The links below are organized under the following headings:
Acts of Parliament, Acts of Congress, President/Founding Father most associated with a law or “Story,” Miscellaneous “Stories,” and Antiquarian Legal Texts.
ACTS OF PARLIAMENT (leading up to the Coercive / Intolerable Acts)
1328 – STATUTE OF NORTHAMPTON (and the Second Amendment)
1651 – MERCANTILISM AND THE NAVIGATION ACTS
COERCIVE / INTOLERABLE ACTS (leading to the Revolutionary War)
1774 – ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT
1774 – MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNMENT ACT
EARLY COLONIAL RESISTANCE – 1st Continental Congress
1774 – DECLARATION OF COLONIAL RIGHTS and the CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION (coming soon)
1775 – PROHIBITORY ACT OF 1775 (Britain’s declaration of economic war against the colonies which helped precipitate the Declaration of Independence) and the OLIVE BRANCH PETITION
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – 2nd Continental Congress
1776 – JEFFERSON AND THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS DECLARE INDEPENDENCE
1783 – THE IMPOST OF 1783 (and Hamilton’s 2/15/1786 speech to the NY Assembly)
1786 – 1787: SHAYS’ REBELLION AND THE FOUNDERS (PART 1)
IMAGES AND PRIMARY SOURCES CITED IN 2022 NCHE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
2023 NCHE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: The so-called Critical Period
CONSTITUTION and CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
1787 – 1789 THE CONSTITUTION: AMERICA’S SECOND REVOLUTION
BILL OF RIGHTS – PART 1: BACKGROUND IN ANGLO-AMERICAN HISTORY
BILL OF RIGHTS – PART 2: CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION’S CURIOUS OMISSION
SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL (Why do “Twelve Angry Jurors” need to be unanimous?)
WHO KNEW THAT THE CONSTITUTION HAS A “COVER LETTER” (Teaser to 4 part series)
THE CONSTITUTION’S FORGOTTEN COVER LETTER – Part 1 (Overview)
THE CONSTITUTION’S FORGOTTEN COVER LETTER – Part 2 (the Hamilton Authorship Thesis)
THE CONSTITUTION’S FORGOTTEN COVER LETTER – Part 3 (the Legacy of the letter over time)
THE CONSTITUTION’S FORGOTTEN COVER LETTER – Part 4 (pending research questions)
ALEXANDER HAMILTON AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
1787 – THE COMPROMISE OVER WAR POWERS AND THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE (coming soon)
1787 – THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE: Part 1
1787 – THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE: Part 2
EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE: AN INTRODUCTION (PART 1)
EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE AND THE FOUNDERS (PART 2)
IMPEACHMENT, INSURRECTIONS, AND THE PARDON POWER (Part 1)
IMPEACHMENT OF A FORMER PRESIDENT (Part 2)
INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION AND THE ASSAULT ON THE CAPITOL
HAMILTON/GOUVERNEUR MORRIS AND RELATED DISCOVERIES IN THE NEW YORK STATE AND OTHER ARCHIVES
ELIZA HAMILTON’S TRIP TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – Part 1
ELIZA HAMILTON’S TRIP TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – Part 2
ELIZA HAMILTON’S TRIP TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – Part 3
SIGNIFICANCE OF NEWLY DISCOVERED FINANCIAL RECORDS INVOLVING THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – Part 3
HAMILTON’S ARRIVAL IN PHILADELPHIA: New discoveries (Part I)
RETHINKING THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1787: Newly discovered evidence of Robert Yates’ aborted second trip to the Convention – What we know and don’t know (Yates Returns Part II)
MORE DISCOVERIES IN THE NY ARCHIVES: ROBERT C. LIVINGSTON AND THE ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION (Part 1)
ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION END THESIS (Part 2)
