Primary Sources: U.S. Government

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
The Louisiana Purchase opened up the western expansion of the United States. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson instructed his special envoy Robert Livingston to negotiate with the French for access to the port of New Orleans once it was learned that the Spanish were in the process of ceding the territory back to the French.

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves in areas of open rebellion were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not have any immediate effect on the status of slaves in the Confederacy, after the Civil War the United States abolished slavery with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), established as an independent government agency in 1915, enforces antitrust laws and ensures that American businesses engage in fair competition. The five-member commission focuses on the prevention of interlocking directorates, monitors the acquisition of capital stock, and deals with issues such as false advertising. The FTC also enforces the Trust in Lending Act. The only industries that the commission does not have jurisdiction over are banks and common carriers.

From Conspiracy Theories in American History
In the following exchanges recorded on his secret tape recorder in the Oval Office, President Nixon and his advisors discuss what to do about the leak of the “Pentagon Papers,” a classified account of the development of the Vietnam War supplied to the New York Times by Daniel Ellsberg. Nixon considered that the leak was part of a conspiracy against his administration, and in order to stop such leaks, he initiated a group of agents called the “Plumbers.” As well as breaking and entering the office of Ellsberg’s psychoanalyst, the Plumbers later went on to carry out the Watergate burglary.

From the Library of Congress, this collection consists of a linked set of published congressional records of the United States of America from the Continental Congress through the 43rd Congress, 1774-1875

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
Passed on July 13, 1787, the Ordinance of the Northwest Territory, commonly referred to as the Northwest Ordinance, established the procedures by which the western lands ceded to the national government by the states would form territorial governments. Congress appointed a governor, secretary, and three judges to administer the territory until the number of voting citizens reached 5,000.

Signed into law by the Northern Republican Congress during the Civil War, the Homestead Act allowed individuals who never raised arms against the United States to acquire 160 acres of public land for a nominal filing fee after five years of residency or for $1.25 per acre after just six months of residency.

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
The Federal Reserve Act established the modern banking system of the United States. Designed to provide elasticity of the money supply and as a lender of last resort for banks, the Federal Reserve (Fed) regulates the money supply by increasing or decreasing interest rates. The Fed also acts as a clearinghouse for financial transactions. During its nine decades of operation, the policies of the Fed helped stabilize the U.S. economy.

From The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
On January 3, 2008, President George W. Bush and Congress attempted to jumpstart the stalled U.S. economy with the passage of the Economic Stimulus Act. Under Title I of the Act, Congress authorized the payment of rebates to individual taxpayers (not estates, trusts, or corporations), ranging in amounts from $300 to $1,200 per household at an estimated cost from $50 to $150 million, as well as through incentives for business investment in the form of credit allowances for certain assets of up to either $250,000 or $800,000, depending on Internal Revenue Service classification.

From The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History

From The Great American History Fact-Finder

From The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History

From The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History

From Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law

from Constitutional Amendments

from American Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments

From American Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments

from American Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments

from American Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments

From American Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments