| 1785 |
|
The Northwest Ordinance
provides for a rectangular survey of the Old Northwest and determines the
form of land occupancy and distribution of economic activity for major portions
of the nation. |
| 1791 |
|
In his Report on Manufactures, Alexander
Hamilton argues for protective tariffs for manufacturing industry as a means
of promoting industrial development in the young republic. |
| 1803 |
|
The Louisiana Territory, comprising about 800,000
square miles between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, is
purchased from France. The vast acquisition doubles the nation's size and
opens it to westward settlement. |
| 1818 |
|
In a speech before Congress, Henry
Clay proposes a plan (called the American System) to allocate federal funds
to promote the development of the national economy by combining tariffs
with internal improvements, such as roads, canals and other waterways |
| 1825 |
|
Erie Canal completed. This artificial
waterway connected the northeastern states with the newly settled areas
of what was then the West, facilitating the economic development of both
regions. |
| 1839 |
|
The National Road terminates in Vandalia,
Illinois. Begun in 1811 in
Cumberland, Maryland, it helps open the Ohio Valley to settlers. |
| 1862 |
|
Morrill Act. Congress authorizes
land grants from the Public Domain to the states. Proceeds from the sale
were to be used to found colleges offering instruction in agriculture, engineering,
and other practical arts. |
| 1862 |
|
The first Homestead Act opens the
lands of the Public Domain broadly to settlement and development for a nominal
fee and a promise of five years residence. |
| 1867 |
|
The U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia, adding
to the national estate a territory about the size of Texas, Montana, and
California combined. |
| 1869 |
|
The Union Pacific and the Central
Pacific railroads meet at Promontory Point, Utah, on May 10 to complete
the first transcontinental railroad. |
| 1878 |
|
John
Wesley Powell's Report on the Lands of the Arid Regions of the United
States lays out a plan for sustainable development of the arid West |
| 1879 |
|
Establishment of U.S. Geological
Survey to survey and classify all Public Domain lands. |
| 1902 |
|
U.S. Reclamation Act, created by
a fund from the sale of public land in the arid states to supply water to
settlers through the construction of water storage and irrigation works. |
| 1913 |
|
The Federal Reserve Act creates the Federal
Reserve Commission as the nation's decentralized central bank to regulate
the national money supply in order to provide for economic stability and
growth. |
| 1914 |
|
Panama Canal completed and opened
to world commerce. |
| 1924 |
|
The Fairway Farms experiment, funded by the
Spellman Foundation, begins with the purchase of nine farms in Montana.
Its purpose is to demonstrate, with the aid of scientific planning, the
viability of the family farm on the high plains. |
| 1929 |
|
Stock market crash in October ushers
in Great Depression and fosters ideas of public planning on a national scale. |
| 1932 |
|
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
established at the outset of the Great Depression to revive economic activity
by extending financial aid to failing financial, industrial, and agricultural
institutions. |
| 1933 |
|
The
Tennessee Valley Authority, a public corporation with some of the
freedom of a private corporation, is created to provide for the unified
and multipurpose rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Tennessee Valley.
Senator George Norris of Nebraska fathered the idea and David Lilienthal, "Father
of Public Power," serves as its long-term director. |
| 1935 |
|
Congress authorizes construction
of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Central Washington State.
Finished in 1941, it is the largest concrete structure in the U.S. and
the heart of the Columbia Basin Project, a regional plan comparable in
its scope to TVA. The project's purposes are irrigation, electric power
generation, and flood control in the Pacific Northwest. |
| 1936 |
|
Hoover Dam on the Colorado River
completed. Creates and sustains population growth and industrial development
in Nevada, California, and Arizona. |
| 1944 |
|
Bretton Woods (New Hampshire) Agreement.
The U.S. and allies meet to establish the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (World Bank). |
| 1947 |
|
Secretary George C. Marshall uses
his Harvard College commencement address to propose the Marshall Plan for
the reconstruction of postwar Europe. |
| 1956 |
|
Federal Highway Act.. This act funded
the long-recognized need for a national highway system and contributed to
the development and increased efficiency of the national economy. |
| 1959 |
|
The St. Lawrence Seaway is completed.
This joint U.S.-Canada project created, in effect, a fourth North American
seacoast, opening the American heartland to sea-going vessels. |
| 1964 |
|
In a commencement speech at the
University of Michigan, President Lyndon Johnson declares war on poverty
and urges congressional authorization of many remedial programs, plus the
establishment of a cabinet-level Department of Housing and Community Development. |
| 1965 |
|
The Public Work and Economic Development
Act passes Congress. This act establishes the Economic Development Administration
to extend coordinated, multifaceted aid to lagging regions and foster their
redevelopment |
| 1965 |
|
The Appalachian Regional Planning
Act establishes a region comprising all of West Virginia and parts of 12
other states, plus a planning commission with the power to frame plans and
allocate resources. |
| 1972 |
|
The Earth Resources Technology Satellite ("Landsat")
is launched the first of several satellites for acquiring high resolution
images of the earth's surface, and a major advance in the efforts to identify,
evaluate, develop, and conserve the planet's natural resources. |
| 1993 |
|
Enterprise Zone/Empowerment Community
(EZ/EC) proposal signed into law. Aims tax incentives, wage tax credits,
special deductions, and low-interest financing to a limited number of impoverished
urban and rural communities to jumpstart their economic and social recovery.
|
| 1994 |
|
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) among U.S., Canada and Mexico begins on January 1, its purpose to
foster trade and investment among the three nations by removing or lowering
non-tariff as well as tariff barriers. |
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