1900 - 1909 | 1910 - 1919 | 1920 - 1929 | 1930 - 1939 | 1940 - 1949
1950 - 1959 | 1960 - 1969 | 1970 - 1979 | 1980 - 1989 | 1990 - 1999 |
2000 - present
March 14, 1900 - The Gold Standard Act officially placed the United States on the gold standard.
September 6, 1901 - President William McKinley was shot twice in Buffalo, New York by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition. McKinley’s death led to the Secret Service permanently protecting the president. McKinley died of his wounds on September 14, 1901 after appearing to be recovering for several days.
April 18, 1906 - A massive earthquake, one so powerful it could be felt south of Los Angeles, as far north as Oregon and as far west as Nevada, was centered in San Francisco. The earthquake and the fire it spawned destroyed at least 50 percent of the city before being stopped. The San Francisco Mint remarkably escaped damage from the earthquake and became a refuge center. The mint was damaged by the fire, but efforts by firemen and workers prevented large scale damage.
March 13, 1907 - A financial panic began as the stock market began to fall. The market reached a low point on November 15, 1907 when the average was 39% lower than on March 13.
February 18, 1908 - Postage stamp coils were issued for the first time by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
May 18, 1908 - Congress required “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins starting in 1909.
May 30, 1908 - The Aldrich-Vreeland Act created the National Monetary Commission. The commission studied banking in Europe and North America the reports it made led to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.
February 9, 1909 - Congress passed the Opium Enforcement Act, prohibiting the use or possession of opium for non-medicinal purposes. Medicinal opiates remained unregulated until 1914.
August 2, 1909 -The Lincoln one-cent coin was issued to replace the Indian Head penny. It was the first circulating coin to feature a real person and the first to feature a President of the United States.
^ TOP
June 25, 1910 - An Act of Congress established the Postal Savings Depositories. The Act allowed the Post Office to function as a bank and was intended to coax money out of hiding from people who didn’t trust banks.
February 25, 1913 - The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, authorizing federal income tax, was ratified.
October 3, 1913 - The federal income tax on individuals and corporations went into effect.
December 23, 1913 - President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, creating a new central bank.
February 14, 1914 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s new building at the end of 14th Street was completed at a cost of almost $3 million dollars.
November 10, 1914 - The National City Bank of New York opened a branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the first foreign branch opened by a nationally chartered U.S. bank.
November 16, 1914 - The Federal Reserve Banks opened.
December 17, 1914 -The Harrison Narcotics Act was passed. Among other things, it required opium producers to pay taxes and register with the Internal Revenue Service.
January 28, 1915 - The U.S. Coast Guard was created by Congress with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Life-Saving Service. It was designated to operate as part of the Navy in time of war.
July 24, 1915 - Frank Burke, a member of the United States Secret Service working in New York City, stole a briefcase that contained all records of German espionage in the United States up to that point of World War I.
April 24, 1917 - The First Liberty Loan Act authorized the issue of $5 billion worth of bonds at 3.5 percent interest three weeks after the United States declared war on Germany.
October 6, 1917 - The Trading with the Enemy Act gave the president the ability to regulate trade during times of war. The U.S. Customs Service was charged with enforcing the act.
April 5, 1918 - The Third Liberty Loan Act authorized the issue of $3 billion worth of bonds at 4.5 percent interest.
April 23, 1918 - The Pittman Silver Coinage Act was approved. The Act removed a large number of silver dollars from circulation to be melted down and sold as silver bullion. The Act required that an equal number of silver dollars be minted from American mined silver.
January 29, 1919 - The Prohibition Amendment was adopted after ratification by the States. Primary responsibility for investigation and enforcement was given to the Internal Revenue Service.
February 24, 1919 - The Revenue Act of 1918 codified existing tax laws.
October 28, 1919 - Congress passed the National Prohibition Act, better known as the Volstead Act, which was designed to enforce the provisions of the 18th Amendment. The U.S. Customs Service was charged with enforcing prohibition at the borders.
^ TOP
January 1, 1920 - Secretary Carter Glass established the Office of the Commissioner of Accounts and Deposits, precursor to the Financial Management Service.
January 16, 1920 - Prohibition went into effect.
February 8, 1922 - 10,000 people watched as firemen saved the blueprint laboratory from a fire on the Treasury roof.
February 9, 1922 - Congress established the World War Foreign Debt Commission. The commission rounded debts owed to the United States to $11.5 billion repayable over a 62 year term at two percent interest. The loans were never fully repaid.
