 Peonage Act of 1867 |
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Following the passage of the 13th Amendment, this act officially abolished peonage, or debt slavery, in the United States. It specifically targeted New Mexico Territory, where this form of involuntary servitude was historically practiced. This act was later codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1994.
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| Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) |
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In the Supreme Court case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the ruling in Roe v. Wade was upheld, but changed the scrutiny standard from "strict scrutiny" to an "undue burden" standard.
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| Platt Amendment (1903) |
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The Platt Amendment was a part of the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 and stipulated conditions of Cuban independence following the Spanish-American war. It laid the foundation of Cuban-U.S. relations for the next several decades.
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| Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) |
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The case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania evaluated the legality of Pennsylvania's personal liberty laws. Margaret Morgan moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania after being granted her freedom. When relatives of her previous enslaver wanted to reclaim her, they sent Edward Prigg to Pennsylvania to find her. Pennsylvania courts found Prigg guilty of violating the state's personal liberty laws, but the Supreme Court ruled that the federal fugitive slave laws overrule state laws.
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| Proclamation 10903 - Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua (2025) |
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This proclamation issued by President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to apprehend and remove suspected members of Tren de Aragua from within the U.S. The proclamation calls for the apprehension, restraint, and removal of Venezuelan citizens who are at least 14 years of age, within the U.S., and who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
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| Proclamation 10948 - Enhancing National Security By Addressing Risks At Harvard University (2025) |
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This presidential proclamation claims that because of an increase of criminal activity at Harvard University, and a failure of the University to comply with federal directives, international student visas will be revoked.
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| Proclamation 10949 - Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats (2025) |
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A presidential proclamation that reinstates the muslim travel ban from Donald Trump's first presidency.
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| Proclamation 4417 - An American Promise (1976) |
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This proclamation issued by President Gerald Ford confirmed the termination of Executive Order 9066, which had authorized the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
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| Public Law 280 (1953) |
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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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| Quartering Act (1765) |
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A part of the American Mutiny Act, the Quartering Act required American colonists to house and board British soldiers. The Act placed financial burden of quartering soldiers on the colonies. It specified the supplies soldiers of different ranks were expected to be furnished with by the colonies, and the costs associated with failure to comply. This act is the reason the Third Amendment was included in the Constitution of the United States. Like the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Quartering Act forced colonists into extra financial responsibilities without any representation in Parliament.
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| Quartering Act (1774) |
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One of the Intolerable or Coercive Acts, the Quartering Act of 1774 expanded the Quartering Act of 1765 to allow soldiers to be housed in private homes. While the other Intolerable Acts applied directly to Massachusetts, the Quartering Act applied to all of colonial North America. After this act and the other Intolerable Acts were passed, the First Continental Congress met to formalize a reaction to the perceived overstepping of British parliament.
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| Queen Anne's Speech in Parliament (1712) |
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In a speech by Queen Anne before Parliament, she described a contract granted to England by Spain for slave trading rights and emphasized peace with France, as England received the contract from Spain.
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| Re: DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent (2025) |
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This memorandum from law professors across the United States explains how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legally defensible, in spite of the January 21, 2025, Executive Order titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
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| Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act Fact Sheet (2022) |
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This statement from the White House outlines critical elements in the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act signed by President Joe Biden as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.
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| Refugee Act (1980) |
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This act provided a permanent and systematic procedure for the admission of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States as well as comprehensive and uniform provisions for the effective resettlement and absorption of the refugees who are admitted.
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| Regulated Slave Trade Act (1788) |
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This act, also known as Dolben's Act, placed limits and regulations on the slave trade, and illustrates the attempts to regulate the numbers of children in the slave trade.
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| Rehabilitation Act (1973) |
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This act regulated the Department of Labor and specifically sought to limit discrimination based on disabilities. It required affirmative action in federal employment and created and extended civil rights to people with disabilities. While not as maybe far-reaching as the Americans with Disabilities Act, this act was passed nearly 20 years earlier.
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| Report of the Woman's Rights Convention Held at Seneca Falls (1848) |
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Generally credited as the first call for equal rights for women, this document is the result of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. It calls for suffrage rights for women, as well as equal rights in all aspects of society. The convention was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, both women were from abolitionist families, highlighting a sharp divide between women’s rights advocates before and after the Civil War.
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| Savanna's Act (2018) |
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Savanna's Act (also known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Act) addressed federal and tribal jurisdictional cooperation concerning issues of violence and disappearance in the Native American community. The law is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota who was murdered in 2017. The act was signed into law in 2020.
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| Scott Act (1888) |
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The Scott Act rejected the guarantee of free travel for Chinese people provided by the Angell Treaty of 1880. The act stated that Chinese laborers who left the U.S. would not be able to return.
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| Sedition Act (1798) |
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This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war. The Sedition Act made it illegal to print "false, scandalous and malicious writing" against the U.S. government. It was used to suppress speech critical of the Federalist Party.
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| Selective Service Act (1917) |
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This act authorized the U.S. government to raise a national army through compulsory enlistment via a draft. The military was segregated at the time of World War I, and Black soldiers were mostly relegated to labor roles.
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| Selective Training and Service Act (1940) |
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This act authorized the U.S. government to raise a national army through compulsory enlistment via a draft. While the act prohibited discrimination based on race, the military was still segregated at the time of World War II, and Black soldiers were mostly relegated to labor roles.
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| Shelby County v. Holder (2013) |
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This landmark Supreme Court decision overturned the federal pre-clearance section the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which required jurisdictions to seek approval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for D.C., before making changes to their voting laws. This decision limited the federal government's ability to protect voting rights for all citizens and has since allowed policies such as voter ID laws and the closing polling locations to limit voting rights for certain groups.
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| Somerset v. Stewart (1772) |
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This case heard before the English Court of King's Bench determined that slavery was unsupported by English Common Law and that no enslaved person could be forced out of England to be sold into slavery. James Sommerset was an enslaved person who had been purchased by Charles Stewart in Boston, Massachusetts, then taken to England. Sommerset later escaped, and Stewart had him captured and imprisoned on a ship headed to Jamaica. Sommerset's godparents applied for a writ of habeas corpus. Following the court’s decision, enslaved people in the American Colonies filed freedom suits based on Mansfield's ruling.
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