 Downes v. Bidwell (1901) |
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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 (1857) |
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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 Supreme Court ultimately decided in the case that Black people could not sue in federal court and that they 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 (1990) |
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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 (1991) |
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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 (1836) |
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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 (1513) |
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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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| Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office (1887) |
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This act passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1887 places few restrictions on voting. Compare it to the act of 1902, which added literary and property ownership requirements meant to disenfranchise African Americans, resulting in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office (1902) |
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This act passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1902 contains literary and property ownership requirements for potential voters in an attempt to disenfranchise African Americans. Compare it to the 1887 act which placed few restrictions on voting. Application of statutes such as this one resulted in entrenched Jim Crow segregation.
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| Elk v. Wilkins (1884) |
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In Elk v. Wilkins, the Supreme Court denied United States citizenship to Native Americans. Newspapers at the time identified John Elk as Winnebago, however, he had renounced his tribal allegiance and resided off-reservation in Omaha, Nebraska. Elk brought his case before the court when he attempted to register to vote and was denied. He claimed birthright citizenship as defined by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was heard before both Circuit and District judges, and when they could not agree on a ruling, the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that despite severing tribal ties and living amongst white citizens, Elk could not claim birthright citizenship.
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| Emancipation Proclamation (1863) |
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The Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime measure that freed the enslaved people in territories occupied by confederate forces. Given by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the document represents the first step in ending American slavery by declaring those enslaved within confederate territories free and protected by the United States military.
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| Emmanuel Downing to John Winthrop (1645) |
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Downing's letter to Winthrop shows changing colonial attitudes to race and practices of enslavement.
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| Enforcement Act of 1870 |
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The Enforcement Act of 1870 was enacted to enforce the 15th Amendment during Reconstruction. It explicitly prohibited the use of terror, force, or disguise to violate a voter's constitutional right. This law was intended to protect the voting rights of Black Americans and penalize state officials and violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan who interfered.
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| Enforcement Act of 1871 |
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The Enforcement Act of 1871 revised the Enforcement Act of 1870 to further protect Black Americans' right to vote and hold office. It added more severe punishments to those who violated the constitutional rights of Black Americans. This act specifically called for federal oversight of national elections and empowered federal judges and marshals to supervise local polling places.
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| Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974) |
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This act prohibited discrimination in credit transactions and lending practices based on sex and marital status. It was amended in 1976 to include other characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, religion, and use of any public assistance program. Before the law was enacted, lenders and the federal government frequently and explicitly discriminated against female loan applicants.
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| Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 |
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The Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 was intended to guarantee protection against sexual discrimination for women. It passed Congress in 1972, but only 35 of the requisite 38 states ratified the amendment before the deadline set by Congress. The Equal Rights amendment was written by Alice Paul in 1921 and first presented to Congress in 1923, shortly after the amendment granting women voting rights was ratified.
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| Estimate of Property Loss Sustained by the Chinese in their respective camps at Rock Springs (1885) |
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In the wake of the 1885 Rock Springs Massacre, a U.S.- Chinese commission made up of politicians, ambassadors, and diplomats arrived in Wyoming Territory to collect testimony and tally the loss of property among Chinese laborers. The property lists accounted for individual property ownership, as well as property held in common by the Chinese miners.
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| Ex Parte Crow Dog (1883) |
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Ex Parte Crow Dog was a Supreme Court case that asserted the federal government's role in criminal jurisdiction on tribal lands. The Court held that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over crimes committed by Native peoples against one another on tribal land. The Court's decision in this case affirmed tribal sovereignty, leading to the passage of the Indian Major Crimes Act two years later, which brought certain crimes committed on tribal lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
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| Ex Parte Mitsuye Endo (1944) |
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In this case, the Supreme Court held that the federal government could not continue to hold citizens of Japanese ancestry who were "concededly loyal" to the United States, though the ruling did not find the actions of the War Relocation Authority unconstitutional as a whole. Mitsuye Endo was released.
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| Executive Order 10450 - Security Requirements for Government Employment (1953) |
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A part of the Lavender Scare, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Executive Order 10450 banned members of the LGBTQ+ community from being employed by the federal government.
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| Executive Order 10925 - Establishing the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (1961) |
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This executive order by President John F. Kennedy directed government contractors to use affirmative action to ensure people of any "race, creed, color, or national origin" were given equal treatment and opportunity for employment. This executive order also established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
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| Executive Order 11246 - Equal Employment Opportunity (1965) |
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This executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson created equal opportunity for federal employment and contracts, ending discrimination on race, creed, color, or national origin.
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| Executive Order 11246 - Equal Employment Opportunity (1965) |
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This executive order enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson was repealed by a January 2025 executive order from Donald Trump. The original order was written to ensure equal opportunity in government employment and limit discrimination based on race. It required employers to furnish documentation of nondiscriminatory practices upon request.
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| Executive Order 11478 - Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government (1969) |
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This executive order from President Richard Nixon ensured the continuation of affirmative action and increased directives to limit discrimination in the workplace. Nixon added that this order intends to prevent discrimination based on sex as well as race.
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| Executive Order 12138 - Creating a National Women's Business Enterprise Policy and Prescribing Arrangements for Developing, Coordinating and Implementing a National Program for Women's Business Enterprise (1979) |
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This executive order from President Jimmy Carter established regulations to ensure women-owned businesses received support from the federal government and that women face less discrimination in the workplace.
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| Executive Order 12432 - Minority Business Enterprise Development (1983) |
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This executive order from President Ronald Reagan sought to protect minority business owners and provide regulations to prevent discrimination. This was one of a series of executive orders to ensure affirmative action issued by every president across the second half of the twentieth century.
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