May 3, 1922 - President and Mrs. Harding watched from the White House roof as the blueprint laboratory burned on the Treasury roof.
September 14, 1922 - An Act of Congress created the White House Police Force. They are now known as the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division.
April 9, 1924 - The Dawes Plan was transmitted to the Reparation Commission. It was accepted by Germany on April 16, 1924. While it was a short term success, the Dawes Plan proved to be a monumental failure because the annual payments required were too large and it required the United States to give massive loans to Germany to pay reparations. The countries receiving this money then used it to repay war loans to the United States. This cycle meant that the stock market crash of 1929 caused Germany to no longer be able to pay reparations and prevented the Allies from repaying debt owed to the United States.
August 18, 1925 - The U.S. and Belgian governments concluded an agreement on Belgian war debt obligations to the United States during World War I.
November 14, 1925 - The Debt Funding Agreement between the United States and Italy was signed
May 20, 1926 - The Air Commerce Act established the presence of the United States Customs Service at airports of entry.
March 3, 1927 -
The Bureau of Customs was created as a separate bureau within the Treasury Department, but the authority for the collection of Customs revenue was established by the Constitution in 1789. Congress also established the Bureau of Prohibition.
July 10, 1929 - The first modern sized currency notes were issued, bearing the series date 1928.
October 24, 1929 - A stock market panic occurred, foreshadowing the crash that would happen five days later.
October 29, 1929 - Black Tuesday occurred, a massive stock market crash that signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. At the time the crash was considered to be a cause of the Great Depression but it is now generally considered to have been a symptom.
^ TOP
June 14, 1930 - The Bureau of Narcotics was created in the Department of the Treasury to administer laws relating to narcotics and marijuana.
January 22, 1932 - The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established. The RFC was largely ineffective under President Hoover but it became an important tool of the New Deal under President Roosevelt. The RFC distributed $9.465 billion in loans from 1932 to 1941.
February 27, 1932 - Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, expanding the powers of the Federal Reserve Board.
February 15, 1933 - Giuseppe Zangara fired six shots at the car of president-elect Franklin Roosevelt in Miami, Florida. Roosevelt was not injured but Anton Cermak, mayor of Chicago, died of a gunshot wound to the stomach.
February 16, 1933 - The Senate voted to repeal the 18th Amendment of the Constitution, ending prohibition.
March 6, 1933 - President Roosevelt declared a four day national bank holiday to prevent anyone from exporting or hoarding gold or silver. Banks did not necessarily reopen on March 10 because the Emergency Banking Act passed on March 9 required federal inspectors to declare a bank financially secure before it could reopen.
March 9, 1933 - Congress passed and President Roosevelt approved on the Emergency Banking Act. The act forced banks to allow the government to inspect them before they could be reopened. It gave the government the ability to permanently close down banks determined to be financially insecure and reorganize banks that were salvageable.
March 20, 1933 - President Roosevelt signed the Economy Act, which lowered federal employee salary and forced veterans to give up part of their benefits for the betterment of the economy as a whole.
April 5, 1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt issued an order making it illegal to hoard gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates. Violation of this order was punishable by a $10,000 fine or 10 years in prison, making it a felony to own gold. Eventually, gold coins from 1933 and earlier were exempted from this rule so coin collectors could avoid prosecution.
May 3, 1933 - Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman appointed as Director of the United States Mint, started her first term. Ross was director for 20 years, the longest term in U.S. Mint history, before retiring in April of 1953.
June 5, 1933 - The United States abandoned the gold standard. All existing contracts and currency that required redemption in gold were no longer considered valid.
June 13, 1933 - The Home Owners’ Loan Act of 1933 created the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation. The HOLC provided money for mortgages for people at risk of losing their house.
June 16, 1933 - The Banking Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, better known as the FDIC. Designed to instill trust in the banking system again, the FDIC initially insured deposits of up to $2,500. Today, the FDIC insures deposits up to $100,000.
August 28, 1933 - President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6260, which regulated the hoarding and exporting of gold in the United States.
December 5, 1933 - The 21st Amendment was ratified, ending prohibition. The amendment allowed for states to continue enforcing prohibition if they chose and several did with Mississippi becoming the last state to end prohibition in 1966.
December 28, 1933 - President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, ordering anyone who still held gold certificates or gold coins of non-numismatic value to deliver them to the Treasurer of the United States.
