 Treaty with the Navajo Nation (1868) |
|
The 1868 Treaty with the Navajo allowed them to return to their ancestral lands during a period of history where the U.S. government were removing Native Americans from their homelands.
|
| Trouble in Fairfax: The Quander Case (1879) |
|
In February 1879, Felix Quander and his family were the victims of violence at the hands of county officials. In a letter to the Editor of the National Republican newspaper in D.C., Quander, or someone writing on his behalf, describes the attack upon his family. Related newspaper coverage of events follow.
|
| U.S. Constitutionalism and Native American Sovereignty |
|
This teaching module discusses the centrality of Native people and their nations throughout American history, featuring a webinar with Ned Blackhawk, author of the 2023 book, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.
|
| U.S. Freedman's Bank Records, Registers of Signatures of Depositors, New York (1870) |
|
Freedman's Bank records show both strivings toward stability as well as racialization and colorism post-emancipation due to the specific color-related information listed with deposits.
|
| United States v. Joseph (1876) |
|
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Pueblo people were not Indians within the meaning of the Indian Nonintercourse Act in part because they had received full legal title to their land from the Spanish.
|
| United States v. Kagama (1886) |
|
This Supreme Court case asserted the federal government's role in criminal jurisdiction on tribal lands. The Court ruled that the Indian Major Crimes act was constitutional, therefore federal courts had jurisdiction to indict Native defendants for murder.
|
| United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) |
|
In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court solidified the principle of birthright citizenship, affirming that anyone born in the U.S., regardless of their parents' citizenship, is a U.S. citizen.
|
| United States v. Yellow Sun (1870) |
|
In this case, a federal court in Nebraska debated the question of federal or state jurisdiction over Native Americans suspected of a crime committed outside a reservation. The court held that there were no treaty rights or congressional provisions that required federal jurisdiction, therefore states had jurisdiction over crimes committed within its boundaries unless on tribal land. They also held that because crimes committed on tribal lands were not in violation of any federal laws, the state had civil and criminal jurisdiction over tribal lands.
|
| United States, ex rel. Standing Bear, v. George Crook (1879) |
|
In this case, Judge Elmer S. Dundy ruled that "an Indian is a person within the meaning of the laws of the United States," and that they were entitled to the right of expatriation. Standing Bear and 29 other Ponca had left their reservation in Indian Territory without the permission of the federal government and returned to Nebraska. They were later arrested and petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted. Judge Dundy's opinion led to the release of the Ponca petitioners.
|
| Vanguard: Black Women and the Right to Vote |
|
This teaching module discusses how Black women fought against both racism and sexism during their fight for women's suffrage, featuring a webinar with Martha S. Jones, author of the 2020 book, Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.
|
| Webinar - The Insular Cases and Contested Citizenship (2024) |
|
In this webinar, Professor Robert McGreevey of the College of New Jersey discusses the intersection of U.S. colonial power and migration with Dr. Jeannette Eileen Jones and her And Justice For All class.
|
| Webinar - U.S. Constitutionalism and Native American Sovereignty (2023) |
|
In this webinar, Professor Ned Blackhawk of Yale University discusses his recent book The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, which argues for the centrality of Native people and their nations throughout American history from the colonial era to the present, as well as tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law in the United States.
|
| Webinar - Vanguard: Black Women and the Right to Vote (2024) |
|
In this webinar, Professor Martha S. Jones of Johns Hopkins University discusses Black women and the right to vote with Dr. William Thomas and his American Constitutional History class.
|
| White Person Marrying a Negro or Celebrating Such Marriage (1873) |
|
This act passed by the Virginia General Assembly punished any white person who intermarried with a Black person with fines and jail time. It also fined the person who conducted the ceremony, with half of the fine going to the informant who reported the marriage to authorities.
|
| Woman Suffrage in Territories (1883) |
|
This newspaper article discusses the women's suffrage act passed in Washington Territory. Washington was the third territory to grant women suffrage rights, although the Territorial Supreme Court later overturned the law.
|
| Wyoming Declaration of Rights (1889) |
|
The first article of the State of Wyoming's Constitution enumerates certain rights within the state. Wyoming Territory was the first government to grant women suffrage rights, and that right was preserved in the Declaration of Rights when organizing the state government.
|