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The foundational document established the principle that everyone, including the king, was subject to the law, limiting royal power and protecting certain rights. -
The first shots were fired at the battles of Lexington and Concord, marking the start of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen North American colonies. -
The document officially announced and explained the American colonies' separation from Great Britain. -
Established the first weak central government for the newly independent United States, functioning as America's first constitution until replaced by the U.S. Constitution. -
Transformed the loose wartime alliance into a more formal, though still weak, national government. -
The agreement officially ended the American Revolutionary War, with Great Britain recognizing the United States as an independent nation and granting it vast western territories. -
Established a stronger federal government with three branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and a system of checks and balances. -
New Hampshire became the ninth state to approve it, thus making it the supreme law of the land. -
George Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, the nation's capital at the time. -
Defined by a clear, strict division of power, with the national government handling enumerated foreign affairs and currency, while state governments maintained nearly exclusive control over domestic policies and daily life.
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Guaranteed fundamental American freedoms like speech, religion, and press, and protected citizens' rights from government overreach, ensuring individual liberties. -
Protected states from being sued in federal court by citizens of other states or foreign countries, establishing sovereign immunity by limiting the judicial power over such cases. -
Established the principle of judicial review (the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress or the President unconstitutional). -
Modified the U.S. Constitution's electoral process by requiring presidential electors to cast separate votes for President and Vice President, -
Supreme Court established the principles of implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause and the supremacy of federal law over state laws when the states interfere with legitimate federal government functions. -
Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce, invalidating state laws that interfere with federal authority. -
Ruled that people of African descent, whether enslaved or free, were not U.S. citizens and had no right to sue in federal court, while also striking down the Missouri Compromise as an unconstitutional infringement on slaveholders' property rights. -
Characterized by a continued strict separation of powers where the national and state governments operate in distinct, non-overlapping spheres, with the national government's powers gradually expanding, particularly regarding commerce and economic regulation.
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Confederate batteries under General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, after Union forces refused to evacuate the fort. -
Declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were to be set free, fundamentally transforming the Civil War into a fight for abolition. -
Turbulent period after the American Civil War that focused on rebuilding the South, readmitting Confederate states to the Union, and defining the rights and integration of millions of newly freed African Americans into society, marked by both significant progress and intense backlash.
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Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. -
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude nationwide, except as a punishment for a crime. -
Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteed all citizens "equal protection of the laws" and the right to due process. -
Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". -
Established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) as the first independent federal regulatory agency. -
Prohibited anticompetitive agreements and monopolization of a market to preserve free enterprise and protect consumer welfare. -
Established the "separate but equal" doctrine, ruling that racial segregation in public facilities is constitutional as long as the accommodations for each race are equal. -
Authorized Congress to levy an income tax on individuals and corporations from any source without needing to apportion it among the states by population. -
Established the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote, superseding the previous method of selection by state legislatures. -
Prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. -
Guaranteed that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex, thereby securing women's right to vote nationwide. -
A period in American governance characterized by increased federal funding and influence channeled through grants-in-aid to encourage states and local governments to implement nationally defined social and economic policies.
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Shortened the transitional period between election day and when the newly elected President, Vice President, and members of Congress take office, moving the Presidential inauguration date to January 20 and the start of congressional terms to January 3. -
Created a federal corporation tasked with the unified development of the Tennessee River Valley through flood control, improved navigation, electricity generation, and overall economic development to modernize the impoverished region. -
Repealed Prohibition (the 18th Amendment), ending the nationwide ban on alcohol and returning the power to regulate its sale and distribution to individual states. -
Established a federal system of social insurance to provide economic security for the elderly, unemployed, and disadvantaged Americans through retirement benefits, unemployment compensation, and various state welfare grants. -
Limited any person from being elected to the office of President more than twice, or serving for more than a total of ten years. -
Declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson. -
A period when the federal government expanded its role, using categorical grants to fund and implement a wide range of national social programs by working directly with state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to address complex social problems like poverty and racial injustice.
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Granted residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections by giving them a number of Electoral College votes equal to that of the least populous state -
Ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide an attorney to criminal defendants who cannot afford one, a right made mandatory on the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Supreme Court ruled that public officials cannot win a defamation lawsuit unless they prove the false statement was made with "actual malice". -
Prohibited the federal and state governments from imposing a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. -
Outlawed discrimination and segregation based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin in public accommodations, federally assisted programs, education, and employment. -
Prohibited racial discrimination in voting and struck down state and local legal barriers, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, that had effectively disenfranchised African American citizens. -
Established that law enforcement must advise individuals of their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and Sixth Amendment right to an attorney before a custodial interrogation, otherwise their statements are generally inadmissible in court. -
Established the procedures for filling vacancies in the presidency and vice presidency, and for responding to presidential disabilities, either temporary or permanent. -
A period in which the U.S. federal government transferred powers and responsibilities for various social and economic programs back to state and local governments, primarily through the use of block grants.
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Prohibited the denial or abridgment of the right of citizens, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age. -
Established that the U.S. Constitution protected a pregnant woman's right to an abortion, largely based on an implied right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment, -
Supreme Court ruled that President Richard Nixon had to turn over the White House tapes, asserting the principle that no one, not even the President, is above the law. -
Prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life, including employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. -
Prevented any law that changes the salaries of U.S. Senators and Representatives from taking effect until a new election for the House of Representatives has occurred. -
Settled the 2000 U.S. presidential election by halting a manual recount of ballots in Florida on equal protection grounds, a decision that effectively awarded Florida's electoral votes, and thus the presidency, to George W. Bush. -
Characterized by the federal government's increasing assertion of policy will over states through the use of federal mandates, conditions on grants, and pre-emptions, despite growing federal deficits and a shifting tax burden toward more regressive local levies.
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Broadly expanded the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and prosecute terrorism, while also implementing strict anti-money laundering measures. -
Supreme Court decision that held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations, labor unions, and other associations. -
Designed to make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the Medicaid program for low-income adults, and support innovative medical care methods to lower healthcare costs generally. -
Ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to license and recognize marriages between two people of the same sex, establishing nationwide marriage equality. -
Economic stimulus bill passed to provide fast and direct financial assistance to American workers, families, small businesses, and major industries severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.