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Dred Scott Decision
After a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom, the United States Supreme Court ruled that neither Scott or any other African American was legally a U.S. citizen. Scott ended up loosing the case because as a non-citizen, he did not have a legal right to sue. -
Joint Commitee on Reconstruction is formed
With the Civil War over and the nation faced with accepting former slaves into society, the Joint Committee on Reconstruction was formed. This 15-man committee would end up writing the 14th Amendment. -
13th Amendment
After a long debute the 13th Amendment is formally put in place. The 13th amendment, the first of the Reconstruction Amendments, made slavery illegal in the United States. It also abolished involuntary servitude. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1866 were vetoed by Andrew Johnson the Act still passed, giving citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. However, civil rights activists were concerned that the Act was not permanent and chose to fight for a constitutional amendment, which led to the 14th amendment. -
Passing of the 14th Amendment
On June 8th the Senate passed the 14th Amendment by a vote of 33 to 11. Then five days later on June 13th the House of Representatives passed the 14th Amendment by a vote of 120 to 32. The Amendment was also proposed to the states on the 13th. -
Reconstruction Acts
With all southern states other than Tennessee refusing to ratify the 14th Amendment, the federal government passed the Reconstruction Acts, dividing the South into five military zones. Former Confederate states were required to ratify the amendment to be allowed back into the Union. -
14th Amendment added to the Constitution
Secretary of State William Seward announced that the 14th Amendment had been ratified and that it is now part of the Constitution. It would be over a century before all states ratified the amendment. -
Supreme Court case United States vs. Wong Kim Ark
When Wong Kim Ark was denied re-entry into the United States after traveling abroad, he successfully sued in 1898 on the fact that his constitutional rights were violated. He was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants and based his defense on the 14th Amendment. The Court ruled in his favor saying that his citizenship was protected under the 14th Amendment. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Reviewing the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education that it is unconstitutional to segregate public schools. The court's decision overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson of 1896, which ruled that segregation in schools was constitutional. -
Ohio - Last state to ratify
After Ohio repealed its ratification in 1867, the state finally became the last state in the Union to ratify the 14th Amendment, even though they only had to re-ratify it.