DELEGATE COMPENSATION AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – PART I
NEW HAMPSHIRE DELEGATE COMPENSATION AND NEWLY DISCOVERED RECORDS OF PAYMENTS TO GILMAN AND LANGDON
VIRGINIA DELEGATE COMPENSATION AND VIRGINIA’S CENTRAL ROLE AT THE CONVENTION
VIRGINIA DELEGATE COMPENSATION IN 1787 – JOURNALS AND LEDGERS
MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATE COMPENSATION PART I
MISS DALLY’S BOARDING HOUSE: WHERE WAS THE CONSTITUTION WAS “DRAFTED” (Miss Dally – Part II)
COMMITTEE ON STYLE VENUE HYPOTHESIS (Miss Dally – Part IV)
MISS DALLY’S BOARDING HOUSE: QUESTIONS, ANSWERS AND MORE QUESTIONS (Miss Dally – Part V)
THE HAMILTON-GERRY NEXUS HYPOTHESIS (Miss Dally – Part VI)
THE WASHINGTON SATISFACTION GAMBIT HYPOTHESIS (Miss Dally – Part VII)
QUARTERS AT LIBERTY HALL (Miss Dally – Part VIII)
CASE CLOSED: MORRIS BOARDED WITH MISS DALLY (Miss Dally – Part IX)
BREAKING NEWS: Long-sought receipt from the Constitutional Convention has finally been located (Conclusive proof that the Penman of the Constitution boarded with Miss Dally during the summer of 1787) (Miss Dally – Part X)
AMERICA’S FOUNDING HOSTS – Gifford Dalley (Part 1)
AMERICA’S FOUNDING HOSTS – Mary Dalley (Part 2)
AMERICA’S FOUNDING HOSTS – Simmons’ Tavern (Part 3)
AMERICA’S FOUNDING HOSTS – Elizabeth Fraunces (Part 4)(pending)
MISS DALLY HISTORIC MARKER APPLICATION WITH THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
WHY DID ALEXANDER HAMILTON LEAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION ? (The Penman-Publius Axis)
OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST CONGRESS
1789 – 1791: MADISON AND THE FIRST CONGRESS
ACTS OF CONGRESS
Index of the Major Acts of Congress 1789 – 1898 (1st to 50th Congress)
1789 – OATH ACT (the first Act of the first Congress)
1789 – ACT ESTABLISHING THE WAR DEPARTMENT
1789 – BILL OF RIGHTS: Part II
1789 – SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL (Why do “Twelve Angry Jurors” need to be unanimous?)
1790 – NATURALIZATION ACT OF 1790 (1st naturalization law)
1790 – COPYRIGHT ACT of 1790 (1st Federal copyright law)
1790 – CRIMES ACT of 1790 (1st Federal criminal laws)
1790 – RESIDENCE ACT (Hamilton’s grand compromise)
1790 – FUNDING ACT (Hamilton’s financial plan and assumption of state debt)(coming soon)
1790 – ACT OF THE GOVERNMENT AND REGULATION OF SEAMEN (1st Federal labor law)
1790 – ACT PROVIDING FOR MORE EFFECTIVE COLLECTION OF DUTIES (Hamilton creates the Coast Guard)
1790 – THE TREATY OF NEW YORK (the 1st treaty by the federal government)
1791 – WHISKEY TAX of 1791 (1st Internal Revenue tax)
1792 – MILITIA ACT of 1792 and Emergency Presidential powers
1792 – COINAGE ACT of 1792 (creating the U.S. Mint)
1792 – THE PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION ACT OF 1792 AND THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE – Part 1
1793 – FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT OF 1793
1794 – CARRIAGE ACT OF 1794 (1st case appealed to the Supreme Court challenging an act of Congress)
1795 – JAY’S TREATY – Part 1 (background, controversy & treaty terms)
1795 – JAY’S TREATY – Part 3 (Hamilton’s Camillus essays defending the treaty)
1796 – THE INDIAN NON-INTERCOURSE ACT OF 1796
1796 – WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS
1796 – ACT RELATIVE TO QUARANTINE (1st federal quarantine law and the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793)
1798 – ACT ESTABLISHING THE NAVY DEPARTMENT
1798 – MARINE CORP ACT of 1798
1798 – ACT FOR RELIEF OF SICK AND DISABLED SEAMEN (first Federal health insurance program)
1800 – THE ELECTION OF 1800 (compared to the Election of 2020)
1801 – JUDICIARY ACT OF 1801 (Adams’ “Midnight judges” and Judicial Review)
1803 – THE TWELFTH AMENDMENT (and the Election of 1800)
1806 – CUMBERLAND ROAD (1st national highway)
