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Posted by: Jennifer Davis
In late October and early November, people of Hispanic heritage remember their lost loved ones with ofrendas, colorful memorials to the dead that are decorated with sugar skulls, marigolds, papel picado, candles, favorite foods of the lost ones, and more. This time tends to be a celebration more than a mourning; when building an ofrenda …
Posted in: Collections, Hispanic American History, Law Library
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
The United States commemorates Constitution Day on September 17, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. Celebrations usually include readings and discussions of the history of the document and its writing and influences. Many say that the United States, one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world drew influence for …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Today's blog post brings us an insightful and educational history of the first Muslim printer in the Ottoman Empire, Ibrahim Müteferrika.
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
This post contains research contributed by Ilya Dines. In the Law Library, we are working to make our rare books collection more widely available via blog posts and digitization, so that it can be found and used by researchers and the public. Some aspects of these materials are mainly noticed by historians, legal scholars, philosophers, …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
On March 30, 2023, the Vatican issued a joint statement repudiating the “doctrine of discovery” and terra nullius. The doctrine of discovery was used as the legal foundation for taking the land of Indigenous people by Europeans, and for the establishment of residential schools; as Justice Marshall wrote, “The European governments asserted the exclusive right …
Posted in: Collections, In the News, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month, when the Law Library celebrates the accomplishments that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made to American history, society and law. Dr. Mabel Ping Hua Lee, a twentieth-century Chinese American economist, was also a suffragist and a women’s rights advocate who worked within the Chinese American community …
Posted in: Asian American History, Law Library, Women's History
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
The following Pic of the Week is a guest post by Alexander Salopek about the Old Courthouse of the Dred Scott Decision located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Posted in: African American History, Federal Judiciary, Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Recently, the Law Library acquired a copy of the 1872 House Report of the Committee on Indian Affairs titled Alleged Frauds Against Certain Indian Soldiers. In 1862, in the middle of the Civil War, Indigenous people living in the Midwest who volunteered for service were organized into regiments in the Union Army and were designated …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
This post explains the background and intent of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service.
Posted in: African American History, Collections, Law Library