Law and Politics Documents

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.

This map depicts the free and slave States, from Historical Geography, by John F. Smith, Chicago.  It was published in 1888. Click on the i...

This letter, dated the 4th of April 1864, reflects President Lincoln's personal view of slavery.

People who were opposed to Prohibition, and the Volstead Act which would enforce it, challenged the law in the federal courts. This article is one wh...

When Susan Anthony was convicted for wrongfully voting in America's 1872 presidential election, she appealed to Congress to set aside the verdict. &nb...

Susan B. Anthony was convicted of unlawfully voting, in the 1872 presidential election, and sentenced to a fine of $100 plus court costs. This docume...

The Table of Contents page from the book, Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative.

This image depicts the tally of electoral votes for the election of 1800 where Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 votes. As a result of ...

This is a facsimile of Tennessee's ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  With this victory, the Amendment had enough sup...

When the Tennessee legislature considered the 19th Amendment, in August of 1920, the vote was even more important than it seemed.  How Tennessee ...

James Madison - as "Publius" - wrote "The Federalist No. 10."  In this famous essay, Madison addresses the concerns of "majority" versus "minorit...

This copy of The Federalist:  A Collection of Essays belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Click on the image for a better view.

The Mayflower Compact—Cornerstones of Freedom, by Melissa Whitcraft, is about the Pilgrims' voyage to America and the colony they established (a...

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