January 1, 1934 - Henry Morgenthau, Jr. started his term as 52nd Secretary of the Treasury. His 12 years of service, ending July 22, 1945, were the second longest tenure of any Secretary.
January 17, 1934 - It became illegal for private citizens to own gold certificates following the implementation of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.
January 30, 1934 - The Gold Reserve Act withdrew gold coins from circulation, provided for the devaluation of the dollar's gold content, and created the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
June 26, 1934 - The National Firearms Act became the first federal gun law. It imposed a tax of $200, payable to the Treasury, on carrying certain guns across state lines.
August 14, 1935 - President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
August 23, 1935 - The Banking Act of 1935 removed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency from the Federal Reserve Board.
August 31, 1935 - President Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act, which was meant to prevent the United States government from entering into activities that could lead the country into a foreign war.
January 13, 1937 - The first deposit of gold bullion was shipped to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.
March 15, 1938 - The United States Secret Service launched the “Know Your Money” educational campaign in an effort to hurt counterfeiters.
March 25, 1938 - Secretary Morgenthau established the Division of Monetary Research. Morgenthau also established the Division of Tax Research, which would eventually become the Office of Tax Analysis. Economist Milton Friedman worked for the division from November 1941 to 1943.
May 17, 1938 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing occupied the Treasury Annex Building.
May 23, 1938 - In Helvering v. Gerhardt, the Supreme Court held that state employees were subject to federal income tax.
March 23, 1939 - The first United States income tax treaty was signed with Sweden.
^ TOP
October 8, 1940 - President Roosevelt signed the Excess Profits Tax Act of 1940. The law, created as a wartime provision, heavily taxed corporations when they reached a certain profit threshold.
March 19, 1941 - Treasury Order 39 established the War Finance Division, which was transformed into the Savings Bonds Program.
May 1, 1941 - President Roosevelt purchased the first Series E Savings Bond from Secretary Morgenthau.
November 18, 1941 - The United States agreed to purchase silver from Mexico to help stabilize the peso.
November 21, 1941 - The Check Forgery Insurance Fund was established in the Treasury.
December 7, 1941 - The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, forcing the United States into World War II.
December 26, 1941 - The Secret Service escorted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to Fort Knox, Kentucky for safekeeping during World War II.
January 10, 1942 - The Treasury Hour radio program was named one of the best radio programs of 1941.
June 4, 1942 - Lieutenant Maurice Jester, commander of the Icarus, became the first officer of the United States Coast Guard awarded the Navy Cross. He was recognized for sinking U-352, a submarine which heavily outgunned his boat, off the coast of North Carolina.
October 8, 1942 - Congress authorized the removal of nickel from the five-cent coin. The nickel was needed for armor plating in World War II. Five-cent coins bearing dates from 1942 to 1945 are made up of an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. The government anticipated removing these coins from circulation after the war was over, so they added the mint mark “P” to coins minted in Philadelphia for the first time to make them easier to identify.
October 21, 1942 - The Revenue Act of 1942 increased the number of citizens on the tax rolls by adding a five percent “Victory Tax” on all incomes over $624.
July 1, 1944 - Delegates from all 45 Allied nations gathered at the United States Monetary and Fiscal Conference, better known as the Bretton Woods conference, in New Hampshire. The conference resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund or IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The IBRD is commonly referred as the World Bank today, but it is actually the largest of five organizations that make up the World Bank Group.
November 8, 1945 - The Revenue Act of 1945 was signed into law by President Truman. The Act repealed the excess profits tax that had been levied during World War II.
December 8, 1945 - The Victory Loan Drive, started to help fund World War II, ended.
January 1, 1946 - The United States Savings Bonds Division in the Treasury Department continued the programs of the War Finance Division, the War Savings Staff and the Defense Savings Staff.
January 30, 1946 - The Roosevelt Dime was introduced on the birthday of the late president.
November 9, 1946 - Wage and salary controls that were instituted during World War II were ended by Executive Order 9801.
August 11, 1948 - President Truman signed a resolution authorizing a $65 million interest-free loan to the United Nations for the construction of its headquarters in New York City.
February 26, 1949 - The United States Customs Service was charged with enforcing the Export Control Act of 1949.
June 21, 1949 - Georgia N. Clark started her term as the 29th Treasurer of the United States. She was the first woman to serve as Treasurer.
^ TOP
November 1, 1950 - Two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman at the Blair House. Leslie Coffelt, a White House police officer, was mortally wounded in the attempt but managed to kill one of the assassins. President Truman was unhurt in the attack.
