1787
The Constitution is signed
Thirty-nine delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia sign the proposed Constitution and send it to the states for ratification.
Source: National Archives
When rights were tested. And what came after.
Wartime laws, emergency powers, surveillance programs, investigations and impeachments, alongside the laws that expanded civil rights. One test decides what appears: did it restrict, expand or test a constitutional right or the separation of powers?
3Founding
10Restriction of rights
12Expansion of rights
9Oversight and accountability
8Emergency and war powers
6Surveillance
10 of these measures ended, expired or were repealed; their end dates appear with each entry. Events are dated by when they began.
1788
New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify
With nine of thirteen states, the threshold set by Article VII is met and the Constitution is established among the ratifying states.
Source: National Archives
1789
Judiciary Act of 1789
Congress establishes the federal court system and sets the Supreme Court at six Justices.
Source: National Archives
1789
Congress proposes the Bill of Rights
The First Congress sends twelve amendments to the states; ten are ratified in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.
Source: National Archives
1798
Alien and Sedition Acts
Four laws passed during the undeclared naval war with France extend the residency period for naturalization, authorize deportation of non-citizens, and make it a crime to publish “false, scandalous and malicious writing” against the government.
Source: National Archives
1830
Indian Removal Act
Congress authorizes the President to negotiate the exchange of tribal lands in the East for lands west of the Mississippi. Forced removals follow, including the Cherokee removal of 1838–39.
1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Part of the Compromise of 1850. Requires the return of people who escaped slavery, denies them a jury trial, and penalizes those who assist them.
Source: U.S. Senate
1861
Lincoln authorizes suspension of habeas corpus
At the start of the Civil War, President Lincoln authorizes military commanders to suspend the writ along the rail line between Philadelphia and Washington. Chief Justice Taney, sitting as a circuit judge in Ex parte Merryman, rules that only Congress may suspend it. Congress authorizes suspension in March 1863.
Source: Federal Judicial Center
1863
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln declares that enslaved people in areas still in rebellion “are, and henceforward shall be free,” as a war measure under his authority as commander in chief.
Source: National Archives
1866
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Passed over President Andrew Johnson’s veto. Declares people born in the United States to be citizens and guarantees equal rights to make contracts, sue, and hold property.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives
1868
House impeaches President Andrew Johnson
The first impeachment of a President, chiefly over his removal of the Secretary of War in alleged violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The Senate acquits by one vote short of the two-thirds needed to convict.
Source: U.S. Senate
1871
Ku Klux Klan Act
The third of the Enforcement Acts lets the President use the military and suspend habeas corpus to suppress conspiracies that deprive citizens of equal protection, and creates a federal cause of action for deprivation of constitutional rights.
Source: U.S. Senate
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
Suspends immigration of Chinese laborers and bars Chinese immigrants from naturalization. Extended in 1892 and made permanent in 1902; repealed in 1943.
Source: National Archives
1917
Espionage Act
Two months after the United States enters World War I, Congress makes it a crime to interfere with military operations or recruitment. The Sedition Act of 1918 extends it to “disloyal” speech about the government; that extension is repealed in 1920.
Source: National Archives
1920
Palmer Raids
Justice Department raids under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer arrest thousands of suspected radicals in more than thirty cities, many without warrants; hundreds of non-citizens are deported.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
1924
Immigration Act of 1924
Sets national-origin quotas based on the 1890 census and bars immigration from most of Asia.
1924
Indian Citizenship Act
Grants citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. Some states continue to bar Native Americans from voting until 1957.
Source: Library of Congress
1940
Alien Registration Act (Smith Act)
Makes it a crime to advocate the violent overthrow of the government or to belong to a group that does, and requires non-citizen adults to register.
Source: Federal Judicial Center
1942
Executive Order 9066
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes military commanders to exclude people from designated areas. About 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of them American citizens, are removed from the West Coast and incarcerated.
Source: National Archives
1947
Federal employee loyalty program
Executive Order 9835 orders loyalty investigations of federal employees and authorizes the Attorney General’s list of “subversive” organizations.
Source: Truman Library
1948
Executive Order 9981
President Truman orders “equality of treatment and opportunity” in the armed services without regard to race, beginning the desegregation of the military.
