The first law or policy I will be reviewing is the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. Before I can start on this topic I have to discuss the laws and policies toward Native Americans. The railroads and general settlement of the west could not happen while Native Americans were free to roam wherever they wanted to, at least this was the general thinking in Washington. I will be as brief as possible in regards to my discussion about Native American laws and policies because, this is not one of my topics but very necessary to the future of our nation.

The Pacific Railroad Act gave railroad companies ten square miles of land for every mile of railroad that was completed. Congress passed this act in efforts to spur the economy in the midwest and western United States. During this time, the fede

In reguards to the topic of laws or policies that affected African-Americans, the next subject interested me because it is related to the Plessy v. Fergerson case in 1896. The topic I am discussing is over the Atlanta compromise.

ral government needed large private companies to settle the west. The easiest way to do this is by passing legislation that helps large businesses. However, the railroad companies could not use all of the land that was granted to them so, the railroads decided to subsidize the area in efforts to boost the demand for the railroad.

Similarlly, the Homestead Act in 1862 was another law that was intened to increase the western economy. The Homestead Act provided one hundred – sixty acres free to anyone. The only stipulation’s were that the owner would have to build a house and farm the land for five years. The Pacific railroad and Homestead Act did accomplish what they were intended to do.

The Klu Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski Tennessee, by six former confederate officers as a prankish organization. All of the Klu Klux Klans activities were directed against blacks and the new reconstructed governments in the southern United States. During this time in history, membership to the Klu Klux Klan reached record numbers. All of the new laws and policies toward African-Americans were changing society dramatically that in essence, after this time period a new country would emerge as the United States of America. The next turning point law or policy was the Civil Rights Act in 1866.

This is espically important to African-Americans who have only been free for one to two years. By this time, many slaves have been born into slavery in the United States and the Civil Rights Act help defined their future as citizens. African-Americans could now vote and were one step closer to equality. The Civil Rights Act was necessary for the time period however, the passing of this act should have taken place at the end of the Civil War.

While the nation was growing economically with the expansion west that the railroads are a major part of, socially in America, African-Americans were redefining their status individually and with assistance from the federal government. Social reforms from this time period are still contributing to today’s society.

Some topics in this essay:
Railroad Act, Rights Act, Booker Washington, Thirteenth Fourteenth, Civil War, Homestead Act, Rights Acts, War Thirteenth, American History, Klux Klan, civil rights, civil rights act, rights act, civil war, railroad companies, laws policies, klux klan, atlanta compromise, klu klux, thirteenth amendment, klu klux klan, american history, pacific railroad act, topic laws policies, supreme court stated,