 Nebraska Vagrancy Law (1881) |
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Vagrancy acts passed by the Nebraska state legislature reflected race-neutral legal language that was used to target the poor, people of color, and women.
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| Nebraska Vagrancy Law (1929) |
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Vagrancy acts passed by the Nebraska state legislature reflected race-neutral legal language that was used to target the poor, people of color, and women.
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| Negroes and Mulattoes |
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Part of the Black Codes passed by Northwest Ordinance states prior to Reconstruction, this article in the Indiana Constitution is an example of the way "free" states ensured white supremacy.
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| Northwest Ordinance |
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The Northwest Ordinance had important legal and political implications during the Early Republic. A key feature of the legislation was the recognition of tribal sovereignty and legal jurisdiction.
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| Obergefell v. Hodges |
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In the landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court found that same-sex marriage was protected under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
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| Omaha Grapples with its Ugly Past (Will Brown) |
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This article looks at the legacy of the lynching of Will Brown, featuring interviews with prominent, Black Omaha community members Preston Love and Ernie Chambers, as well as University of Nebraska-Omaha Urban studies professor, Barbara Hewins-Maroney.
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 Omaha's Riot in Story & Pictures |
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This series of photographs document the race riot in Omaha that culminated in the lynching of Will Brown in front of the Douglas County Courthouse. In the first, as many as 20,000 people gather outside an already damaged courthouse. In the second, white rioters smile around the remains of the police car they had set ablaze. And in the third, federal troops guard the intersection of 24th and Lake streets, an area with a large number of Black homes and businesses.
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| Paul Jones v. George W. Jones |
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Paul Jones initiated a suit in a Wisconsin Territory court against George W. Jones for several sums of money owed to him for labor, goods, wares, and merchandise. George argued that Paul was purchased as a slave for life from French inhabitants who were entitled to hold slaves according to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
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| President Thomas Jefferson's Confidential Message to Congress |
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Jefferson's statement showed government interest in tribal removal, land appropriation, and eventual dispossession.
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| Public Law 280 |
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This law gave California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin criminal and civil jurisdiction on Indian reservations, as the U.S. government resolved to terminate the special trustee relationship tribes held with the United States, eroding tribal sovereignty.
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| Remembering a dark past, renewing resolve for the future (Will Brown) |
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This article from the Omaha World Herald describes Omaha's official observance of the 100-year anniversary of the lynching of Will Brown. Omaha Mayor, Jean Stothert, spoke at the commemoration calling Will Brown's lynching one of the darkest days in our history.
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| Royal Proclamation of 1763 |
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Following the Treaty of Paris, the Royal Proclamation of 1765 ceded all North American French territory to the British government. The proclamation set up governments for the new British territories. It also limited settlement past a line drawn down the Appalachian Mountains. As a reward to the soldiers who fought in the war, the document also outlines the amount of land soldiers of different ranks were entitled to.
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| Smith v. Directors of Independent School Dist. of Keokuk |
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In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's ruling that the Keokuk school district could not refuse to admit a Black student based on race. Legal precedent for this case as set in the 1868 ruling in Clark v. Board of School Directors.
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| State of Iowa v. Katz |
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In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court's jury verdict that Katz Drug Store violated the civil rights of three Black patrons when workers refused to serve them at the store's soda fountain.
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| State of Missouri v. Celia |
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In this case, eighteen-year-old Celia was convicted of murdering her enslaver. The case considered whether Celia 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.
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| Stenberg v. Carhart |
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The Supreme Court found, in Stenberg v. Carhart, that a Nebraska state ban on partial-birth abortion was unconstitutional.
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 The Lynching of Will Brown |
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The day after the lynching of Will Brown, the Omaha Bee devoted the first two pages of its edition to the racial terror violence enacted by a mob of white Omahans. The articles on these pages provide different perspective of the race riot, from the crowds cheering at the destruction of government buildings, to the alleged assault victim's shock at the incident. The newspaper also featured a list of victims of the mob.
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| Tinker v. Des Moines School District |
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The Supreme Court's decision in this case recognized the First Amendment right to freedom of speech or expression in U.S. public schools.
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| Treaty of Fort Laramie |
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Signed between the U.S. and the Sioux Nation, this treaty granted the Black Hills to the Sioux people as part of their reservation. A few years later, General George Custer led an expedition through the Black Hills where they found gold. American violation of this treaty led to the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Ownership of the Black Hills continues to be disputed today.
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| Treaty of Paris |
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The Treaty of Paris was signed by the United States and Britain in 1783 to end the American War for Independence (1775- 1783). It recognized the United States as an independent state and delineated the Western boundaries of the new country.
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| United States, ex rel. Standing Bear, v. George Crook |
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In this case, Judge Elmer S. Dundy ruled that "an Indian is a person within the meaning of the laws of the United States," and that they were entitled to the right of expatriation. Standing Bear and 29 other Ponca had left their reservation in Indian Territory without the permission of the federal government and returned to Nebraska. They were later arrested and petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted. Judge Dundy's opinion led to the release of the Ponca petitioners.
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| Webinar - More Than a Snapshot: Will Brown's Lynching and the Violence of History |
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In this webinar, Professor Ashley Howard of the University of Iowa discusses racial violence in the Midwest with Dr. Katrina Jagodinsky and her Rights & Wrongs in American Legal History class.
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| Winny v. Phebe Whitesides alias Prewitt |
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This case was the first freedom suit heard by the Missouri Supreme Court. Winny claimed her freedom on account of being brought into the free territory of what would become Illinois before being removed to Missouri. The court found in favor of her freedom, establishing a "once free, always free" precedent that was eventually overturned by the decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford.
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