 Constitution And By-Laws of the Sac and Fox Tribe of Missouri (1937) |
|
As part of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Native American tribes were encouraged to create tribal governments that mirrored the United States government. Many of the tribes' constitutions were essentially the same.
|
| Constitution of Oregon (1859) |
|
Oregon became a state with a Black exclusion law in its constitution. Drafted in 1857 by delegates at a territorial convention, several sections of the constitution reflect Oregon voters' goal of creating a white-only state.
|
| Constitution of the Confederate States of America (1861) |
|
The Confederate Constitution explicitly protected slavery and its expansion into new territories. It also defined the presidency as a single six-year term.
|
| Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1840) |
|
In this constitution, King Kamehameha III relinquished his absolute powers as ruler and established the equality of his subjects before the law.
|
| Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1887) |
|
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.
|
| Constitution of the United States of America (1787) |
|
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.
|
| Cornerstone Speech (1861) |
|
In this speech, Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens discussed what he deemed "one of the greatest revolutions in the annals of the world," the secession of seven states from the United States and formation of a new republic . The cornerstone of this new government, Stephens declared, "rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition."
|
| Creek Allotment Act (1901) |
|
This act brought the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into the federal process of allotment.
|
| Creek Supplemental Agreement (1902) |
|
This supplement to the Creek Agreement of 1901 renegotiated many legal issues related to allotment, including citizenship, leases, and inheritance. In particular, section 6 voided Creek law over land, descent, and distribution, and replaced it with Mansfield's Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas.
|
| Criminal Docket, Sweetwater County Rock Springs Precinct, September 1885 |
|
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.
|
| Curtis Act (1898) |
|
The Curtis Act shows 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.
|
| Dawes Act (1887) |
|
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.
|
| De Lima v. Bidwell (1901) |
|
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.
|
| Dear Colleague Letter (2025) |
|
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.
|
| Debt Recovery Act (1732) |
|
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.
|
| Declaration of Independence (1776) |
|
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.
|
| Defense of Marriage Act (1996) |
|
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.
|
| Discussions of Habeas Corpus in the Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1845-1905) |
|
In this collection of reports to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Indian agents wrote of their concerns regarding the use of habeas in and beyond Indian Country. While the majority of lower court records are unpublished and unindexed, these reports compiling the complaints and summaries of agents accounting for every reservation within the U.S. provides insight into the presence of Indigenous litigants and defendants in the legal system.
|
| Displaced Persons Act (1948) |
|
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.
|
| Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) |
|
In the ruling it this case, the Supreme Court took away the constitutional right to abortion based on the right to privacy recognized by Roe v. Wade. This was the first time a Supreme Court decision took away a fundamental right from the people.
|
| Doe v. Bolton (1973) |
|
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.
|
| Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (2016) |
|
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.
|
| Dorinda v. John Simonds Jr. (1826) |
|
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.
|
| Dorr v. United States (1904) |
|
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.
|
| Dow v. United States (1915) |
|
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.
|