1807 – INSURRECTION ACT OF 1807
1807 – ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION OF SLAVES
1813 – ACT TO ENCOURAGE VACCINATION
1830 – INDIAN REMOVAL ACT (Trail of Tears 1832-1838)
1833 – FORCE ACT & SOUTH CAROLINA NULLIFICATION CRISIS
1834 – HOUSE GAG RULE , ANTI-SLAVERY PETITIONS, AND “OLD MAN ELOQUENT”
1845 – THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DATE ACT
1861 – REVENUE ACT (1st Federal Income Tax)
1862 – NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD ACT (Transcontinental Railroad)
1862 – MORRILL LAND GRANT COLLEGE ACT
1862 – THE SECOND CONFISCATION ACT
1862 – THE MILITIA ACT OF 1862 (and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment)
1863 – CONSCRIPTION ACT of 1863 (1st wartime draft)
1863 – SUSPENSION OF HABEAS CORPUS
1861 – 1863 LINCOLN’S 37th CONGRESS
1866 – CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866 (1st Federal civil rights law)
1867 – PEONAGE ACT (an attempt to outlaw debt servitude)
1867 – TENURE IN OFFICE ACT (Johnson impeachment)
1871 – CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1871 (also known as the “KKK Act”)
1872 – YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK PROTECTION ACT (first national park)(coming soon)
1883 – PENDLETON CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT
1887 – ELECTORAL COUNT ACT AND THE “SAFE HARBOR” DEADLINE (and the Election of 1876)
1887 – INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION (first independent agency)(coming soon)
1917 – U.S. ENTERS WORLD WAR I (Joint Declaration of War and the Acts of the 65th Congress):
1919 – 19th AMENDMENT (WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE)
1958 – NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ACT
1963 – THE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ACT OF 1963
1964 – THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
1965 – THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
MISCELLANEOUS
Alexander Hamilton
WHO WAS ALEXANDER HAMILTON? (a brief overview)
ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S EXTRAORDINARY LEGAL LEGACY (PowerPoint presentation)
HAMILTON AND THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN NEW YORK
HAMILTON CREATES THE COAST GUARD
HAMILTON CREATES THE U.S. MINT
HAMILTON’S FIRST REPORT ON THE PUBLIC CREDIT
HAMILTON’S REPORT ON MANUFACTURES, INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS AND CLAY’S AMERICAN SYSTEM
HAMILTON’S REPORT ON MARINE HOSPITALS AND THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF THE 1790’s
HAMILTON’S WHISKEY TAX, THE FIRST INTERNAL REVENUE TAX
HAMILTON’S GRAND COMPROMISE, THE RESIDENCE ACT
HAMILTON SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS THE CARRIAGE ACT BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT IN HYLTON v. U.S.
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (HAMILTON AND BURR FOR THE DEFENSE) (Part 1)
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (THE TRIAL) (Part 2)
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (THE AFTERMATH) (Part 3)
HAMILTON’S DEFENSE OF JAY’S TREATY (the Camillus essays)
HAMILTON’S CO-DRAFTING OF WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS
HAMILTON’S MOST UNDEMOCRATIC MOMENT? (Hamilton’s May 7, 1800 letter to Jay and the Election of 1800)
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: DID ALEXANDER HAMILTON DRAFT THE CONSTITUTION’S COVER LETTER ?
THE PLAN TO SABOTAGE HAMILTON AT THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION
IMAGES AND PRIMARY SOURCES CITED IN 2022 NCHE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
ELIZA HAMILTON’S GODDAUGHTER – LITTLE ORPHAN FANNY (Part 1)
THE MORRIS – ANTILL – HAMILTON CONNECTION (“Little Orphan Fanny” – Part 2)
Thomas Jefferson
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – WHEN DID THE COLONIES BECOME A NATION?
