Landmark Legislation 1774 2002

Covers the most important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress and examines an entire decade of new legislation. Includes additional acts and treaties chosen for their historical significance or their precedential importance for later areas of major federal legislative activity in the over 200 years since the convocation of the Continental Congress.

Landmark Legislation 1774-2022, Third Edition is a comprehensive guide to important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress. This updated edition includes landmark legislation from the last five Congresses (2013-2022) on issues like climate change, criminal justice, education, and more. It features carefully selected acts and treaties with historical significance and has an updated index and bibliography for easy access. A must-have for public and academic libraries with American history or political science collections.

The Second Edition of this renowned treasure trove of information about the most important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress now deepens its historical coverage and examines an entire decade of new legislation. Landmark Legislation 1774-2012 includes additional acts and treaties chosen for their historical significance or their precedential importance for later areas of major federal legislative activity in the over 200 years since the convocation of the Continental Congress. Brand new chapters expand coverage to include the last five numbered Congresses (10 years of activity from 2003-2012), which has seen landmark legislation in the areas of health insurance and health care reform; financial regulatory reform; fiscal stimulus and the Temporary Asset Relief Program; federal support for stem cell research; reform of federal financial support for public schools and higher education; and much more. Features & Benefits: Each chapter covers one of the numbered Congresses with a historical essay, followed by the major acts of that Congress arranged in chronological order of passage – with each act summarized. A Finder’s Guide summarizes all of the acts and treaties into approximately 40 separate topical policy areas. The work’s extensive bibliography has been expanded and updated. This one-volume resource is a must-have for any public or academic library, especially those with strong American history or political science collections.

Documents Congress's most momentous accomplishments in determining the national policies to be carried out by the executive branch, in approving appropriations to support those policies, and in fulfilling its responsibility to ensure that such actions are being implemented as intended.

This is a sweeping narrative of American domestic public policy—its triumphs, struggles, and failures over the past 120 years. In a larger sense, it is a reflection on how the United States has grown and matured, faced challenges and opportunities, and how its federal leaders and policymakers have responded or failed to confront pressing problems. Moreover, American Public Policy addresses the hurdles and challenges that still lie ahead. Four critical questions are posed and answered. First, what were the most significant adversities endured by the American people? Second, what were the landmark domestic policies crafted by the president, enacted by Congress, or issued in Supreme Court decisions? Third, what did they fail to do? Finally, how well have federal policymakers met the key challenges facing America: income inequality, racism, financial crises, terrorist attacks, climate change, gun violence, and other pressures? And what do we still need to do? This book reaches out to students of public policy, American government, US history, and contemporary affairs, as well as to citizens, journalists, and policy practitioners.

For better and sometimes for worse, Congress is a reflection of the aspirations, wants, and priorities of the American people. It reflects the kaleidoscope of special interests and unselfish service to others, of favors sought and sacrifices made. During each two-year session of Congress, thousands of pieces of legislation are proposed, many hundreds are given serious consideration, but far fewer are eventually enacted into law. Most enactments have limited impact, affect few, and are quietly forgotten in the flow of legislative activity. However, a small number of laws have risen to the level of historical consequence. These are the laws that have shaped America, and they are the subject of this book. Which pieces of legislation were the most significant for the development of the nation? Which have had an immediate or lasting impact on our society? Which laws so affected us that we could not imagine how our lives would be without them? Dennis W. Johnson vividly portrays the story of fifteen major laws enacted over the course of two centuries of American democracy. For each law, he examines the forces and circumstances that led to its enactment--the power struggles between rival interests, the competition between lawmakers and the administration, the compromises and principled stands, and the impact of the legislation and its place in American history.

Examines more than fifty significant congressional debates, arranged in chronological order and accompanied by introductory essays that outline the opposing forces and historical context of each debate.

Politics is at its most dramatic during debates over important pieces of legislation. It is thus no stretch to refer to legislation as a living, breathing force in American politics. And while debates over legislative measures begin before an item is enacted, they also endure long afterward, when the political legacy of a law becomes clear. Living Legislation provides fresh insights into contemporary American politics and public policy. Of particular interest to the contributors to this volume is the question of why some laws stand the test of time while others are eliminated, replaced, or significantly amended. Among the topics the essays discuss are how laws emerge from—and effect change within—coalition structures, the effectiveness of laws at mediating partisan conflicts, and the ways in which laws interact with broader shifts in the political environment. As an essential addition to the study of politics, Living Legislation enhances understanding of democracy, governance, and power.