At the federal level in the United States, legislation consists primarily of Acts passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Secondary legislation is also made by the President (primarily Executive Orders), and by other individuals or bodies (e.g. the US federal courts issue Practice Direction s).

1790s - 1800s - 1810s - 1820s - 1830s - 1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s - Executive Orders - Departments and Agencies - Concepts

Notable Acts of Congress

18th century

1780s

• 1789 - Judiciary Act
• 1789 - Hamilton Tariff

1790s

• 1791 - First Bank of the United States
• 1798 - Alien and Sedition Acts

19th century

1800s

• 1806 - Cumberland Road
• 1807 - Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
• 1807 - Embargo Act
• 1809 - Non-Intercourse Act

1810s

• 1810 - Macon's Bill Number 2
• 1816 - Second Bank of the United States
• 1817 - Bonus Bill

1820s

• 1820 - Missouri Compromise
• 1828 - Tariff of Abominations

1830s

• 1833 - Force Bill
• 1836 - Gag Rule

1840s

• 1846 - Wilmot Proviso
• 1846 - Walker tariff
• 1849 - Gold Coinage Act

1850s

• 1850 - Compromise of 1850
• 1850 - Donation Land Claim Act
• 1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act
• 1856 - Guano Islands Act

1860s

• 1861 - Morrill tariff
• 1862 - Homestead Act
• 1862 - Pacific Railway Act
• 1862 - Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act
• 1863 - False Claims Act
• 1863 - National Banking Act
• 1864 - Wade-Davis Bill
• 1865 - Freedman's Bureau
• 1866 - Civil Rights Act
• 1867 - Congressional Reconstruction Act
• 1867 - Tenure of Office Act

1870s

• 1872 - Amnesty Act
• 1872 - Mining Act of 1872
• 1872 - Yellowstone Act
• 1875 - Resumption Act
• 1878 - Bland-Allison Act
• 1878 - Posse Comitatus Act

1880s

• 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act
• 1883 - Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
• 1887 - Dawes Act
• 1887 - Interstate Commerce Act
• 1887 - Hatch Act

1890s

• 1890 - Sherman Antitrust Act
• 1890 - Sherman Silver Purchase Act
• 1890 - McKinley tariff
• 1894 - Wilson-Gorman tariff
• 1894 - Income Tax
• 1897 - Dingley tariff
• 1900 - Foraker Act
• 1900 - Gold Standard Act

20th century

1900s

• 1902 - Newlands Reclamation Act
• 1903 - Elkins Act
• 1906 - American Antiquities Act
• 1906 - Hepburn Act
• 1906 - Pure Food and Drug Act
• 1906 - Meat Inspection Act
• 1907 - Gentlemen's Agreement
• 1908 - Aldrich Vreeland Act
• 1909 - Payne-Aldrich tariff

1910s

• 1910 - Mann-Elkins Act
• 1910 - Mann Act
• 1913 - Federal Reserve Act
• 1913 - Underwood tariff
• 1914 - Federal Trade Commission Act
• 1914 - Clayton Antitrust Act
• 1914 - Smith-Lever Act
• 1916 - Adamson Railway Labor Act
• 1916 - Federal Farm Loan Act
• 1917 - Espionage Act (repealed 1921)
• 1917 - Trading with the Enemy Act (PL 65-91)
• 1918 - Sedition Act (repealed 1921)

1920s

• 1920 - Volstead Act
• 1920 - Esch-Cummins Act
• 1920 - Mineral Leasing Act
• 1921 - Emergency Quota Act
• 1922 - Fordney-McCumber tariff
• 1924 - Immigration Act Basic Law
• 1929 - Immigration Act National Origins Formula
• 1929 - Agriculture Marketing Act

1930s

• 1930 - Hawley-Smoot tariff
• 1931 - Davis-Bacon Act
• 1932 - Norris-LaGuardia Act
• 1932 - Reconstruction Finance Corporation
• 1933 - Agricultural Adjustment Act
• 1933 - Buy American Act
• 1933 - Civil Works Administration
• 1933 - Civilian Conservation Corps
• 1933 - Farm Credit Administration
• 1933 - Home Owners Loan Corporation
• 1933 - Securities Act
• 1933 - Tennessee Valley Authority
• 1933 - Public Works Administration
• 1933 - National (Industrial) Recovery Act
• 1934 - National Firearms Act
• 1934 - Communications Act
• 1934 - Glass Steagal Act
• 1934 - Indian Reorganization Act
• 1934 - Securities Exchange Act
• 1934 - Federal Housing Administration
• 1934 - Johnson Act
• 1934 - Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act
• 1934 - Tydings-McDuffie Act
• 1935 - Works Progress Administration
• 1935 - Neutrality Act
• 1935 - Motor Carrier Act
• 1935 - Social Security Act
• 1935 - National Labor Relations Act
• 1936 - Robinson Patman Act
• 1937 - Neutrality Acts
• 1938 - Wheeler-Lea Act
• 1938 - Fair Labor Standards Act
• 1939 - Hatch Act
• 1939 - Cash and Carry

