Throughout its history, the Senate has played a key role in shaping legislation that has had far-reaching effects on American politics and society. Below is a sample of statutes and constitutional amendments that have changed the face of the nation and the stories of how the Senate helped secure their passage.

• The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act

• The Pacific Railway Act of 1862

• The Thirteenth Amendment

• The Fourteenth Amendment

• The Fifteenth Amendment

• Civil Rights Act of 1875

• The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution

• The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution: The Senate and the Women's Fight for the Vote

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Civil Rights Act at 50

• National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958