Government (Congressional Legislation) draft note

  
                             Throughout United State history, Congress has passed legislation to address important political, social, or economic issues. These laws have often had a significant impact on American society. Two example of the congressional legislation was Indian Removal Act and Interstate Commerce Act. Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates. and The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress on May 28, 1830, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their ancestral homelands.

                   One example was Indian Removal Act. urged on by President Andrew Jackson, passed the Indian Removal Act which gave the federal government the power to relocate any Native  Americans in the east to territory that was west of the Mississippi River. Though the Native Americans were to be compensated, this was not always done fairly and in some cases led to the further destruction of many of the already diminishing numbers of many of the eastern tribes.
The Cherokee Nation was allocated land in Georgia as a result of the 1791 treaty with the U.S. Government. In 1828, not only did whites for settlement purposes desire their land, but gold was discovered. Georgia tried to reclaim this land in 1830, but the Cherokee protested and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court decided in favor of the Cherokee, however, the President and Congress forced the Native Americans to give up their land. 1838 called in federal troops in to “escort” approximately 15,000 Cherokee people to their new home in Indian Territory. On the way, approx. 1/3 of the Cherokee people died. This event, known to the Cherokee as “The Trail Where They Cried”, is better known as the Trail of Tears in U.S. History textbooks.official documentation of Cherokee land holdings before colonization through the mid 19th century to determine the impact of European settlement on the Cherokee people. Students will explore oral histories and visual evidence to determine the impact of the Trail of Tears on the Cherokee Culture.

                 Another example was Interstate Commerce Act. targeted unfair practices in the railroad industry by attempting to eliminate discrimination against small markets, outlawing pools and rebates, and establishing a "reasonable and just" price standard. To ensure the overall purpose of the act and avoid favoritism in the industry, railroad companies were to publish their rates for all to see. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created by the act to enforce these regulations and investigate allegations of fraud, deception, and discrimination.For years railroad tycoons such as J. P. Morgan and Jay Gould had been milking the public. Taking advantage of area transportation monopolies, these "robber barons" often charged unreasonable rates to farmers, small businessmen, and individual passengers for branch service rides, while providing sweet deals to large companies that shipped across the nation. Since large companies represented greater business potential than small ones, they were given "rebates," wherein they received undisclosed sums in consideration of their patronage.Initially states had tried to combat these unscrupulous business practices by enacting their own railroad laws. But the Constitution granted only Congress the power to control interstate commerce, and states were limited to within their own borders. Political organizations tried to get around this by pushing for regulatory laws in various states. These efforts, while not universal, were somewhat successful nonetheless. Proponents of regulation would, however, receive a setback in 1886. In Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway v. Illinois, the Supreme Court ruled that Illinois had exceeded its Constitutional authority when it attempted to regulate the railroads. This was a power reserved to Congress, the Court said. If Congress wanted to get involved, it could; but states had no power to regulate interstate businesses. This left Congress no choice but to take action on its own and the ICA was the result."All charges made for any [rail] service ... shall be reasonable and just," the act declared, "and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared to be unlawful." Unfortunately, the five board members of the ICC (later seven, then eleven) had little power to enforce this goal. The authority given to them was ambiguous at best, and further weakened by the Supreme Court. In the Maximum Freight Rate case (1897), the Supreme Court denied the ICC's ability to set standards for future rates and undermined its ability to question rates in general. In the Alabama Midland Railway Company case of the same year, the Supreme Court again decided against the ICC, ruling that companies could conduct their own investigations to counter the ICC inquiries. The result was utter disregard for ICC findings; the ICC was quickly becoming little more than a public support group.

             Throughout United State history, Congress has passed legislation to address important political, social, or economic issues. These laws have often had a significant impact on American society. these congress legislation help the untied state be came powerful and greater. but it effect the people. it effect native american life and it killed alot of native america.