Supreme Court Decisions
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott's case holds a unique place in American constitutional history as an example of the Supreme Court trying to impose a judicial solution on a political problem.
Mar 26, 2006, 2:13pm

US Constitution & The Bill Of Rights
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution defines the fundamental law of the United States federal government, setting forth the three principal branches of the federal government, outlining their jurisdictions, and propounding the basic rights of U.S. citizens.
Mar 19, 2006, 6:01pm

US Constitution & The Bill Of Rights
Bill of Rights - Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.
Mar 19, 2006, 1:44pm

Amendments To The US Constitution
13th Amendment to the US Constitution
Abolition of Slavery, 1865
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, relating to slavery, was proposed on January 31, 1865, and ratification was completed on December 6, 1865.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:50pm

Amendments To The US Constitution
14th Amendment to the US Constitution
Civil Rights, 1868
On July 28, 1868, former slaves became citizens when the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:48pm

Amendments To The US Constitution
15th Amendment to the US Constitution
Voting Rights, 1870
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified and enacted in early spring, 1870, gave male citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:40pm

Agreements
Purchase of Alaska
The purchase of Alaska in 1867 marked the end of Russian efforts to expand trade and settlements to the Pacific coast of North America, and became an important step in the United States rise as a great power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:39pm

Acts
Homeland Security Act of 2002
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Department of Homeland Security to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States and to aid in the recovery of any attacks that do take place.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:25pm

Acts
Pacific Railway Act
In 1862 Congress passed the Pacific Railway Acts which designated the 32nd parallel as the initial transcontinental route and gave huge grants of lands for rights-of-way.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:21pm

Acts
Compromise of 1850
With the Compromise of 1850, Congress had addressed the immediate crisis created by territorial expansion.
Mar 17, 2006, 11:07pm

Speeches
Four Freedom's Speech
The Four Freedoms Speech was delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on January 6, 1941.
Mar 17, 2006, 10:54pm

Speeches
President Andrew Jackson's Messsage to Congress on Indian Removal, 1830
In 1830, Congress chose to disregard Indian treaty guarantees when it passed the Indian Removal Act, a bill engineered by President Andrew Jackson.
Mar 17, 2006, 10:52pm

Speeches
The Monroe Doctrine

� Allyn Cox (detail)

President James Monroe announced a new national policy. No new colonies would be allowed in the Americas, and European powers were not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

John Glenn conducted the first manned space orbit of the earth on February 20, 1962. This is the transcription of his in-flight communication with Mission Control in Florida.

On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered this "Day of Infamy Speech." Immediately afterward, Congress declared war, and the United States entered World War II.

At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. On that same date, the United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state (de jure recognition was extended on January 31, 1949).

During the Civil War approximately 186,000 African Americans served in the Union army in the U.S. Colored Troops. Black soldiers served in volunteer cavalry, artillery, and infantry units, but the opportunity to serve as regulars in the Army was not afforded African Americans until after the Civil War. In 1866, due in large part to the wartime service of the U.S. Colored Troops, Congress authorized the army to raise six black regiments: four infantry and two cavalry.

Robert Livingston and James Monroe closed on the sweetest real estate deal of the millennium when they signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris on April 30, 1803.

After decades of attempts to eliminate the history and religious practices of Native Americans, Congress passed this resolution on August 11, 1978 to protect and preserve their religious cultural rights and practices.

In this secret message of January 18, 1803, President Jefferson asked Congress for $2,500 to explore the Wes-all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Approved on February 8, 1887, "An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations," known as the Dawes Act, emphasized severalty, the treatment of Native Americans as individuals rather than as members of tribes.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." At 10:56 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. The telecast of the event, watched by over half a billion people around the world.

To announce his decision not to seek a third term as President, George Washington presented his Farewell Address in a newspaper article September 17, 1796.

� Allyn Cox (detail)

George Washington's first inauguration took place at Federal Hall in New York City, where the first Congress was assembled.

The Federalist, commonly referred to as the Federalist Papers, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788.

The first engagement of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, 1861. After 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered the fort to the Confederates.

In 1820, Missouri was allowed to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, thus keeping the balance of free and slave states equal in Congress. The remaining portion of Louisiana Purchase Territory north of the 3 30' line was deemed to be "forever free of slavery." This arrangement became known as the "Missouri Compromise" and is significant for its use as a legal argument in slave freedom suits.

By Act of Congress on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone National Park was "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and "for the preservation, from injury or spoilation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders. . . and their retention in their natural condition." Yellowstone is the first and oldest national park in the world.

As early as 1688, the Quakers had been expressing their opposition to slavery, which they considered to be sinful. This petition, asking that Congress end the slave trade, was signed by more than five hundred Quakers.

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson delivered this address to a joint session of Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. The resulting congressional vote brought the United States into World War I.

On May 29, 1787, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph proposed what became known as "The Virginia Plan." Written primarily by fellow Virginian James Madison, the plan traced the broad outlines of what would become the U.S. Constitution.

The Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, officially establishing the United States as in independent and sovereign nation.

On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman presented this address before a joint session of Congress. His message, known as the Truman Doctrine, asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Turkey and Greece.

Although the declaration of Human Rights is an International document, it was created at the urging and under the direction of Eleanor Roosevelt, U.N. Delegate.

Defenselink

The Marshall Plan was one of the key elements of U.S. foreign policy following World War II. The goals and philosophy of Secretary of State George C. Marshall as stated in 1947 continue to guide America's foreign aid program.

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