LOUISIANA PURCHASE AND LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
CUMBERLAND ROAD – JEFFERSON AND THE FIRST FEDERAL HIGHWAY
ACT PREVENTING THE IMPORTATION OF SLAVES
THE ELECTION OF 1800 (and the 12th Amendment)
THE INSURRECTION ACT OF 1807 (and the Burr Conspiracy)
John Adams
THE PROHIBITORY ACT OF 1775 & THE OLIVE BRANCH PETITION
MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION OF 1780 – JOHN ADAMS’ BLUEPRINT FOR THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS – INFAMOUS ASSAULT ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT
JUDICIARY ACT OF 1801 – ADAMS’ MIDNIGHT JUDGES AND JUDICIAL REVIEW
ACT FOR RELIEF OF SICK AND DISABLED SEAMEN – FIRST FEDERAL HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM
James Madison
FATHER OF THE CONSTITUTION AND DRAFTER OF THE VIRGINIA PLAN
OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST CONGRESS – MADISON BREATHES LIFE INTO THE CONSTITUTION
George Washington
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S PERSONAL COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION AND ACTS OF THE FIRST CONGRESS
THE TREATY OF NEW YORK (the 1st treaty by the federal government)
MILITIA ACT of 1792 and EMERGENCY PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
WASHINGTON LEADS TROOPS TO QUELL THE WHISKEY REBELLION
THE “FIRST” THANKSGIVING AND WASHINGTON’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATIONS
TALE OF TWO GEORGES: A TOUR OF THE ROYAL COLLECTION IN LONDON
THE ORIGINS OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE IN THE WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATION
LINCOLN
REVENUE ACT of 1861 (1st Federal Income Tax)
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD ACT (Transcontinental Railroad)
MORRILL LAND GRANT COLLEGE ACT
CONSCRIPTION ACT of 1863 (1st wartime draft)
THE MILITIA ACT OF 1862 (and the “Mass 54th” – the first African American regiment)
1861 – 1863 LINCOLN’S 37th CONGRESS
Other stories
PATRIOT PUBLISHER ISAIAH THOMAS AND THE MASSACHUSETTS SPY
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND THEIR MANUALS – LAW BOOKS TRAVEL BY SADDLE BAG
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (“OLD MAN ELOQUENT”) – THE HOUSE GAG RULE AND ANTI-SLAVERY PETITIONS
THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, JOHN LOCKE AND THE SLAVE CODE OF 1740
PERSONAL LIBERTY LAWS – examples of Northern resistance to the FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN NEW YORK
FIRST AMERICAN COLONIAL PENSIONS
REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSIONS – Federal assumption of state pensions
MARTIN LUTHER KING’S LEGAL LEGACY AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS OF 1964, 1965 and 1968
JOHN LEWIS AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
JOHN LEWIS AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
JUNETEENTH – AMERICA’S SECOND INDEPENDENCE DAY
THE “FIRST” THANKSGIVING AND WASHINGTON’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATIONS
LINCOLN’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION
VETERANS DAY AND THE LAWS CREATING THE US MILITARY
THE STORY OF THE FIRST CODIFICATION OF STATE LAW – The 1829 Revised Laws of the State of New York
NOTRE-DAME & THE FOUNDING GENERATION: Part 1
TALE OF TWO GEORGES: A TOUR OF THE ROYAL COLLECTION IN LONDON
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (HAMILTON AND BURR FOR THE DEFENSE) (Part 1)
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (THE TRIAL) (Part 2)
THE PEOPLE v. LEVI WEEKS (THE AFTERMATH) (Part 3)
HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN FLORIDA
THE HISTORY OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS
JAMES WILSON’S LAW LECTURE TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON AND CONGRESS
WHY 2020 IS NOT 1800, 1824, OR 1876
ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S MOST UNDEMOCRATIC MOMENT? (Hamilton’s May 7, 1800 letter to Jay and the Election of 1800)
ELECTION LAW
The Electoral College and the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 – Part 1
The 12th Amendment and the Election of 1800
The Presidential Election Day Act of 1845 and the Election of 1840
The Electoral Count Act of 1887, the Safe Harbor Deadline, and the Election of 1876
The Presidential Transition Act of 1963
Why Hamilton’s May 7, 1801 letter to Jay is not a precedent to set aside swing state votes in 2020
Why 2020 is not 1800, 1824, or 1876
Why the so-called “Pence Card” is a canard
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission – district court decision by Judge Ludwig
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission – 7th Circuit affirmance
HOLIDAYS
PRESIDENTS DAY AND OUR EXPERIMENT IN DEMOCRACY
MARTIN LUTHER KING’S LEGAL LEGACY AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS OF 1964, 1965 and 1968
JUNETEENTH – AMERICA’S SECOND INDEPENDENCE DAY
THE “FIRST” THANKSGIVING AND WASHINGTON’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATIONS
LINCOLN’S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION
VETERANS DAY AND THE LAWS CREATING THE US MILITARY
ANTIQUARIAN LEGAL TEXTS FOR COLLECTORS
First American law books after independence
1795 – THE MASSACHUSETTS JUSTICE: Being a Collection of the Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts relative to the Power and Duty of Justices of the Peace – early handbook for justice of the peace under new American law (Samuel Freeman, printed by Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer Andrews)(coming soon)
First compilations of the Laws of the United States
1789 – GEORGE WASHINGTON’S PERSONAL COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION AND ACTS OF THE FIRST CONGRESS
1797 – LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, Published with Authority (printed by William Ross, Philadelphia) – coming soon