 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution |
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The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote by prohibiting the denial of suffrage based on sex.
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| 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution |
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The Twenty-Fourth Amendment prevents the use of poll taxes in elections. It was passed during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to actualize voting rights for people of all races guaranteed by the 15th Amendment.
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| Affirmative Action's Origins and Legacies |
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This teaching module provides an in-depth look at affirmative action, delving into its origins and tracing its impact to the present day, featuring a webinar with Nebraska Law faculty Eric Berger, Danielle Jefferis, and Catherine Wilson.
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| American Indian Religious Freedom Act |
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This act amended the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act to allow for the protected use of peyote as a sacrament in traditional religious ceremonies.
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| An Act Further to Protect Personal Liberty |
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This Massachusetts personal liberty law aimed to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 by forbidding state-level judges and law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining any person "for the reason that he is claimed as a fugitive slave."
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| An Act respecting slaves, free negroes and mulattoes |
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This Missouri law is one of the Black Codes designed to ensure white supremacy prior to the Civil War, limiting literacy and assembly for enslaved people as well as preventing interstate travel for free Black people.
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| An Act to Adopt the Negroes of the Chickasaw Nation |
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This tribal law, which was adopted by the Chickasaw Nation on January 10, 1873, called for the adoption of Chickasaw Freedmen as citizens of the Chickasaw Nation. The law included three primary stipulations for the adoption of Chickasaw Freedmen as tribal citizens: first, that Chickasaw Freedmen be excluded from any financial interests in the $300,000 the tribe would receive and any other tribal invested funds or claims; second, that despite these exclusions from monetary benefits, Chickasaw Freedmen be considered fully subject to the "jurisdiction and laws" of the Chickasaw Nation; and third, that the law would go into effect after being approved "by the proper authority of the United States." The law would not be approved by the U.S. Congress until 1894.
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| An Act to continue in force and to amend "An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees,'' and for other Purposes |
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This act of Congress extended the Freedmen's Bureau until 1868. The Freedmen's Bureau was established during Reconstruction to manage the affairs of the formerly enslaved and refugees from the Civil War. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, but the veto was overridden by Congress.
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| An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees |
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This act of Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau in order to provide aid and support to the formerly-enslaved people across the South.
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| An Act to Prevent Kidnapping |
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This act is Pennsylvania's first personal liberty law. It was written to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and preserve the ability of free Black people to live in Pennsylvania. The act made kidnapping any Black person a felony punishable by large fines and lengthy imprisonment. It also fined any state official that took cognizance of the case of "any fugitive from labor."
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| Arkansas Declaration of Rights |
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This excerpt from the Declaration of Rights in the 1874 (and current) Arkansas State Constitution contains the language prohibiting the distinction between resident aliens and citizens in regard to property.
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| Asian Immigrants' Fight Against Discriminatory Alien Land Laws |
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This module examines the history of anti-Asian/Japanese alien land laws in the 1920s United States, focusing on one lawsuit by Chinese immigrant Lum Jung Luke that brought down Arkansas' Alien Land Act.
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| Baker v. Nelson |
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Baker v. Nelson was first same-sex marriage case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal from the Minnesota Supreme Court, stating that the case did not bring forward "a substantial federal question." This case reflects the lack of thought given to LGBTQ+ rights in 1972.
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| Balzac v. Porto Rico |
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Balzac v. Porto Rico is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. The court in Balzac ruled that residents of Puerto Rico were not guaranteed a trial by jury. In Dorr v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled the same way for residents of the Philippines.
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| Bill of Rights |
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The first 10 amendments to the Constitution guarantee certain personal rights and limit the power of the federal government. These amendments are continuously considered by the Supreme Court in their rulings.
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| Bowers v. Hardwick |
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Later overturned by Lawrence v. Texas, this Supreme Court case ruled that the 14th Amendment did not prevent states from prohibiting sexual relations between same-sex couples.
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 Broadside Reacting to the Fugitive Slave Act |
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This broadside was distributed in Boston following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
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| Brown v. Board of Education |
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The Supreme Court found in Brown v. Board of Education that educational segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark case overturned the precedent created by the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and ended the Jim Crow era.
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| California Proposition 6 |
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A proposed amendment to the California that would have banned involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime. This measure failed in the 2024 election, meaning the State of California remains one of 16 states that still allows forced labor. A similar ballot measure also failed in 2022.
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| Chain Gang Blues |
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Chain Gang Blues was a song recorded by blues singer Ma Rainey in 1925 that reflects the experience of Black Americans in the Jim Crow South. In the song, the protagonist has been sent on the chain gang for reasons that she thinks are unjust.
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| Civil Liberties Act |
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This act granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been removed from their homes and interred in camps by the government during World War II. It also made restitution to Native Americans in Alaska who were interred by both the Japanese and Americans.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1866 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first federal law addressing civil rights. It gave everyone born in the United States, other than Native Americans, citizenship rights and equal rights under the law. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill and the House of Representatives overrode his veto. The Civil Rights Act was the precursor to the 14th Amendment.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1875 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1875 is a reconstruction era law enacted to protect the civil rights of freed black people. It explicitly protects the ability to use transportation and allows black people to serve on juries. The law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883 when they ruled that the 14th Amendment only had the power to regulate states, not individuals.
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| Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned discrimination in employment. The act reflected over a century of political and legal activism.
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| Civil Rights Cases |
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These cases saw the Supreme Court push back on constitutional equal protection and the 1875 Civil Rights Act. The ruling held that the 13th Amendment "merely" abolished slavery and that the 14th Amendment did not apply to the racist acts of private individuals. The decision in these cases led to the increased segregation of Black people in all facets of public and private life.
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