Historical Documents

Reconstruction Amendments 1865-1870
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Cesar Chaves with Robert Kennedy at the end of his fast
1968 Fasting Statement
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
The rough draft of The Declaration of Independence written in June, 1776.
Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Executive Order 10925
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Picture of OAS's fifty-second Assembly in Lima, Peru
Organization of American States (OAS) Charter
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
President Johnson signing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act 2021
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Supports of the Dream Act holding a Banner
Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM)
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Picture of Mexican American students protesting
East Los Angeles Walkouts
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Puerto Ricans rally for civil rights outside City Hall in New York City.
Katzenbach v. Morgan
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Picture of Ernesto Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
John Paul Stevens, the author of the majority opinion
INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Mexican agricultural laborer top sugar beets near Stockton, California.
Bracero Program
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Torres v. Puerto Rico
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Michigan Civil Rights Initiative 2006
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
The acquitted defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial reunite with their families.
People v. Zamora
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Original Document of Former President Harry Turman's Executive order 9981
Executive Order 9981
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Tierra Amarilla Land Grant and Courthouse Raid
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Arizona v. United States
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Pro-DACA Protestors
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Land Grant Colleges and Universities as of 1890
Second Morrill Act 1890
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Luisa Moreno, one of the main organizers of the Congress
Spanish Speaking People's Congress
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
A mother and daughter sit outside the Supreme Court
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
LULAC Logo
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930), ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Cover of El Plan de Santa Barbara
El Plan de Santa Barbara (Plan of Santa Barbara)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Young Mexican men stand outside a jail in Los Angeles, California, after police arrested them during the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots.
Zoot Suit Riots
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
The Plan of San Diego
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Original Document of Former President Roosevelts Executive order 8802
Executive Order 8802
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Decision delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren
Hernandez v. Texas
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Children from different ethnic background pledging allegiance to the U.S. flag
Plyler v. Doe
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Cesar Chavez holding a NFWA sign
National Farm Workers Association
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Original Document of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Executive Order 9346
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
"Help the Guatemalans!" poster
American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930), ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Picture of the Proclamation
Proclamation 3869
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Page 1. of the Emancipation Act D.C.
District of Columbia Emancipation Act 1862
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Newspaper documenting the court case
Botiller v. Dominguez
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900), ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Jovita Idar, shown in this picture, and her family helped organize this event
Meeting of the Mexicanist Congress
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Sylvia Mendez, one of the children at the center of this case.
Mendez v. Westminster
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Temporary Protection Status (TPS)
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Chinese Exclusion Act
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
United States v. Vaello Madero
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
1901 Supreme Court
Downes v. Bidwell
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
In this isolated mountainous Spanish American community in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico, a one-room school serves students across eight grades with just two teachers. These teachers work with minimal equipment, relying on the blackboard to teach the alphabet, penmanship, and grammar.
Serna v. Portales
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Young Lords members with a sign
The Young Lords Organization
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)

Historical Images

Man waiting in the colored-waiting room bus station in Durham, NC.
Jim Crow Era: Durham NC
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)