Checks and Balances: A lighthearted look, through the
use of political cartoons, at the separation of powers in the United
States
Code of Hammurabi: The first known legal code, created
in 1750 B.C.
Constitution Day - September 17: The U.S. Constitution,
creating America's federal government, was signed by delegates to the
Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. Drafting the document had been
difficult. Bitter disagreements still existed. Ratification by the states was
far from certain. Learn the story and meet John Marshall - the Chief Justice
who gave the U.S. Supreme Court the power of judicial review.
Crown v William Penn: Before founding the
Pennsylvania colony in America, William Penn was on trial for his life in
London. An independent-thinking jury refused to follow a bad law and made
history.
Declaration of Arbroath: Scotland's 1320 Declaration of
Independence from England.
Declaration of Independence: The early draft,
handwritten changes by Ben Franklin and John Adams, the original Declaration,
the record of the vote, and the story of the American colonies asserting their
independence from Great Britain.
Doyle v Ireland: A father's fight to have
custody of his children in 1955.
Florence Maybrick: In late 19th-century England,
criminal defendants had no right of appeal. The trial of an American woman,
Florence Maybrick, led to a change in the law.
Joan of Arc's Trial: Twenty-five years after her unfair
trial, the verdict was renounced.
Magna Carta: The "Great Charter" of England which is
Great Britain's Statute Number One.
Pentagon Papers: The U.S. Supreme Court allows the New
York Times and the Washington Post to publish secret documents, leaked to the
press, about the Vietnam War.
Proclamation of the Provisional Government: In 1916,
the Irish Republic declared itself independent from Great Britain.
Prohibition: Alcoholic beverages (outlawed in America in 1920 after the 18th Amendment
was passed) were permitted again when the 21st Amendment overturned the 18th.