1940s

• 1940 - Investment Company Act of 1940
• 1940 - Investment Advisors Act of 1940
• 1940 - Selective Service Act
• 1940 - Alien Registration (Smith) Act
• 1941 - Lend Lease Act
• 1942 - Office of Price Administration
• 1944 - GI Bill of Rights
• 1945 - Bretton Woods Agreement PL 79-171
• 1947 - Aid to Greece and Turkey (See Truman Doctrine) PL 80-75
• 1947 - Presidential Succession Act
• 1947 - Taft-Hartley Act
• 1947 - National Security Act
• 1947 - Mineral Materials Act
• 1948 - Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan) PL 80-472

1950s

• 1950 - National Science Foundation Act PL 81-507
• 1950 - McCarran Internal Security Act
• 1951 - Mutual Security Act
• 1952 - Immigration and Naturalization Act
• 1952 - Mine Safety Act PL 82-552
• 1954 - Saint Lawrence Seaway Act
• 1954 - Multiple Mineral Use Act
• 1955 - Multiple Surface Use Mining Act
• 1956 - Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, nicknamed the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956
• 1957 - Civil Rights Act PL 85-315
• 1958 - National Defense Education Act
• 1958 - Military Construction Appropriation Act (Advanced Research Projects Agency) PL 85-852
• 1959 - Landrum-Griffin Act

1960s

• 1960 - Civil Rights Act PL 86-449
• 1961 - Peace Corps
• 1962 - Trade Expansion Act
• 1962 - Communications Satellite Act PL 87-624
• 1963 - Equal Pay Act PL 88-38
• 1964 - Civil Rights Act PL 88-352
• 1964 - Full Employment Act
• 1964 - Great Society Programs
• 1964 - Urban Mass Transportation Act PL 88-365
• 1965 - Medicare Amendments to Social Security
• 1965 - Medicaid
• 1965 - Voting Rights Act PL 89-110
• 1965 - Immigration Act
• 1966 - Freedom of Information Act
• 1966 - Uniform Time Act
• 1966 - United States Department of Transportation established PL 89-670
• 1967 - Age Discrimination Act PL 90-202
• 1967 - Public Broadcasting Act
• 1968 - Open Housing Act PL 90-284
• 1968 - Gun Control Act of 1968
• 1968 - National Trails System Act
• 1969 - Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act PL 91-173

1970s

• 1970 - Bank Secrecy Act
• 1970 - Occupational Safety and Health Act PL 91-596
• 1970 - Controlled Substances Act
• 1970 - Rail Passenger Service Act (Amtrak) PL 91-518
• 1970 - National Environmental Protection Act
• 1970 - Postal Reorganization Act (USPS) PL 91-375
• 1970 - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
• 1972 - Equal Employment Opportunity Act PL 92-261
• 1972 - Federal Advisory Committee Act PL 92-463
• 1972 - Coastal Zone Management Act PL 92-583
• 1973 - Rehabilitation Act PL 93-112
• 1974 - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• 1974 - Impoundment Control Act of 1974
• 1976 - Copyright Act of 1976
• 1976 - Government in the Sunshine Act
• 1976 - Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act PL 94-210
• 1976 - Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act PL 94-435
• 1976 - Federal Land Policy and Management Act
• 1978 - Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act
• 1978 - Airline Deregulation Act
• 1978 - District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

1980s

• 1980 - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund
• 1980 - Refugee Act
• 1980 - Staggers Act PL 96-448
• 1981 - Kemp-Roth Tax Cut
• 1982 - Job Training Partnership Act - Repealed
• 1984 - Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act PL 98-435
• 1986 - Age Discrimination in Employment Act PL 99-572
• 1986 - Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
• 1986 - False Claims Act Amendments Act
• 1986 - Tax Reform Act of 1986
• 1986 - Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act
• 1986 - Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
• 1986 - Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 (Defense Reorganization)
• 1987 - Surface Transportation Act
• 1987 - Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987 - Public Law 100-107

1990s

• 1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act PL 101-336
• 1990 - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Human Genome Project funding PL 101-508
• 1990 - Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
• 1991 - Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act PL 102-240
• 1992 - Land Remote Sensing Policy Act PL 102-555
• 1993 - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
• 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
• 1996 - Communications Decency Act
• 1996 - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• 1996 - Telecommunications Act of 1996
• 1996 - Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban
• 1996 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act PL 104-193 (Welfare Reform Act)
• 1998 - Digital Millennium Copyright Act

  • Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act

• 1998 - Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
• 1998 - Financial Services Modernization Act
• 1998 - Workforce Investment Act

21st century

2000s

• 2001 - USA PATRIOT Act
• 2002 - Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
• 2002 - Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• 2002 - U.S. Trade Promotion Authority Act
• 2003 - Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
• 2003 - Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
• 2003 - Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
• 2003 - Can Spam Act
• 2004 - Unborn Victims of Violence Act

Executive Orders

• 1836 - Specie Circular

Departments and Agencies

For more detailed legislative histories in specific domains, see the Related Legislation sections of the following pages

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Office of Management and Budget
• Rural Utilities Service
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Social Security Administration
• United States Agency for International Development
• United States Department of Agriculture
• United States Department of Commerce
• United States Department of Defense
• United States Department of Education
• United States Department of Energy
• United States Department of Health and Human Services
• United States Department of Homeland Security
• United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
• United States Department of Justice
• United States Department of Labor
• United States Department of Transportation
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Concepts

• Budget deficit
• Deregulation
• Gulf War
• New federalism
• Sunshine law
• List of Uniform Acts (United States)