July 16, 1951 - Congress enacted legislation that permanently authorized Secret Service protection of the president, his immediate family, the president-elect, and the vice president, if he wished.
March 1, 1953 - Secretary George Humphrey established the Analysis Staff and placed them under an Assistant to Secretary. The Analysis Staff was eventually replaced by the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy.
March 1, 1953 - Three libraries that were maintained by the staffs of the General Counsel, the Comptroller of the Currency and Tax and Debt Analysis were merged and placed under the Office of Administrative Services.
November 19, 1953 - Coin distribution responsibilities were transferred from the Treasurer of the United States to the United States Mint.
April 15, 1954 - The deadline for filing income tax was changed from March 15 to April 15, starting in 1955.
July 11, 1955 - An Act of Congress required “In God We Trust” to be placed on all currency.
May 9, 1956 - The Bank Holding Company Act was passed, limiting what other businesses and securities bank holding companies could purchase.
July 30, 1956 - President Eisenhower signed a Joint Resolution of Congress, declaring “In God We Trust” the national motto.
October 1, 1957 - One-dollar silver certificates bearing the motto “In God We Trust” entered circulation for the first time. They were the first currency to bear the motto.
March 21, 1958 - The Bureau of the Public Debt's first computer was installed at its Parkersburg, West Virginia facility.
February 12, 1959 - The first Lincoln Cents bearing the Memorial background were introduced. The image of the Lincoln Memorial replaced the “Wheat Ears” design in honor of President Lincoln’s 150th birthday.
April 8, 1959 - The Charter of the Inter-American Development Bank was signed. The IDB helps create sustainable economic and social development throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
^ TOP
July 11, 1962 - An Act of Congress, P.L. 87-534, changed the San Francisco Mint to the San Francisco Assay Office. It was re-designated the San Francisco Mint on March 31, 1988.
January 11, 1963 - C. Douglas Dillon, the 57th Secretary of the Treasury, approved the official Flag of the Treasury Department.
March 18, 1963 - The Office of Budget and Finance was established.
June 4, 1963 - An Act of Congress stopped all production of silver certificates.
July 1, 1963 - The official Flag of the Treasury Department was displayed for the first time. The official flag is not the flag of the Treasury Guard, which is famous for causing John Wilkes Booth to break his leg when he caught his boot on it jumping from Lincoln’s Box in Ford’s Theater.
July 8, 1963 - The Cuban Assets Control Regulations were issued, placing trade and travel restrictions on Cuba that still exist today.
November 6, 1963 - Production of $1 Federal Reserve notes bearing the portrait of President Washington and the motto “In God We Trust” began.
November 22, 1963 - President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.
December 30, 1963 - President Johnson approves Public Law No. 88-256, authorizing the John F. Kennedy Half Dollar.
January 23, 1964 - Production of $5 United States notes bearing the motto In God We Trust began.
February 11, 1964 - The Bureau of the Mint began production of the Kennedy half-dollar coin.
February 24, 1964 - Production of $10 Federal Reserve notes bearing the motto "In God We Trust" began.
March 24, 1964 - The first Kennedy half-dollar coins were released into circulation.
March 25, 1964 - Secretary C. Douglas Dillon announced that Silver Certificates would no longer be redeemable for silver dollars. They would remain redeemable for silver bullion until June 24, 1968.
April 24, 1964 - Secretary C. Douglas Dillon removed the restrictions on acquiring or holding gold certificates.
October 7, 1964 - Production of $20 Federal Reserve notes bearing the motto “In God We Trust” began.
July 23, 1965 - President Johnson approved the Coinage Act of 1965. The Act removed silver from circulating coins and authorized that cupronickel clad coins be used instead for the half dollar, quarter dollar, and dimes.
September 1, 1965 - Under the Coinage Act of 1965, minting operations at the San Francisco Assay Office were reactivated with the striking of pennies. Minting operations had been halted in 1955.
September 17, 1965 - Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a new Philadelphia Mint, located near Independence Hall.
November 1, 1965 - The new clad quarters were released into circulation. The clad quarters, made of copper and nickel, had their silver removed because older silver quarters were worth more than face value and were being melted down for profit.
August 18, 1966 - Production of $100 Federal Reserve notes bearing the portrait of Benjamin Franklin and the motto "In God We Trust" began.
August 24, 1966 - Production of $50 Federal Reserve notes bearing the portrait of President Grant and the motto "In God We Trust" began.
