Madison's Progressive Legislation Timeline

  • Hepburn Act

    The Hepburn Act gave more jurisdiction to the Interstate Commerce Commission. In other words, railroad taxes could be raised.
  • Antiquities Act

    The goal of this act was to protect land and natural resources. It legally allowed for the government to make national parks for historical, preservational, and cultural reasons.
  • Meat Inspection Act

    Enforced more sanitary meat production practices, and boosted up health requirements for inspections. It also prohibited the sale of bad meat.
  • Pure Food and Drug Act

    This Drug did essentially the same thing as the Meat Inspection Act. However it applied to more foods and drugs and made selling adulterated products illegal. It set the stage for the FDA.
  • 16th Amendment

    The 16th Amendment was passed to introduce graduated taxes. This was a Populist Party ideal that was adopted by Democrats.
  • Mann-Elkins Act

    This act was similar to the Hepburn Act because it also gave more power to the ICC. The act gave it control of railroad rates and let it change them after investigation.
  • Workers Compensation Act

    Workers Compensation Act
    This act required employees to have insurance in case of injury on the job. It also gave them more credibility when filing claims against their employees.
  • 17th Amendment

    This amendment made it so that voters could vote directly for senators. Before this amendment, senators were voted on by state legislation, which made it so that citizens didn't have much say.
  • Federal Reserve Act

    Established the Federal Reserve System aka the Fed. Serves as the U.S. central bank and provides economic stability.
  • Clayton Antitrust Act

    This act was similar to the Sherman Antitrust Act in the sense that it aimed to prevent monopolies and anti-competitiveness behavior. It prohibited discrimination and stock acquisition for some companies, among other things.
  • Federal Trade Commission Act

    Similar to other antitrust acts, it gave more power to bust monopolies. It helped prevent anti-competition.
  • Keating-Owen Act

    Keating-Owen Act
    This act was intended to stop child labor. It limited the hours children could work and also prohibited selling goods produced illegally by children.
  • Adamson Act

    Adamson Act
    This act also met goals from the old populist party. It made the standard workday eight hours long and made more provisions for employees such as overtime pay.
  • 18th Amendment

    This amendment made drinking alcohol illegal. It was a part of the prohibition movement.
  • Volstead Act

    This act was a part of the prohibition movement. It lowered the amount of alcohol that a beverage had to contain to be considered alcoholic.
  • 19th Amendment

    This amendment made it legal for women to vote. I was part of the women's suffrage movement.