 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves |
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The Act abolishes the slave trade in the United States but not the slave trade itself. This came at the same time Britain ended the slave trade, although Britain abolished all slavery several decades before the United States. The Constitution of the United States provided that the slave trade had to continue for 20 years past the document’s creation, and the slave trade was ended at the 20 year mark.
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| Alien Enemies Act |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war. In 2025, the President invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the exportation of Venezuelan suspected gang members.
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| Alien Friends Act |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war.
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| Alien Registration Act |
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This act, also known as the Smith Act, required all non-citizens entering and living within the U.S. to register their alien status with the government. It also set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. This law was written to address concerns about subversive activities on the eve of American involvement in World War II.
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| American Indian Religious Freedom Act |
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This act amended the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act to allow for the protected use of peyote as a sacrament in traditional religious ceremonies.
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| An Act For the removal of restrictions from part of the lands of allottees of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for other purposes |
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This congressional act established Oklahoma county probate courts as the main arbiters of land held by allottees of the Five Tribes. In particular, minors, incompetents, and deceased members of the Five Tribes were targeted for guardian interventions in the probate courts.
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| An Act making compensation to Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their companions |
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This Congressional act showed government interest in land appropriation. Exploration by white Americans laid foundations for tribal land dispossession.
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| An Act to Authorize the Sale of Certain Lands to the State of Oklahoma |
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This law authorized the state of Oklahoma to buy land once under the control of tribal nations, as the U.S. government resolved to terminate the special trustee relationship tribes held with the United States, further eroding tribal sovereignty.
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| An Act to continue in force and to amend "An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees,'' and for other Purposes |
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This act of Congress extended the Freedmen's Bureau until 1868. The Freedmen's Bureau was established during Reconstruction to manage the affairs of the formerly enslaved and refugees from the Civil War. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, but the veto was overridden by Congress.
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| An act to enable the President of the United States to take possession of the territories ceded by France to the United States |
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This federal law allowed the United States to ratify the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, and reflected United States ambitions toward empire, while ignoring critical issues regarding the incorporation of Native nations.
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| An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees |
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This act of Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau in order to provide aid and support to the formerly-enslaved people across the South.
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| An Act To provide for the appointment of additional judges of the United States court in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes |
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This excerpted congressional act reorganized the federal court system in Indian Territory. The establishment of United States courts worked to undermine tribal judicial systems by asserting broad federal authority over regional criminal and civil disputes.
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| An Act To provide for the care and support of insane persons in the Indian Territory |
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This act weaponized Western medical diagnoses against tribal citizens in Indian Territory for the purpose of incarceration and confinement. Nearly four hundred Native people, from fifty different nations, were confined to the Canton Asylum during its operation from 1902-1934.
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| An Act to Terminate Certain Federal Restrictions upon Indians |
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This act ended federal support for programs on Native reservations, as the U.S. government resolved to terminate the special trustee relationship tribes held with the United States, further eroding tribal sovereignty.
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| Burke Act |
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The Burke Act amended Section 6 of the Dawes Act to explicitly add competency as a legal marker for allottees, tying settler-colonial judgements of social and cultural behavior to land holding.
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| Cable Act |
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The Cable Act was a federal law that repealed the Expatriation Act, restoring United States citizenship to American women married to foreigners. The act reflected early goals from newly won women's suffrage.
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| Cherokee Allotment Act |
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Excerpts from this congressional act brought the Cherokee Nation into the federal process of allotment and gave the Dawes Commission exclusive jurisdiction over legal conflicts related to allotment.
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| Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 |
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The Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States, with exceptions granted for merchants, students, or diplomats.
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| Civil Liberties Act |
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This act granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been removed from their homes and interred in camps by the government during World War II. It also made restitution to Native Americans in Alaska who were interred by both the Japanese and Americans.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1866 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first federal law addressing civil rights. It gave everyone born in the United States, other than Native Americans, citizenship rights and equal rights under the law. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill and the House of Representatives overrode his veto. The Civil Rights Act was the precursor to the 14th Amendment.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1875 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1875 is a reconstruction era law enacted to protect the civil rights of freed black people. It explicitly protects the ability to use transportation and allows black people to serve on juries. The law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883 when they ruled that the 14th Amendment only had the power to regulate states, not individuals.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned discrimination in employment. The act reflected over a century of political and legal activism.
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| Comstock Act |
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The Comstock Act restricted obscene material, contraceptives, and abortion-related materials from being sent through the mail. The act was named for Anthony Comstock, a member of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and a postal inspector. This act was passed during a time when healthcare was shifting from a woman's responsibility to a professional man's responsibility.
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| Creek Allotment Act |
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This excerpted congressional act brought the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into the federal process of allotment.
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| Creek Supplemental Agreement |
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Excerpts from this supplement to the Creek Agreement of 1901 renegotiated many legal issues related to allotment, including citizenship, leases, and inheritance. In particular, section six voided Creek law over land, descent, and distribution, and replaced it with Mansfield's Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas.
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