 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1795) |
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The Eleventh Amendment sets judicial jurisdictions, creating a separation between federal and state court systems. The amendment was passed by Congress March 4, 1794, and ratified February 7, 1795.
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| Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves (1807) |
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The Act abolishes the slave trade in the United States but not the slave trade itself. This came at the same time Britain ended the slave trade, although Britain abolished all slavery several decades before the United States. The Constitution of the United States provided that the slave trade had to continue for 20 years past the document’s creation, and the slave trade was ended at the 20 year mark.
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| Alien Enemies Act (1798) |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war. In 2025, the President invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the exportation of Venezuelan suspected gang members.
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| Alien Friends Act (1798) |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war.
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| An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa (1788) |
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A first-person account of what the slave trade looked like and the conditions on slave ships. The account demonstrates the cognitive dissonance between understanding that enslaved people are humans and the profit-centered ways they were treated.
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| An Act Concerning Slaves and Servants (1813) |
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This act was one of several passed by the New York State Legislature relating to the gradual abolition of slavery. It details conditions for manumission and reiterates that any child born to an enslaved woman after July 4, 1799 would be born free, and establishes rules for the care of freedmen.
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| An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1807) |
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The Act abolishes the slave trade in and among British territories, but not the slave trade itself. This came at the same time the United States ended the slave trade, although Britain abolished all slavery several decades before the United States.
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| An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (1799) |
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This act was the first of several passed by the New York State Legislature relating to the gradual abolition of slavery. It declared that any child born to an enslaved woman after July 4, 1799 would be born free, provided that the child serve the enslaver of his or her mother until they reach the age of twenty-eight years and twenty-five years respectively.
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| An Act making compensation to Messrs. Lewis and Clark, and their companions (1807) |
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This Congressional act showed government interest in land appropriation. Exploration by white Americans laid foundations for tribal land dispossession.
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| An Act Relative to Slaves and Servants (1817) |
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This act was the last of several passed by the New York State Legislature relating to the gradual abolition of slavery. It set July 4, 1827, as the date of emancipation for enslaved people in the state who had been born before July 4, 1799.
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| An Act to enable persons held in slavery, to sue for their freedom (1807) |
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This territorial statute presented an opportunity for enslaved people to sue for their freedom in Louisiana Territory courts. It also specified how petitioners were to be treated by defendants while the freedom suit was being heard.
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| An Act to enable the President of the United States to take possession of the territories ceded by France to the United States (1803) |
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This federal law allowed the United States to ratify the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, and reflected United States ambitions toward empire, while ignoring critical issues regarding the incorporation of Native nations.
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| An Act to Prevent Kidnapping (1820) |
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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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| Ann v. Henry Hight (1816) |
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Ann was a Black woman indentured by a man who took her from Maryland to Illinois and finally into Missouri, contrary to an Illinois law that required the consent of the servant if they were taken beyond the state's borders. Upon her employer's death, the executor of his estate, Henry Hight, claimed her as a slave for life. Ann petitioned for her freedom in a Missouri court and won.
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| Arch v. Barnabas Harris (1818) |
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This freedom suit illustrates how enslaved people presented a fundamental issue in the legal system. The central question in Arch's case was a question between personal liberty, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, versus a right to personal property, also enshrined in the Declaration.
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| Articles of Confederation (1777) |
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The first constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, were only in place for eight years due to the limited power granted to the federal government. The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the current constitution in 1789.
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| Bill of Rights (1791) |
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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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| Charles Mahoney v. John Ashton (1791) |
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This freedom suit was based on the claim that the petitioner was descended from a free Black woman who was an indentured servant when she arrived in colonial Maryland from England. Mahoney's attorneys invoked the Somerset principle, 18th century British case law, and even the Declaration of Independence to secure his freedom, but after three jury trials, Mahoney remained enslaved.
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| Charlotte Dupee, Charles, & Mary Ann v. Henry Clay (1829) |
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In this freedom suit, Charlotte Dupee sought to claim freedom for herself and her children from Henry Clay, the outgoing Secretary of State and leading Whig Senator from Kentucky. While the courts did find in her favor, Charlotte continued to resist her enslavement until she and her daughter Mary Ann were ultimately manumitted 1840.
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| Constitution of the United States of America (1787) |
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The Constitution of the United States of America outlines the structure of the United States Government. This document is the foundation of United States' laws. Article 1 provides directions for the legislative branch and the basic differences between the two legislative bodies. Article 2 outlines the role of the Executive Branch of government, led by the President. The document gives significant power to the legislative branch and limits the power of the executive. Article 3 organizes the Judicial Branch and gives it the authority to keep the other branches adherent to the Constitution. Article 4 provides description on the interaction between states and the federal government. The Constitution provides minimal guidance for each branch of government, but also provides methods to amend it.
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| Declaration of Independence (1776) |
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The Declaration of Independence formally announced the separation of the 13 United States from the United Kingdom. The document lists the reasons members of the second Continental Congress believed they should no longer be under British colonial rule.
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| Dorinda v. John Simonds Jr. (1826) |
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In this case, an enslaved woman named Dorinda sued for her freedom in a Missouri court, claiming she had become free due to being taken to reside in Illinois for a time.
While her suit was pending, Dorinda wrote to her attorney with concerns that her enslaver had violated the court's order not to remove her from its jurisdiction. Her suit was eventually dismissed, and it is unknown whether she was able to obtain her freedom.
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| Equal Protection, Reconstruction, and the Meaning of the 14th Amendment |
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This teaching module discusses the 14th Amendment and the implications of equal protection under the law, featuring a webinar with Kate Masur, author of the 2021 book, Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction.
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| Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 |
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The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 gave power to Article IV Section 2 Clause 3 of the Constitution that stated slave owners were allowed to recover escaped slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act required anyone who found a fugitive to return them, across state lines to the slave owner. It put fugitive slaves at risk of recapture for the rest of their lives. This fugitive slave policy was later superseded by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
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| Gradual Abolition Laws, Race, and Freedom in the Early Republic |
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This module highlights the complexities of gradual abolition legislation in the Early Republic, focusing on a lawsuit to reestablish the freedom of an African American teenager from New York City named John Johnson. Johnson's experience demonstrates the new opportunities and distinct challenges that gradual abolition laws created for African Americans.
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