- President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal'
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Federal removal policy and the forced relocation record.
Use with Indian Removal Act text and treaty records in the next source pass.
- Compromise of 1850
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Primary statute package and National Archives context for the strengthened Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
- Dred Scott v. Sandford
National Archives - court
primary proof
Supreme Court entrenchment of slavery before the Civil War.
- 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Abolition of slavery and Reconstruction-era constitutional change.
- 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Citizenship, due process, equal protection, and Reconstruction settlement.
- 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Voting-rights amendment and Reconstruction constitutional repair.
- United States v. Cruikshank
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School - court
primary proof
Supreme Court narrowing of federal enforcement after Reconstruction violence.
- The Civil Rights Cases
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School - court
primary proof
Supreme Court invalidation of key Civil Rights Act of 1875 protections.
- Chinese Exclusion Act
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Federal racial exclusion in immigration law.
- Plessy v. Ferguson
National Archives - court
primary proof
Federal judicial acceptance of segregation.
- 1898 Wilmington Coup
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources - official-data
primary proof
State historical account of the 1898 Wilmington coup and its official commission record.
- Proclamation Line of 1763
Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State - official-data
primary proof
Imperial land policy, Native diplomacy, and colonial frontier conflict after the Seven Years' War.
- The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Avalon Project, Yale Law School - primary
primary proof
Primary text for the Stamp Act taxation and enforcement structure.
- The Boston Port Act
Avalon Project, Yale Law School - primary
primary proof
Primary text for closing Boston's port after the Tea Party.
- Articles of Confederation
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Confederation-era federal structure and limits before the Constitution.
- The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Constitutional text used as the baseline for institutional mechanics.
- Alien and Sedition Acts
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Early federal speech and executive-power conflict.
- Espionage Act of 1917
GovInfo - primary
primary proof
World War I speech, security, and prosecution framework.
- Sedition Act of 1918
GovInfo - primary
primary proof
World War I expansion of punishable anti-government and anti-war speech.
- Schenck v. United States
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School - court
primary proof
Supreme Court approval of wartime speech prosecution under the Espionage Act.
- Immigration Act of 1924
GovInfo - primary
primary proof
Primary statutory text for the national-origins quota immigration regime.
- Social Security Act
National Archives - primary
primary proof
New Deal institutional expansion and social-insurance design.
- Executive Order 9066
National Archives - primary
primary proof
World War II internment and wartime civil-liberty failure.
- United States: Freedom in the World 2026
Freedom House - watchdog
analytical context
U.S. freedom score, decline, and executive-power concerns.
- Democracy Report 2026
V-Dem Institute - watchdog
analytical context
U.S. liberal democracy downgrade and comparative decline.
Academic/watchdog source; use with methodology context.
- Long-Term Trend Assessment 2022
NAEP - official-data
primary proofdenominator
Age-9 reading and math declines.
- Where Jan. 6 trials stand on the fourth anniversary
PBS NewsHour - news
discoverysalience
Jan. 6 defendant counts.
- Executive Order 9835
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library - primary
primary proof
Federal loyalty-security program at the start of the Cold War.
- Korematsu v. United States
Library of Congress U.S. Reports - court
primary proof
Official U.S. Reports PDF for the Supreme Court decision upholding wartime exclusion orders.
- Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Senate censure record for McCarthy-era abuse of institutional power.
- Civil Rights Act of 1964
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Federal civil-rights enforcement.
- Tonkin Gulf Resolution
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Congressional authorization enabling escalation in Vietnam.
- Voting Rights Act of 1965
National Archives - primary
primary proof
Federal voting-rights enforcement.
- Church Committee
U.S. Senate - primary
primary proof
Congressional investigation of intelligence abuses.
- Nixon and Watergate
National Archives - official-data
primary proof
National Archives account of Watergate, presidential abuse, and Nixon's resignation under threat of impeachment.
- Prisoners in 2019
Bureau of Justice Statistics - official-data
primary proofdenominator
U.S. prison population data near the peak mass-incarceration period.
- Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act
GovInfo - primary
primary proof
Post-9/11 surveillance and security-state legislation.
- Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
GovInfo - primary
primary proof
Congressional authorization for the Iraq War.
- Financial Crisis Inquiry Report
GovInfo - official-data
primary proof
Official inquiry record for the 2008 financial crisis.
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Library of Congress U.S. Reports - court
primary proof
Official U.S. Reports PDF for Citizens United campaign-finance doctrine.
- Shelby County v. Holder
Library of Congress U.S. Reports - court
primary proof
Official U.S. Reports PDF for Shelby County and the Voting Rights Act preclearance ruling.