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Wilmot Proviso

(Encyclopedia) Wilmot Proviso, 1846, amendment to a bill put before the U.S. House of Representatives during the Mexican War; it provided an appropriation of $2 million to enable President Polk to…

Missouri Compromise

(Encyclopedia) Missouri Compromise, 1820–21, measures passed by the U.S. Congress to end the first of a series of crises concerning the extension of slavery. By 1818, Missouri Territory had gained…

veto

(Encyclopedia) veto [Lat.,=I forbid], power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or…

Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act

(Encyclopedia) Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act, 1909, passed by the U.S. Congress. It was the first change in tariff laws since the Dingley Act of 1897; the issue had been ignored by President Theodore…

Major Congressional Bills Passed in 2005

See the major bills passed in Congress during 2005. The date indicates when the bill was signed into law by President Bush. February 18, 2005 Class Action Fairness ActMoves many class-action…

Morrill, Justin Smith

(Encyclopedia) Morrill, Justin Smith, 1810–98, American politician, b. Strafford, Vt. A prosperous merchant, he helped organize (1855) the Republican party in Vermont. First elected to Congress in…

Bland-Allison Act

(Encyclopedia) Bland-Allison Act, 1878, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for freer coinage of silver. The original bill offered by Representative Richard P. Bland incorporated the demands of…

Homestead Act

(Encyclopedia) Homestead Act, 1862, passed by the U.S. Congress. It provided for the transfer of 160 acres (65 hectares) of unoccupied public land to each homesteader on payment of a nominal fee…

Be

(Encyclopedia) Be, symbol for the element beryllium.

force bill

(Encyclopedia) force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first…