October 15, 1966 - An Act of Congress transferred the U.S. Coast Guard from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard was originally established as part of the Department of the Treasury in 1790.
December 19, 1966 - The Asian Development Bank commenced operations. The ADB is designed to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries and is often described as a regionally focused clone of the World Bank.
April 1, 1967 - The U.S. Coast Guard was transferred to the Department of Transportation.
January 4, 1968 - Mint marks were restored to United States coins. The marks were absent from all coins issued between 1965 and 1967.
January 29, 1968 - Henry H. Fowler, the 58th Secretary of the Treasury, approved the design for the new Seal of the Department of the Treasury that is still in use today.
April 17, 1968 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing completed its conversion to the dry printing method. The conversion saved on production costs and increased the amount of currency that could be produced. It also enhanced details, making counterfeiting harder.
June 5, 1968 - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy’s death led to United States Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, beginning the next day.
June 24, 1968 - The exchange of silver certificates for silver bullion was discontinued
October 22, 1968 - President Johnson signed the Gun Control Act into law. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was charged with its enforcement.
April 11, 1969 - The export ban on U. S. silver coins ended, allowing the export of silver coins for the first time since May 18, 1967.
April 26, 1969 - Pre-1934 gold coins could be imported into the country and traded without a license from the Department of the Treasury for the first time since 1933. The Treasury decided that preventing the import of pre-1934 gold coins while allowing the same coins to be traded freely domestically was inconsistent and unfair.
July 14, 1969 - Currency notes in denominations larger than $100 were discontinued by the Department of the Treasury. Though issued until 1969, the $500, $1000, $5000 and $10,000 notes had not been printed since 1945. These notes are still legal tender but are rarely seen in circulation as most are in the hands of collectors.
^ TOP
March 2, 1970 - Treasury Order 217 created the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to function as an interagency training facility for Federal enforcement officials.
March 19, 1970 - The White House Police changed its name to the Executive Protective Service. It began protecting foreign diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C.
July 1, 1970 - The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was established by Treasury Department Order 217.
January 5, 1971 - The United States Secret Service was authorized to protect visiting heads of foreign states while in the United States. Protection of foreign heads of state began during World War II but was not required.
January 21, 1971 - The last United States notes were placed into circulation by the Treasury Department.
January 25, 1971 - Several prototypes of the Eisenhower one-dollar coin were struck and then destroyed at the Philadelphia Mint.
March 31, 1971 - The first copper-clad and silver-clad Eisenhower dollars were produced for the first time.
October 1, 1971 - The first Eisenhower one-dollar coins were released into circulation.
December 1, 1971 - The Smithsonian Agreement ended the fixed exchange rates that had been enforced since the Bretton-Woods Conference. It also ended import surcharges.
December 15, 1971 - The Secret Service appointed five women Special Agents. It was the first time a woman had ever held that rank.
December 18, 1971 - President Nixon declared that the official U.S. price of gold would be raised to $38 per ounce, devaluing the dollar.
March 23, 1972 - The Old San Francisco Mint was saved from destruction when President Nixon declared it a historic landmark and turned the building over to the Department of the Treasury for restoration.
April 3, 1972 - President Richard Nixon raised the official U.S. gold price from $35 an ounce to $38 an ounce. The change in gold price was the first made since an Executive Order by President Roosevelt in 1934.
July 1, 1972 - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms became a separate division in the Department of the Treasury. The functions of the ATF were previously part of the IRS.
October 18, 1972 - The Main Treasury building was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark.
April 4, 1973 - The Customs Bureau was renamed the United States Customs Service by Treasury Department Order 165-23. The change took effect on August 1, 1973.
November 29, 1973 - President Nixon signed the Hobby Protection Act. The Act requires that copies of collectible items, such as coins, must be clearly designated as copies or imitations.
December 1, 1973 - An interest rate of six percent was set for outstanding and new issues of United States Savings Bonds.
December 7, 1973 - The Treasury Department requested authority to make aluminum one-cent coins if necessary, because the Treasury was dangerously close to losing money on each penny it produced.
December 13, 1973 - The Treasury Historical Association was established.
January 21, 1974 - All operations of the United States Customs Service in New York City were moved into the World Trade Center.
March 6, 1974 - The winners of the Bicentennial Coin Design Competition were announced.
September 23, 1974 - An inspection to verify the gold holdings at the Fort Knox Bullion Depository was completed by members of Congress. The inspection was setup in response to conspiracy theories that Fort Knox held little or no gold at all.
