 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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| Abortion deemed manslaughter in the second degree (N. Y. Rev. Stat. 1830) |
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The 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 |
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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 |
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Between 1639 and 1691, 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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| Alice McKay v. John Kevan and Della Kevan |
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The habeas corpus petition of Alice McKay shows legal challenges related to child custody in the nineteenth century. In this case, a mother petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus after placing one of her children with a charitable organization to receive medical care and custody of the child was eventually given to a married couple. Before a court order was made in the case, the mother abducted the child from the married couple's home. Custody of the child was awarded by the court to the married couple.
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| An Act in Relation to Female Suffrage |
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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 |
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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" |
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The 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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court argued against the right of privacy, overturning Roe v. Wade.
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| Doe v. Bolton |
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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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| Elizabeth Bird v. Frances Pattmore |
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The habeas corpus petition of Elizabeth Bird shows legal challenges related to child custody in the nineteenth century. In this case, Bird argued that she was made the legal guardian of Missouri Bird, a ten year old child, by the child's mother, and claimed that Missouri was being confined to the house of Frances Pattmore. Pattmore responded that Missouri's presence in her house was of her own free will. The court awarded custody of Missouri to Pattmore.
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| Equal Credit Opportunity Act |
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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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| Executive Order 11478 - Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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