Source: National Archives
1950
Internal Security Act
Passed over President Truman’s veto. Requires Communist organizations to register and authorizes detention of suspected subversives in a national emergency. The detention title is repealed in 1971.
Source: U.S. Senate
1954
Senate censures Joseph McCarthy
After the televised Army–McCarthy hearings, the Senate votes 67–22 to condemn Senator McCarthy for conduct “contrary to senatorial traditions.”
Source: U.S. Senate
1957
Federal troops enforce desegregation in Little Rock
President Eisenhower federalizes the Arkansas National Guard and sends the 101st Airborne to escort nine Black students into Central High School after the governor used the Guard to block them.
Source: National Archives
1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in public accommodations, employment and federally funded programs.
Source: National Archives
1964
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress authorizes the President to use armed force in Southeast Asia without a declaration of war. It is repealed in 1971.
Source: National Archives
1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Bans literacy tests and other devices used to deny the vote on account of race, and requires covered jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing voting rules.
Source: National Archives
1965
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Ends the national-origin quota system and replaces it with preferences based on family ties and skills.
Source: Public Law 89-236, 79 Stat. 911
1968
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act)
Signed a week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing.
1971
FBI counterintelligence program disclosed
Files taken from an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, and sent to newspapers reveal COINTELPRO, a program of surveillance and disruption aimed at domestic political groups.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
1973
War Powers Resolution
Passed over President Nixon’s veto. Requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing forces and to withdraw them within 60 days without authorization.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives
1974
President Nixon resigns
Two weeks after United States v. Nixon required release of the White House tapes, and after the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment, President Nixon resigns.
Source: National Archives
1975
Church Committee established
The Senate creates a select committee to investigate intelligence agencies. Its reports document domestic surveillance of political activity and lead to permanent intelligence oversight committees.
Source: U.S. Senate
1976
National Emergencies Act
Ends the national emergencies then in effect after two years and sets procedures for declaring, renewing and ending future ones, including annual renewal and review by Congress.
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
1978
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Requires a warrant from a special court for electronic surveillance of foreign powers and their agents inside the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
1988
Civil Liberties Act of 1988
Congress formally apologizes for the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and provides $20,000 in redress to each surviving person who was detained.
Source: National Archives
1990
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
1998
House impeaches President Clinton
The House approves two articles, perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate acquits on both.
Source: U.S. Senate
2001
Authorization for Use of Military Force
A week after the September 11 attacks, Congress authorizes force against those who planned, committed or aided them. It remains in effect and has been cited for operations in many countries.
Source: Congress.gov
2001
USA PATRIOT Act
Expands federal surveillance and investigative powers, including Section 215, which allowed orders for “any tangible things” relevant to a terrorism investigation.
Source: Congress.gov
2002
First detainees held at Guantánamo Bay
The military begins holding people captured in the conflict with al-Qaeda at the naval base in Cuba, outside the ordinary jurisdiction of federal courts.
2013
Bulk telephone records program disclosed
Published leaks of classified documents reveal that the National Security Agency was collecting Americans’ telephone call records in bulk under Section 215.
2015
USA FREEDOM Act
Ends the government’s bulk collection of telephone records; records stay with phone companies and are obtained case by case under court orders.
Source: Congress.gov
2019
House impeaches President Trump
The House approves two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, relating to dealings with Ukraine. The Senate acquits on both.
Source: U.S. Senate
2020
COVID-19 national emergency declared
A presidential proclamation declares a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act. Congress ends it by joint resolution in April 2023.
Source: Federal Register
2021
House impeaches President Trump a second time
One week after the Capitol was breached during Congress’s count of electoral votes, the House approves one article, incitement of insurrection. The Senate votes 57–43 to convict, short of the two-thirds required.
Source: U.S. Senate
2022
Electoral Count Reform Act
Amends the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to state that the Vice President’s role in the count is ministerial and to raise the threshold for objections to a state’s electors.
Source: Congress.gov
2025
Alien Enemies Act invoked
The President invokes the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, for the first time since World War II, against members of a Venezuelan gang designated a foreign terrorist organization. Its use is challenged in federal courts.
Source: Federal Register
See them beside the Court. On one line.
Most of these moments produced cases. The timeline shows them together.