 Gratz v. Bollinger |
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In the case of Gratz v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court considered the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policy and found that race was too significant a factor in admissions decisions.
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| Grutter v. Bollinger |
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This Supreme Court case upheld the decision in University of California v. Bakke that the narrow use of race in admissions decisions was permissible. This precedent was overturned by the Supreme Court in Harvard and UNC v. Students for Fair Admissions.
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| Haaland v. Brackeen |
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In Haaland v. Brackeen, the Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, ruling that states could not circumvent ICWA adoption protocol.
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| In the Matter of Elizabeth Denison, James Denison, Scipio Denison, and Peter Denison, Jr. |
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Elizabeth, James, Scipio, and Peter Denison Jr. filed a writ of habeas corpus, seeking their freedom from Catherine Tucker based on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. Their enslaver claimed ownership based on Jay's Treaty, which allowed settlers of this territory to hold property of any kind, including enslaved people. While the courts eventually decided in favor of Tucker, the Denisons escaped into Canada, taking advantage of a doctrine that there was no obligation to give up fugitives from a foreign jurisdiction. They eventually returned to Michigan Territory and lived as freedmen.
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| In the Matter of Julia alias Mary Ann on Habeas Corpus |
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In 1834, Julia successfully filed a freedom suit in St. Louis. Two years later, her mother, having secured her own freedom, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of Julia, claiming that she was still being held by her former enslavers. When Julia was presented to the court, the writ was discharged, the court "being satisfied that she is contented with her situation, and does not wish to exchange it."
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| In the Matter of Ralph on Habeas Corpus |
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Ralph was an enslaved Black man who made an agreement with his Missouri enslaver to purchase his freedom. In order to earn the sum, Ralph was permitted to move to Dubuque in order to work in the lead mines. When he failed to pay the money after several years, his enslaver came to Dubuque with the intention of taking Ralph back to Missouri. Ralph appeared before the Court on a writ of habeas corpus, where the Court found that as slavery was prohibited in Iowa Territory, he was entitled to his freedom. This case was the first case heard by the Supreme Court of Iowa.
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| In the Matter of the Application of Agnes Smith for a Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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The habeas corpus petition of Agnes Smith shows legal challenges on the part of women in the early twentieth century from carceral confinement. After she was committed to an institute for "feeble-minded youth," Agnes' parents attempted to regain custody of her. The court denied the writ, claiming that Agnes was a "fit and proper subject" for the institution.
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| In the Matter of the Application of Andrew J. Sawyer for Writ of Habeas Corpus for Chin Tu Ling, Lee Shun, and Look Fung |
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The habeas corpus petitions related to the Mee Lee Wah Village show legal challenges related to carceral confinement and immigration in the nineteenth century.
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| In the Matter of the Application of Mary Marshall, mother of William Marshall an Infant, for a Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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The habeas corpus petition of Mary Marshall shows legal challenges related to carceral confinement and child custody in the nineteenth century. After being abandoned by her husband, a mother and her three children were forced to enter a charitable home. When one child became ill, he was given to the custody of a physician. The court ruled that custody of the child was lawful, but that in six months time, the mother could petition to amend or modify the judge's order.
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| In the Matter of the Application of Standing Bear et al. for a Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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Standing Bear's writ of habeas corpus showed implications for citizenship, land dispossession, and human rights.
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| In the matter of the Petition of William M. Parkinson for a Writ of Habeas Corpus |
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The habeas corpus petition of William M. Parkinson shows legal challenges related to child custody in the nineteenth century. In this case, a father used habeas corpus in an attempt to retrieve his nine-year-old son from his ex-wife and her new husband. The child's fate is unknown.
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| John Jones v. Robert F. Logan |
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When John Jones was arrested as a fugitive from slavery, he petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. Born free in Pennsylvania, upon hearing the facts of the case, Jones was released by the court.
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| Julia, alias Mary Ann v. Robert Duncan |
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This freedom suit was brought on behalf of Julia, a child under the age of 21 who was unlawfully enslaved in St. Louis by the man who sold her free mother into slavery in Louisiana. Although the court granted Julia her freedom, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by her mother two years later shows that Julia was still being held by her enslaver.
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| Louisiana Purchase Treaty |
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The Louisiana Purchase Treaty reflected United States ambitions toward empire, while ignoring critical issues regarding the incorporation of Native nations.
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| Making A Sioux Indian Into An American Citizen |
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In this newspaper article, Secretary of Interior Franklin Lane gives an account of a naturalization ritual that took place on the Yankton Reservation, South Dakota, in 1916. This article highlights the lived experience of naturalization processes for Native American individuals becoming U.S. citizens, revealing the involvement of other participants at the ceremony. This account highlights the complexities with receiving allotment for Native individuals and some of the effects citizenship had on legal and political rights. With a photograph of the event, this document provides a glimpse into the symbolic nature of the event, where the restructuring of Native identity encouraged in Allotment and Assimilation era policies is performed.
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| Matilda v. Isaac Vanbibber |
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Matilda was a Black girl, aged twelve or thirteen, who was brought into Indiana Territory and later forcibly removed to Missouri Territory and sold as a slave. In her petition for freedom, Matilda argued that she earned her freedom while in Indiana Territory by virtue of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which banned slavery in the new territories.
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| Medicine Lodge Treaty |
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Signed between the United States government and several of the Great Plains Native American tribes, the Medicine Lodge Treaties were a series of treaties relocating these Native American groups to Indian Territory. The October 21, 1867 treaty relocated the Kiowa and Comanche people.
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| Milly v. Mathias Rose |
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In this freedom suit, Milly sued for her freedom on behalf of herself and her two children Eliza and Bob. Milly argued that she should be free on account of being held in slavery in the free Illinois Territory.
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| Miscarriage (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1867) |
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The Illinois state statute regarding miscarriage reflects the diverse landscape of abortion law in the nineteenth century.
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| Missouri Compromise |
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The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The compromise also suggested that slavery be prohibited north of the 36°30' latitude, which was followed until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
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| Missouri v. Celia - Newspaper Coverage |
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In 1855, the Callaway County Circuit Court in Missouri convicted eighteen-year-old Celia of murdering her enslaver. Her case considered whether she was guilty of murder or if she could be acquitted due to self-defense from sexual assault. The court ruled that Celia's enslaved status prevented her from being eligible to protect herself, and she was sentenced to death. Newspapers in Missouri reported on the murder and resulting trial.
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| More Than a Snapshot: Will Brown's Lynching and the Violence of History |
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This teaching module discusses the history racial violence in the Midwest, featuring a webinar with Ashley Howard, author of the 2025 book, Midwest Unrest: 1960s Urban Rebellions and the Black Freedom Movement.
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| Nebraska Abortion Statute (1873) |
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The Nebraska state statute regarding abortion reflects the diverse landscape of abortion law in the nineteenth century.
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| Nebraska Abortion Statute (1929) |
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The Nebraska state statute regarding abortion reflects the diverse landscape of abortion law before Roe v. Wade.
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| Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative |
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This amendment to the Nebraska Constitution banned the use of affirmative action in the "operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting." It was initiated as a ballot measure that was approved in 2008.
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