. Morrill Land Grant Act- consists of United States statutes that allowed for land-grant colleges. This act was at first rejected but later after this act underwent some changes it was passed by Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862. This affected all states and it granted any eligible states 30,000 acres of land used to create colleges for advanced education. Significance- This is significant because it gave more room for colleges to start, also it allows more people to attend different colleges due to the large number of colleges in America.
2. Pacific Railroad Act- The Pacific Railroad Act consisted of multiple acts from Congress that allowed for the construction of transcontinental railroads. This act gave railroad companies government bonds and land for them to work with. There were 5 acts overall and each one came after the next adding new additions to the act and revising it. Significance- This act is significant because it allowed the transcontinental railroads to be built and from it came a new form of transportation and a faster way of trading within the country.
3. National Bank Act- This act consisted of 2 United States Federal banking acts. These acts helped establish a system of national banks for banks in the US. The US Banking System was also created due to these acts. This act encouraged the development is a national currency for the US. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was also established into the United States Department of the Treasury due to the effects of this act. Significance- The significance of this act is very large. It allowed the banks to become stable. It also allowed America to share a currency instead of each state having its own type of currency.
4. Wade-Davis Bill- This bill was a proposal for the possibility of Reconstruction for the South. Radical Republicans Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland wrote this bill. This bill made it difficult for the Southerners to try to rejoin the Union because of the fact that they had to take the Ironclad oath. This bill passed in the houses, however President Lincoln vetoed it because he wanted to be much less harsh towards the South and to try to use his Ten Percent Plan instead. Significance- The vetoing of this bill caused Davis to become an enemy towards Lincoln, he used multiple schemes to vilify Lincoln.
5. Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments- These three amendments are known as the Reconstruction amendments. These amendments were mainly focusing on the Reconstruction of the South. These amendments took into effect within the next 5 years after the war ended. These three amendments all did something different. The 13th amendment abolished slavery while the 14th amendments allowed the right to vote for anyone regardless of race or color, however this did not include women. The 15th amendment dealt with this allowing women to vote. Significance- These amendments all contribute to our society today because it allowed black people equal rights with whites which was a drastic change in our society. Women and black people were also now able to vote, which was something they could not do before.
6. Civil Right Acts of 1866- This act was mainly a federal law that helped protect the rights of African Americans. This act was attempted to be put in place before the start of the Civil War. Andrew Johnson vetoed this act 2 times before the house overcame the veto and passed the law. Significance- Although this act was supposed to stop the harassment of the rights of the African Americans, it did not succeed. This act failed to stop groups such as the Klu Klux Klan from harassing African Americans.
7. Andrew Johnson- Andrew Johnson is the 17th president of the United States. He became president after Abraham Lincolns death. His plan after Lincolns death was to bring the seceded states back to the Union quickly. He also didnt give protection towards the slaves. He was later impeached by the