 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1920) |
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The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote by prohibiting the denial of suffrage based on sex. The amendment was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified August 18, 1920.
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| Abortion deemed manslaughter in the second degree (1830) |
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This New York state statute regarding abortion reflects the diverse landscape of abortion law in the nineteenth century.
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| Abortion: Sherri's Baby was Deformed (1962) |
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Sherri Chessen Finkbine caused an international controversy when she wanted to end her pregnancy when she believed she was carrying a deformed baby. Sherri was known for her role on a children's TV show and already had four children at the time of her abortion controversy. She brought questions about the life and health of the mother into the forefront of abortion debates.
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| Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia Colony (1642-1705) |
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Between 1642 and 1705, Virginia Colony established a series of statutes that increasingly limited the rights of Indigenous and Black residents while expanding the rights of Europeans. These acts reflect the increasing racialization of the colonial legal code.
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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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| An Act in Relation to Female Suffrage (1871) |
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This act in Washington Territory specifically denied women the right to vote. Women were given the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment, nearly 50 years later.
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| An Act Relating to Woman Suffrage (1897) |
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This act proposed to amend the Constitution of Washington State to grant women suffrage rights. Washington was one of 12 states to grant women the right to vote prior to the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
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| An Act to Amend "An Act Relative to Crime and Punishment" (1835) |
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This Indiana state statute regarding abortion reflects the diverse landscape of abortion law in the nineteenth century. This law punished individuals for helping pregnant women obtain a miscarriage.
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| An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage and to Hold Office (1869) |
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Wyoming was the first state to grant women suffrage rights. This act was the first in the world to grant women the right to vote and access to holding public office. It came 50 years before the 19th Amendment that guaranteed women's suffrage to the entire United States. Wyoming was the first of 15 states to grant women suffrage rights prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
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| Brief of Historians of Marriage and the American Historical Association as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners (2015) |
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This amicus brief for Obergefell v. Hodges was submitted by historians affiliated with the American Historical Society in support of same sex marriage.
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| Cable Act (1922) |
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The Cable Act was a federal law that repealed the Expatriation Act, restoring United States citizenship to American women married to foreigners. The act reflected early goals from newly-won women's suffrage.
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| Comstock Act (1873) |
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The Comstock Act restricted obscene material, contraceptives, and abortion-related materials from being sent through the mail. The act was named for Anthony Comstock, a member of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and a postal inspector. This act was passed during a time when healthcare was shifting from a woman's responsibility to a professional man's responsibility.
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| Dear Colleague Letter (2025) |
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This letter, sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, summarizes the Trump administration's position on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While the letter does not carry the force of law, it states that any institutions of higher education who do not comply with the administration's interpretation of existing nondiscrimination requirements may lose federal funding.
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| Defining Race & Lifelong Servitude in the Colonial Americas |
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This module links Spanish colonial documents from the turn of the sixteenth century to British colonial innovations in the seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries, demonstrating how European colonists developed a racialized hierarchy that justified the widespread enslavement of Africans and their descendants.
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| Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) |
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In the ruling it this case, the Supreme Court took away the constitutional right to abortion based on the right to privacy recognized by Roe v. Wade. This was the first time a Supreme Court decision took away a fundamental right from the people.
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| Doe v. Bolton (1973) |
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A Supreme Court case decided at the same time as Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton ruled that a Georgia abortion law limiting access to abortions to cases of rape, fetal deformity, or extreme injury to the mother was unconstitutional.
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| Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974) |
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This act prohibited discrimination in credit transactions and lending practices based on sex and marital status. It was amended in 1976 to include other characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, religion, and use of any public assistance program. Before the law was enacted, lenders and the federal government frequently and explicitly discriminated against female loan applicants.
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| Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 |
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The Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 was intended to guarantee protection against sexual discrimination for women. It passed Congress in 1972, but only 35 of the requisite 38 states ratified the amendment before the deadline set by Congress. The Equal Rights amendment was written by Alice Paul in 1921 and first presented to Congress in 1923, shortly after the amendment granting women voting rights was ratified.
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| Executive Order 11478 - Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government (1969) |
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This executive order from President Richard Nixon ensured the continuation of affirmative action and increased directives to limit discrimination in the workplace. Nixon added that this order intends to prevent discrimination based on sex as well as race.
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| Executive Order 12138 - Creating a National Women's Business Enterprise Policy and Prescribing Arrangements for Developing, Coordinating and Implementing a National Program for Women's Business Enterprise (1979) |
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This executive order from President Jimmy Carter established regulations to ensure women-owned businesses received support from the federal government and that women face less discrimination in the workplace.
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| Executive Order 14151 - Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing (2025) |
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This executive order by President Donald Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to terminate all mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It also requires federal agencies to report a list of all employees in DEI positions within 60 days. As a result, these employees were terminated.
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| Executive Order 14168 - Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (2025) |
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This executive order by President Donald Trump narrowly defines sex and gender in a way inconsistent with biology, prohibits gender self-identification on federal documents, ends funding for gender-affirming care, and restricts transgender people from being imprisoned in facilities consistent with their gender identity.
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| Executive Order 14173 - Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (2025) |
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This executive order by President Donald Trump takes aim at diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives in private institutions, especially institutions of higher education receiving federal funding. It also revokes several longstanding executive orders related to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
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| Expatriation Act (1907) |
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The Expatriation Act was a federal law that rescinded United States citizenship for American women that married foreigners.
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| From Back Alley to the Border: Criminal Abortion in the 20th Century U.S. |
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This teaching module looks at the history of criminal abortion in the 20th century, featuring a webinar with Alicia Gutierrez-Romine, author of the 2020 book, From Back Alley to the Border: Criminal Abortion in California, 1920-1969.
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