What the law requires (or allows) is not always fair or just or honorable. Politics is often polarizing. Stories in this collection help us to examine the highs and lows of "the law" over the centuries.
Elizabeth Packard wrote several books to financially support herself (since, under Illinois law, she no longer had the right to her dowry becase she w...
The first page of the Emancipation Proclamation. Click on the image to examine it more closely.
The second page of the Emancipation Proclamation. Click on the image to examine it more closely.
The third page of the Emancipation Proclamation. Click on the image to examine it more closely.
The fourth page of the Emancipation Proclamation. Click on the image to examine it more closely.
President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863. It freed slaves in the Confederacy, but Lincoln had no power over the Co...
The Espionage Act of May 16, 1918, gave the United States sweeping powers against anyone who spoke out against the government. Charles Schenck w...
This document ordered the execution of Britain's King, Charles I. Click on the image to view it in greater detail.
This is the first page of Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, which led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World...
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention issued a report on the 13th of September, 1787 preparing for the first federal elections.
Image of George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation which was published in the Massachusetts Centinel on October 14, 1789. Click on the image for ...
Image of Virginia Governor John Floyd's letter to John Hamilton. Click on the image for a better view.
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