To Secure These Rights

( 1947 ) Commentary by Anders Walker, St. Louis University School of Law

Glossary

all men are created equal a quotation from the Declaration of Independence
arraignment a legal proceeding in which the accused is formally charged with a crime
Four Freedoms goals articulated by President Franklin Roosevelt in a 1941 speech, including freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear
gentiles non-Jews
Jehovah's Witnesses an evangelical Christian sect
Justice Brandeis U.S. Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, known for his articulation of the right to privacy and for his commitment to social justice
Justice Holmes U.S. Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., widely know for his “clear and present danger” doctrine
land-grant colleges colleges and universities established under the Morrill Act of 1862, which granted federally owned land to the states to establish institutions of higher education
“loss of memory” a reference to a common expression found in police reports of lynchings supposedly carried out “by a person or persons unknown”
peonage a system by which debtors work off their debt through labor
“separate but equal” the doctrine created by the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson
third degree extreme or painful interrogation of criminals
V-J Day Victory over Japan Day, August 14, 1945, marking the end of World War II

Morris Ernst, a member of the Committee on Civil Rights (Library of Congress)

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