Are people born free? Do governments give rights to citizens or do citizens give-up some rights in exchange for good government? These are stories about people seeking and achieving their civil rights.
Benjamin Banneker, a free black, prepared an Almanac for 1792 which his publishers called "an extraordinary effort of genius." Banneker’s white ...
Jeannette Rankin was a lifelong activist for peace. A member of Congress - representing Montana in the House of Representatives before most Amer...
Image of a Defence Motion in the District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania proceedings - 1860. Click on the image for a better view.
During the 1930s, the federal government hired writers to obtain the oral histories of former slaves. John Fields was one of those interviewees....
John Quincy Adams, who represented the Amistad defendants in the Supreme Court, pondered his responsibility and expressed his thoughts in his diary. ...
When he represented the Amistad captives in the U.S. Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams personally handwrote his briefs. This image depicts one of...
Long after his death as a martyr in England, John Rogers was remembered in America. His story was included in a children’s text book in Ne...
Image of the signature page of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Lyndon Johnson signed this on July 2, 1964. Click on the image for a bet...
Jan Hus refused to recant his beliefs, no matter how hard anyone tried to change his mind. He had endured months of imprisonment in a rat-infest...
This text image depicts a page from Jupiter Hammon's famous speech to the African Society of New York City which he gave on the 24th of Sept...
This text image depicts a page from Jupiter Hammon's famous speech to the African Society of New York City which he gave on the 24th of Sept...
This text image depicts a page from Jupiter Hammon's famous speech to the African Society of New York City which he gave on the 24th of Sept...
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