Historical Documents

"Help the Guatemalans!" poster
American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Chinese Exclusion Act
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Executive Order 10925
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
Original Supreme Court documentation of Brown v. Board
Brown v. Board of Education 1954
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
House proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution
Civil Rights Act 1866
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
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)
Mexican agricultural laborer top sugar beets near Stockton, California.
Bracero Program
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
John Paul Stevens, the author of the majority opinion
INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca
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)
Class Photo at a Mexican-American School Featuring Future President Lyndon B. Johnson
Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
National Chicano Moratorium sign
National Chicano Moratorium
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Decision delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren
Hernandez v. Texas
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
Picture of Ernesto Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
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)
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)
SVREP logo
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Plessy v. Ferguson decided judgement
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
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)
Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Mexican female laborers engaged in pecan shelling
Pecan Shellers Strike
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Executive Order 9346
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Torres v. Puerto Rico
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Arizona v. United States
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Original Document of Former President Harry Turman's Executive order 9981
Executive Order 9981
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
Picture of the Proclamation
Proclamation 3869
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Photo of the 1921 Supreme Court
Balzac v. Porto Rico
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Loving v. Virginia 1967
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)
1901 Supreme Court
Downes v. Bidwell
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
United States v. Vaello Madero
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
The Plan of San Diego
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Michigan Civil Rights Initiative 2006
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Cover Sheet Summarizing Disposition of the Dred Scott Case by the U.S. Supreme Court
Dred Scott v. Sandford
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Temporary Protection Status (TPS)
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan (Spiritual Plan of Aztlan)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
President Reagan signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Original document of Voting Rights Act to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment
Voting Rights Act 1965
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
Original Document of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Tierra Amarilla Land Grant and Courthouse Raid
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)