Pre Constitution Documents
1215-1799
A Collection of mostly Colonial charters and bills of rights
English Bill of Rights
1689
Parliament made King William of England sign this to end the English Civil War
Declaration of Independence
1776
Specifies deficiencies of English rule over colonies
Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man
1789
French Revolution's statement of Natural Rights
Rights of Man
1791
Essay by American Propogandist Thomas Paine
Articles of Confederation
1781
Precursor to US Constitution
Federalist and Antifederalists
1790
Debate on Ratification of Constitution
Bill of Rights
Secifies limits of Federal power over individual
Marbury V. Madison
1803
Establishes Power of Judicial Review
Barron v. Baltimore
1833
Bill of Rights not apply to state power
Dredd Scott v. Sanford
1857
Blacks not meant to be citizens
13th amendment
1865
Abolition of Slavery
14th amendment
1868
Federal Citizenship for African Americans
15th amendment
1870
Federal and State Citizenship for African Americans
Slaughterhouse cases
1873
Dual Fed and State citizenship
SANTA CLARA COUNTY v. SOUTHERN PAC. R. CO., 118 U.S. 394 (1886)
1886
Plessey v. Ferguson
1896
Separate but Equal doctrine
Missouri Pacific Railway Co. V Nebraska
Corporations are individuals entititled to
19th amendment
1920
Women get the Vote
Gitlow v. Newyork
1925
Free Speech
Near V Minn
1931
Free Press
Powell v Alabama
1932
Fair trial and right to counsel in capital cases
Hamilton v. Regents of U of Cal.
1934
Freedom of religion
De Jong v. Oregon
1937
Freedom of assembly
Korematsu v. US
1946
Internment of Japanese
Everson v. Board of Ed.
1947
Separation of Church and state
UN Charter of Rights
1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Wolf v. Colorado
1949
Protection against unreasonable search and seizure
Brown v. Board of Education
1954
Segregation not constitutional (overturn Plessey)
NAACP v Alabama1
1958
Freedom of association
Mapp v. Ohio
1961
Exclusionary Rule
Gideon v. Wainwright
1963
Right to counsel in all felony cases
Malloy v. Hogan
1964
Right against self Incrimination
Griswold v. Conn
1965
Right to Privacy
European Union Charter of Rights
2000
Europe's efforts at individual rights in a federation of sovereign states.
Gun rights
Court and legal resources
Religion
Some sites on Religious liberty
Indian Law Resources
Court resources on Indian Law
Continuity of Congress
2003
What if Congress is destroyed by terrorists
Federal Budget
Social Security
World trade, aid and poverty