 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1840) |
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In this constitution, King Kamehameha III relinquished his absolute powers as ruler and established the equality of his subjects before the law.
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| Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1887) |
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Known as the Bayonet Constitution, King Kalākaua was made to sign the document under the threat of violence by an armed militia backed by a secret society which aimed to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Constitution placed significant limitations on the power of the monarchy and stripped Native Hawaiians of rights in favor of white non-citizens.
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| Constitution of the United States of America |
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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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| Creek Allotment Act |
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This excerpted congressional act brought the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into the federal process of allotment.
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| Creek Supplemental Agreement |
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Excerpts from this supplement to the Creek Agreement of 1901 renegotiated many legal issues related to allotment, including citizenship, leases, and inheritance. In particular, section six voided Creek law over land, descent, and distribution, and replaced it with Mansfield's Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas.
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| Criminal Docket, Sweetwater County Rock Springs Precinct, September 1885 |
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A Coroner’s Inquest investigated the murders of Chinese mine workers in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, in September 1885. While 16 white miners were arrested for participation in the massacre, no one was ever held legally responsible.
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| Curtis Act |
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These excerpts from the Curtis Act show federal land dispossession in Indian Territory through settler colonial judicial and administrative practices. The act dissolved regional tribal courts, voided tribal laws, and reorganized jurisdiction in Indian Territory.
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| Dawes Act |
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This classic document in Native American legal history formalized the process of federal land dispossession. Section 6 made claims to the adoption of civilized life as a necessary precursor to Indigenous participation in allotment.
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| De Lima v. Bidwell |
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De Lima v. Bidwell is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. This case considered whether the newly acquired territory of Puerto Rico was a "foreign country" and to what extent shipping duties applied to imports from Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. De Lima ruled that Puerto Rico was a part of the United States and duties should not be applied to imports. This case was decided on different grounds than that of Downes v. Bidwell, which ruled that unincorporated territories could be treated differently than states and incorporated territories.
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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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| Debt Recovery Act |
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The Debt Recovery Act of 1732 was a British law that allowed enslaved people to be used as collateral for loans. This sharply contrasted the Spanish colonial policy that prevented enslaved people from being used as collateral.
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| Declaration of Independence |
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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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| Defense of Marriage Act |
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The Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage federally as between a man and a woman, and allowed each state to recognize marriage based on its own definition. As a result, same-sex marriages granted under the laws of some states were not recognized by others.
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| Displaced Persons Act |
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The first U.S. policy regarding refugees, the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 only allowed for European people displaced by World War II to enter the United States as refugees. Despite the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights providing broad definitions for refugees, the United States continued to use narrow geographically or politically specific definitions for refugees until 1980.
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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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| Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians |
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After an anonymous boy was sexually assaulted by the manager of the Dollar General on Choctaw land, the boy sued the manager and Dollar General in Tribal Court, using the precedent set in Montana v. United States that tribal courts could regulate the activity of non-tribal members who enter into a consensual relationship with the tribe. The Supreme Court was equally divided, so the ruling of the Court of Appeals was held: the tribal court could exercise jurisdiction over Dollar General.
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| Dorr v. United States |
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Dorr v. United States is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. The court in Dorr ruled that residents of the Philippines were not entitled to a trial by jury. The case of Balzac v. Porto Rico decided the same in Puerto Rico.
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| Dow v. United States |
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In Dow v. United States, the Court of Appeals ruled that people from Southwest Asia could be considered white and were eligible for citizenship. This decision came seven years before the Supreme Court ruled that migrants from Japan and India were not white enough to be eligible for citizenship.
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| Downes v. Bidwell |
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Downes v. Bidwell is one of a series of cases decided by the Supreme Court addressing the status of U.S. territories known as the Insular Cases. This case considered whether the Constitution applied to territories, specifically Puerto Rico. It specifically considered the constitutionality of the Foraker Act which levied customs on exports from Puerto Rico. The Court ruled that the Constitution only fully applied to incorporated territories, while Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory.
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| Dred Scott v. Sandford |
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Dred Scott was owned by Dr. John Emerson. Emerson took Scott into Wisconsin, a free state. While living in a free territory, Scott got married and had children, believing he and his family were free. He was later taken back to Missouri where he sued for his freedom. The case ultimately decided that black people could not sue in federal court, and Justice Robert B. Taney said that black people were never meant to be included in the body politic. Dred Scott was later central to the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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| Duro v. Reina |
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This Supreme Court case looked at Native American tribal jurisdictions. The Court ruled that Native tribes did not have criminal jurisdiction over nonmembers.
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| Duro-Fix |
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This amendment to the Indian Civil Rights Act was designed to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling in Duro v. Reina. It reinstated the power of Native American tribes to exercise criminal misdemeanor jurisdiction over all Indians.
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| Edward Gantt v. Thomas Baldwin |
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This case centers on the whereabouts of a mixed race woman named Fanny who was enslaved by Edward Gantt. Gantt claimed that while aboard a steamboat captained by Thomas Baldwin, Fanny went missing. Gantt brought an action in trover against Baldwin to recover the monetary value of Fanny, $1,500. Witnesses deposed on behalf of Baldwin claimed that no such woman was ever on board, and also described the people of color who worked on the boat as well as those enslaved by passengers.
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| El Requerimiento |
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Citing papal and royal legal authority, the Spanish Requirement of 1513 informed Indigenous Americans of Spain's rights of conquest, stating that if Indigenous Americans defied Spanish authority and Catholic conversion, they could be justly put to death and/or enslaved.
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