December 27, 1974 - The Secret Service extended protection to the Vice President at his official residence.
December 31, 1974 - President Ford lifts the 40-year ban, enacted in 1933, on gold ownership by U.S. citizens.
July 7, 1975 - The first Bicentennial half-dollar coins were released into circulation. The Bicentennial quarter wasn’t released until August 18, 1975.
September 12, 1975 - Secretary William Simon opened the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Facility in Glynco, Georgia.
October 13, 1975 - The first Bicentennial dollar coins are released into circulation.
March 27, 1976 - Secretary William E. Simon established the Assistant Secretary for Capital Markets and Debt Management. The position eventually became Under Secretary of Domestic Finance.
April 13, 1976 - The two-dollar bill was reissued as part of the Bicentennial. Jefferson remained on the face of the bill, but the back now featured the signing of the Declaration of Independence instead of Monticello. Contrary to popular belief, the two-dollar bill is still printed and in circulation. The most recent series of two-dollar bill is from 2003.
September 8, 1976 - Secretary William Simon dedicated the Treasury Time Capsule. It will be opened in the year 2076.
October 4, 1976 - President Ford signed the Tax Reform Act of 1976, increasing the standard deduction.
November 7, 1976 - Commemorative ceremonies were held marking the restoration of the old San Francisco Mint.
March 30, 1977 - President Jimmy Carter appointed a woman to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for the first time.
September 12, 1977 - Azie Taylor Morton started her term as the 37th Treasurer of the United States. She was the first African American to have held that office.
October 10, 1978 - President Carter signed a law that authorized the creation of a dollar coin featuring Susan B. Anthony, the first non-mythical woman to appear on a circulating United States coin.
December 13, 1978 - The first Susan B. Anthony one-dollar coins created for circulation were struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
^ TOP
August 13, 1981 - President Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act, reducing income taxes by approximately 23 percent over a three year period and lowering estate taxes. The ERTA also introduced indexing for inflation into the tax system.
April 15, 1982 - The simplified Form 1040EZ was accepted for the first time by the IRS.
June 25, 1984 - The Denver Mint produced the $10 1984 Commemorative Olympic Gold Coin, the first gold coin made by the U.S. Government in 50 years.
October 8, 1985 - Secretary Baker introduced the Baker Plan at the IMF World Bank meeting in Seoul, South Korea. The Baker Plan tried to relieve some of the debt problems that Third World countries suffered from.
October 18, 1985 - The first Statue of Liberty gold proof coin was struck.
March 18, 1986 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced that a clear polyester thread was to be woven into bills to deter counterfeiting.
May 19, 1986 - Congress passed the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act. FOPA prevented the sale of automatic weapons and redefined who could legally own a gun. FOPA also prevented the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from performing more than one inspection a year of Federal firearm licensees. The ATF had been repeatedly accused of harassing licensees by constantly inspecting them, in an effort to prevent them from doing business.
November 24, 1986 - Fort Worth, Texas was chosen as the site of the Western Facility for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The facility opened on April 26, 1991.
October 19, 1987 - Black Monday occurred on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points, the second largest percentage and point collapse in history. The definite causes of the collapse remain a point of debate among economists.
March 31, 1988 - The West Point Bullion Depository became the first new mint since 1862.
March 18, 1989 - A woman was appointed General Counsel of the Treasury for the first time.
^ TOP
September 27, 1995 - The Department of the Treasury unveiled a new $100 bill, featuring an enlarged portrait of Ben Franklin and enhanced security features.
March 25, 1996 - The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s redesigned notes with enhanced security features were first put into circulation.
June 26, 1996 - A fire started on the Treasury roof that burned out the fourth and fifth floors of the North Wing. Water and smoke damaged the entire building, closing it for one week. The Cash Room suffered heavy damage, with two feet of water pooled on its floor. Investigations later proved that the fire was accidentally started by a contractor working on the roof using a propane torch.
^ TOP
January 24, 2003 - Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau was established as a new bureau in the Treasury Department pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The new bureau assumed the regulatory and revenue collection functions the ATF.
January 24, 2003 - The ATF was transferred to the Justice Department.
March 1, 2003 - Three historical Treasury Bureaus were transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security. The three transferred bureaus were the U.S. Customs Service, part of Treasury since 1789, the U.S. Secret Service, part of Treasury since 1865, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, part of Treasury since 1970.
March 31, 2003 - Secretary John W. Snow established the Executive Office for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.
^ TOP
|
