 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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| 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1865) |
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The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States except for as punishment for a crime. This exception has become a source of debate and controversy regarding the escalation of incarceration rates and the exploitation of incarcerated people for the benefit of corporate profits. The amendment was passed by Congress January 31, 1865, and ratified December 6, 1865.
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| 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1868) |
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The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. The Equal Protection clause drastically amended the Constitution and has been used by the Supreme Court to justify expansion of rights. The amendment was passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868.
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| 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1870) |
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The Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to African American men by prohibiting the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The amendment was passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870.
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| 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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| 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1964) |
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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. The amendment was passed by Congress August 27, 1962, and ratified January 23, 1964.
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| A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital (1779) |
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This bill lays out punishments that suit a series of specific crimes. It is part of a series of bills revising Virginia's colonial laws as Virginia transitioned from colony to commonwealth. It limits the use of capital punishment for crimes other than murder and treason.
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| A Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552) |
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Bartolomé de las Casas' assessment of genocide during the Spanish colonization of the Caribbean is an early reframing of the myth of empire, as well as a foundational reckoning with concepts related to human rights.
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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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| 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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| 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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| Administration of Justice Act (1774) |
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One of the Intolerable Acts, the Administration of Justice Act was known as the Murder Act by colonists. The Administration of Justice Act allowed the Governor to remove any acquisition placed on a royal official if the governor did not believe the official would receive a fair trial. Colonists referred to this act as the Murder Act because they believed it would allow royal officials to get away with murder. The Intolerable, or Coercive, Acts were passed as a reaction to the Boston Tea party to reduce the rights of Massachusetts colonists and strengthen royal control over the colony. After this act and the other Intolerable Acts were passed, the First Continental Congress met to formalize a reaction to the perceived overstepping of British parliament.
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| Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (2013) |
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In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that a father who was a member of the Cherokee Nation could not reclaim parental rights of his child under the Indian Child Welfare Act because he never had custody of the child.
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| AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling" (2025) |
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This joint statement from the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians calls out the "politicization of history grounded in ahistorical thinking" mandated by Executive Order 14190. More than 30 other organizations have signed on to the statement.
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| Albert Wiley v. Moses Keokuk (1869) |
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In this case, Moses Keokuk, a chief of the Sac and Fox Nation, successfully used habeas corpus to free himself from the arrest and detention of a U.S. Indian Agent after he left the Sac and Fox reservation without authorization. When a lower court ordered his release, the agent appealed the case to the Kansas Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, acknowledging the mobility and autonomy of Native Americans.
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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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| Alien Registration Act (1940) |
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This act, also known as the Smith Act, required all non-citizens entering and living within the U.S. to register their alien status with the government. It also set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. This law was written to address concerns about subversive activities on the eve of American involvement in World War II.
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 Alien Registration Form for Kit Chun (1940) |
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The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required all non-citizens entering and living within the U.S. to register their alien status with the government by completing an Alien Registration Form. The AR-2 form included a questionnaire and a requirement that fingerprints be taken at the time of registration. This act, also known as the Smith Act, was written to address concerns about subversive activities on the eve of American involvement in World War II.
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| Amending Indian Appropriation Act of 1892 |
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This report from the Committee of Public Lands asserted that dispossessed treaty lands and former military reservations should be closer in price per acre to lands distributed under the Homestead Act.
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| American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978) |
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This act protected the right of Native Americans to practice their traditional religions and access to sacred sites, objects, and materials. The act was amended in 1994 to allow for the protected use of peyote as a sacrament in traditional religious ceremonies.
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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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