Search

The Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, or Alabama Constitution Amendment 774, was ratified by voters in 2006.

With this law, passed by the General Assembly in 2009, Vermont became the fourth state to recognize same-sex marriages.

Enacted in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act, formally titled “An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese,” was one of the first laws limiting immigration into the United States.

Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a critical piece of that legally protected citizens from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender or religion. The following is one title, or part, of the law.

In this excerpt, Virginia Woolf declares that any talented woman born in the 16th, 17th, 18th or even 19th centuries would have been so hindered from sharing her gifts due to her sex--and if she somehow overcame this obstacle, her name would not have been tied to her work.

This short story—an important piece in early American feminist literature—sheds light on 19th century attitudes toward women with physical and mental illness. In this excerpt, the speaker details her bedroom, a place where her husband and doctors come to encourage her to health. Her ailment is vague; the emphasis is on what others—all men—think and say.

This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.

Margaret Batchelder writes to President Theodore Roosevelt to tell him how women inspectors welcome immigrants—with smiles and encouragement. Although not allowed to question the immigrants, the women make a difference in the immigrants' first experiences on shore.

Suzanne Bilyeu details how Jackie Robinson's gift for playing ball eventually united a team of 30 men and gave hope to hundreds of thousands of African Americans. These feats came at a great cost to Robinson physically, mentally and emotionally as he endured hate and hardships on and off the field

Carl Carter recalls two snapshots from 1960s Birmingham, Alabama, that changed him in ways he “wouldn't understand for years."