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The Constitution
The supreme law of the land, and the foundation for all other laws -
An Act to regulate the Time and Manner of administering certain Oaths
The first law passed by Congress after the Constitution, signed by President George Washington in 1789 -
Sixth Amendment
in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. -
Eighth Amendment
prohibits excessive bail and fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. -
Fourth Amendment
protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. -
First Amendment
it protects the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and right to petition the government. -
Second Amendment
protects the right of Americans to bear arms -
Third Amendment
prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent. -
Fifth Amendment
protects citizens rights from due process, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, takings, and grand jury trials. -
Seventh Amendment
in Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved. -
Ninth Amendment
the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. -
Tenth Amendment
powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people. -
Eleventh Amendment
prevents lawsuits against states from citizens of other states or foreign individuals. It also prevents states from being sued in federal court for charges based on federal law. -
Marbury v. Madison
the principle of judicial review, which gives the Supreme Court the power to declare laws and actions by the other branches of government unconstitutional -
McCulloch v. Maryland
established the federal government's implied powers over the states and defined the scope of federal legislative power -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In this pre-Civil War case, the question was whether Congress had the constitutional power to prohibit slavery in free territories. A second question was whether the Constitution gave African Americans the right to sue in federal court. -
Thirteenth Amendment
abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States. -
Medicare and Medicaid Acts of 1965
these programs have protected the health of poor and elderly Americans. -
Fourteenth Amendment
protects the rights and liberties of all citizens, including formerly enslaved people. -
Fifteenth Amendment
grants all citizens the right to vote, regardless of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Twelfth Amendment
establishes how the President and Vice President are elected. -
Sixteenth Amendment
gives Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes without regard to population or census. -
Seventeenth Amendment
established direct, rather than indirect, elections for US senators. -
Eighteenth Amendment
prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquours” but not the consumption, private possession, or production for one's own consumption. -
Nineteenth Amendment
guarantees that the right to vote cannot be denied or abridged on the basis of sex. -
Twentieth Amendment
changed the start dates for the terms of the president, vice president, and Congress, and established a procedure for presidential succession. -
Twenty First
repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which had established a nationwide ban on alcohol production, sale, and transportation. -
Twenty Second Amendment
limits the number of times a person can be elected as president to two terms. -
Brown v. Board of Education
a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional -
Federal-Aid Highway Act 1956
established the interstate highway system in the United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law on June 29, 1956. -
National Defense Education Act
ensure the security of the Nation through the "fullest development of the mental resources and technical skills of its young men and women -
Cooper v. Aaron
ruled that the state of Arkansas could not pass legislation undermining the Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. -
Twenty Third Amendment
gives the District of Columbia the right to participate in presidential elections and elect electors to the Electoral College. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
case established that a criminal defendant in a state court has the right to an attorney, even if they cannot afford one, meaning the government must provide a lawyer for them if they need it -
Voting rights act of 1965
This act realigned American politics and ensured the vote for Black people. -
Terry v. Ohio
the US Supreme Court ruled that police officers can stop and frisk suspicious individuals without probable cause for an arrest -
Twenty Fourth Amendment
prohibits the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes or other taxes on voters in federal elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act ended racial discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and federally funded programs. It also strengthened voting rights and desegregated schools. -
Amendments to Immigration and Nationality Act
a federal law that abolished the national origins quota system in U.S. immigration policy. -
Miranda v. Arizona
established when and how police must inform people of their rights. The case addressed two parts of the Constitution -
Twenty Fifth Amendment
in case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. -
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
A federal human rights law -
Tinker v. Des Moines
case involved a group of high school students in Des Moines, Iowa who were suspended for wearing black armbands to school as a silent protest against the Vietnam War, leading to a Supreme Court decision that affirmed students' First Amendment right to free speech in public schools -
Texas v. Johnson
was about whether burning an American flag is protected by the First Amendment as symbolic speech -
Twenty Sixth Amendment
it lowered the voting age for all Americans to eighteen years, having previously been twenty-one years for the longest time. -
Twenty Seventh Amendment
forbids any changes to the salary of Congress members from taking effect until the next election concludes. -
U.S vs. Nixon
was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court unanimously ordered President Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court. -
Economic Recovery Tax Act
a tax cut that President Ronald Reagan signed into law in August 1981. -
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
A federal human rights law -
Roper v. Simmons
it centered on whether it is constitutional to impose the death penalty on a person who committed a crime when they were under the age of 18, ultimately ruling that executing juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment