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Category: Law Library

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The Sinking of the Lusitania

Posted by: Robert Brammer

On May 1, 1915, the RMS Lusitania set sail from New York City to Liverpool, England, carrying 1,959 passengers. On May 7, 1915, the ship was sailing off the Irish coast when a German U-Boat, U-20, fired a torpedo that sank the Lusitania within twenty minutes, killing 1,198 passengers, including 128 Americans. The sinking of …

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The Phase Out of Non-Machine-Readable Passports

Posted by: Robert Brammer

The following is a guest post by Shameema Rahman, a senior legal research specialist in our Public Services Division. The Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as the Chicago Convention) was signed on December 7, 1944, by 52 countries.  The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was officially established on April 4, 1947, following the …

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Frontier Racing and Injured Pride: The Duel Between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson

Posted by: Robert Brammer

One of things I enjoy about working at the Library of Congress is visiting our Manuscripts Division to read first-hand accounts of historic events. After reading a biography of Andrew Jackson, I looked through the finding aid for his papers and came upon a letter from a Tennessee lawyer named Charles Dickinson. The estimated number …

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Love, Adultery, and Madness

Posted by: Robert Brammer

It is often said that love can drive you mad. As further evidence, take the 19th Century case (see page 494) that is said to have introduced the defense of temporary insanity in American jurisprudence. This case resulted from an affair between the wife of a member of Congress and one of Francis Scott Key’s sons. In 1859, …

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FALQs: Vaccination Law in the United States

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post is coauthored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, senior legal reference specialists. This blog post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series. This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be considered legal advice. To obtain legal advice, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. United States vaccination requirements …