1932The Revenue Act was enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States at a rate of 1 cent per gallon.1977The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Furman v. Georgia, finding capital punishment as it was then employed at the state and federal level was unconstitutional. The majority ruled the death penalty was “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment, primarily because states employed execution in “arbitrary and capricious ways,” especially in regard to race.