roger Taney Louis McLane William J. Duane U.S. Congress +1 more financial-manipulation institutional-corruption patronage jackson-era banking-system +1 more

South Carolina Nullification Crisis Previews Slave Power Secession Tactics

1832-11-24 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

A South Carolina state convention adopts the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 “null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens,” and threatening secession if the federal government attempts to collect tariff duties …

John C. Calhoun Andrew Jackson South Carolina Henry Clay U.S. Congress nullification slave-power states-rights secession-threat constitutional-crisis +1 more

Indian Removal Act Authorizes Ethnic Cleansing to Benefit Land Speculators and Slaveholders

1830-05-28 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 10/10

President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into law, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi River to Native American tribes in exchange for their ancestral homelands within existing state borders. The legislation passes narrowly in the House (102 to 97) despite …

Andrew Jackson U.S. Congress Cherokee Nation Five Civilized Tribes Land speculators +1 more ethnic-cleansing indian-removal institutional-corruption land-speculation slave-power +2 more

Tariff of Abominations Imposes 45% Import Taxes, Triggering Nullification Crisis and Sectional Conflict

1828-05-19 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress passes and President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828, an extraordinarily high protective tariff setting a 38% tax on some imported goods and a 45% tax on certain imported raw materials—the highest rates in American history to that point. The tariff seeks to protect Northern …

U.S. Congress John C. Calhoun Andrew Jackson Southern planters Northern manufacturers sectional-conflict nullification economic-extraction regional-exploitation slave-power

Missouri Compromise Institutionalizes Slavery Expansion Through Sectional Bargaining

1820-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress passes and President James Monroe signs the Missouri Compromise, federal legislation that balances the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery with those of southern states to expand it. The compromise admits Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state …

Henry Clay James Monroe U.S. Congress Slave Power advocates slave-power institutional-corruption territorial-expansion legislative-capture missouri-compromise

Civilization Fund Act Authorizes Federal Funding for Indigenous Assimilation Schools, Laying Groundwork for Boarding School System

1819-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Congress passes and President James Monroe signs the Civilization Fund Act (also known as the Indian Civilization Act), authorizing federal funding for organizations to run schools on Native American reservations with the explicit goal of assimilating Indigenous peoples into white society. The Act …

U.S. Congress President James Monroe Bureau of Indian Affairs Religious missions Protestant organizations +1 more forced-assimilation cultural-genocide indigenous-education institutional-corruption boarding-schools

National Road Reaches Wheeling, Demonstrating Federal Infrastructure Capability Despite Constitutional Debates

1818-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 6/10

The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, reaches Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River after seven years of construction, completing the first federally funded interstate highway in American history. President Thomas Jefferson had promoted the road to support westward …

U.S. Congress Thomas Jefferson George Washington Henry McKinley infrastructure internal-improvements westward-expansion constitutional-interpretation

Madison Vetoes Bonus Bill for Internal Improvements on Constitutional Grounds, Setting Precedent Against Federal Infrastructure

1817-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

On the last day of his administration, President James Madison vetoes the Bonus Bill, legislation proposed by Representative John C. Calhoun to earmark the $1.5 million revenue “bonus” and future dividends (estimated at $650,000 annually) from the recently established Second Bank of the …

President James Madison John C. Calhoun Henry Clay U.S. Congress constitutional-interpretation internal-improvements infrastructure states-rights institutional-obstruction

Tariff of 1816 Establishes Protectionism as Core of American System Economic Policy

1816-04-27 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Congress passes the Tariff of 1816, the first explicitly protective tariff in American history, taxing imported goods at a remarkable 25% rate to protect emerging domestic industries from cheap British goods flooding American markets after the War of 1812. The tariff represents the first pillar of …

Henry Clay U.S. Congress Northern manufacturers Southern planters economic-policy sectional-conflict protectionism american-system regional-extraction

Second Bank of the United States Chartered, Immediately Plagued by Speculation and Fraud

1816-04-10 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress charters the Second Bank of the United States as a privately owned institution with a 20-year federal charter, five years after the expiration of the First Bank of the United States. President James Madison, who had opposed the First Bank as unconstitutional in 1791, now supports the Second …

President James Madison U.S. Congress Second Bank of the United States William Jones financial-corruption banking-fraud institutional-capture speculation

War of 1812 Declared, Enabling Widespread Profiteering and Contractor Fraud

1812-06-18 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

The United States Congress declares war on Great Britain, initiating the War of 1812 ostensibly over British impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions, and western expansion conflicts. The declaration creates immediate opportunities for systematic profiteering, contractor fraud, and …

President James Madison U.S. Congress British Empire War profiteers war-profiteering institutional-corruption military-industrial-complex contractor-fraud

Embargo Act Demonstrates Economic Warfare Against Domestic Political Opposition

1807-12-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

President Thomas Jefferson signs the Embargo Act, prohibiting all American ships from leaving port in an attempt at economic coercion against Britain and France, who are seizing U.S. merchant vessels during the Napoleonic Wars. Jefferson chooses commercial warfare over military confrontation after …

President Thomas Jefferson U.S. Congress New England merchants Federalist Party economic-warfare federal-overreach regional-conflict democratic-resistance policy-failure

Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Signed After Constitutional 20-Year Protection Expires

1807-03-02 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President Thomas Jefferson signs into law the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves (2 Stat. 426), passed by Congress on March 2, 1807, prohibiting the importation of enslaved people into the United States effective January 1, 1808—the earliest date permitted by the Constitution’s Article I, …

Thomas Jefferson U.S. Congress Joseph Bradley Varnum slave-trade slavery constitutional-deadline federal-legislation

Quasi-War Enables Military-Industrial Expansion and Permanent Navy Establishment

1798-07-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Congress authorizes attacks on French warships and effectively declares an undeclared naval war against France, establishing the foundation for permanent American military expansion and the military-industrial complex. The Quasi-War begins after French privateers attack over 316 American merchant …

President John Adams Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert U.S. Congress George Washington French privateers military-expansion naval-buildup institutional-capture defense-spending permanent-military

Slave Trade Act of 1794 Prohibits American Ships from International Slave Trade

1794-03-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 6/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Slave Trade Act of 1794, prohibiting American ships from being used in the international slave trade and making it illegal to build, outfit, equip, or dispatch vessels for slave trading purposes. The Act represents an early federal …

U.S. Congress George Washington American ship owners slavery institutional-corruption slave-trade limited-reform

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 Creates Federal Enforcement Apparatus for Slavery

1793-02-12 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, federal legislation enforcing the Constitution’s Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) by authorizing slaveholders and their agents to pursue freedom seekers across state lines and establishing …

U.S. Congress George Washington Federal judges Slaveholders Freedom seekers slavery institutional-corruption fugitive-slave-act federal-complicity due-process-violation

First Bank of the United States Establishes Financial Elite Capture Pattern

1791-02-25 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President George Washington signs legislation creating the First Bank of the United States, establishing a national bank chartered for twenty years despite fierce constitutional opposition from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s proposal creates an …

Alexander Hamilton Thomas Jefferson James Madison George Washington U.S. Congress institutional-capture financial-system constitutional-conflict elite-corruption banking-power