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.

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...

This image depicts a page from the 9th edition of Fox’s Book of Martyrs.  Influenced by William Tyndale, John Rogers was a Catholic priest...

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...

When he learned about the Gunpowder Plot, King James offered to pardon anyone who was actually involved but who gave-up a fellow conspirator.  He...

This is an excerpt from Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland - James VI's Demonology and the North Berwick Witches - by Lawrence Normand and Gareth Rob...

On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee proposed a resolution to assert the independence of Britain's "United Colonies" in America.

The conspirators, who were part of the "Gunpowder Plot," agreed to keep their plan secret and would tell no one outside of their group about it.  ...

Ever since Lusitania sank following a U-Boat strike, people have debated whether the great ship was carrying war materiel during her last voyage.

The following summarizes conversations between diplomats during the immediate time before Pearl Harbor was bombed. SUMMARY OF THE HULL-NOMURA CONVE...

During America's years of chattel slavery, people could be bought and sold.  If an "owner" of slaves died, the slaves would be inventoried as "pr...

On the 14th of September, 1963, McGeorge Bundy - a special assistant to President Kennedy - wrote a memo about "World Reaction to Developments in Viet...

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