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Dred Scott Decision
A slave named Dred Scott went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847, and ten years later the case was heard by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that all African Americans, including slaves and those who were free, could never become citizens of the United States. Because Dred Scott was not a citizen, he could not sue in federal court and lost the case. The Supreme Court also ruled that the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. -
13th amendment is passed
The 13th amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States. It states that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
Joint Committee on Reconstruction is formed
The Joint Committee on Reconstruction, also known as the Joint Committee of 15, was created to "inquire into the condition of the states which formed the Confederate States of America, and report whether they are to be represented in either house of Congress." They were the group who wrote the 14th Amendment, and they required the southern states to approve the amendment before being given back their representation in Congress. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was approved by Congress, who overrode President Andrew Johnson. This act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, regardless of their race, color, or previous condition. The act failed to immediately protect the civil rights of African Americans, though, and so civil rights activists fought for a constitutional amendment, which led to the 14th amendment. -
The 14th Amendment is passed
Over 70 different proposals were drafted for the 14th amendment. The first and second proposals were shot down, but the third combined elements of the first and second and was carefully negotiated. On June 8th, the Senate passed the amendment with a 33-11 vote. It was then sent on to the House and was passed with a 138-36 vote on June 13th. Both houses then passed a request to propose the amendment to the states on June 18th. -
The Reconstruction Acts
Nearly two years after the end of the Civil War, Congress formed a plan for reconstruction. They turned the Confederate States, not including Tennessee because they had already ratified the 14th amendment, into five military districts. The Reconstruction Acts required there to be a military official that served as the head of the district and state constitutional conventions to draft black male suffrage documents. States had to ratify the 14th amendment to be readmitted to the Union. -
14th Amendment added to the Constitution
The 14th Amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law. It contains three of the most important clauses in the Constitution: the Citizenship Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. The major provision of this amendment is granting citizens to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States." A century would pass before all of the states would ratify this amendment. -
Supreme Court case: United States vs. Wong Kim Ark
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco, CA in 1873. His parents were immigrants from China and were not able to become U.S. citizens. Wong's parents moved back to China, and he stayed to live in the U.S. He went to visit his parents in China and got stopped by Customs on his way back to the U.S. because they said he wasn't a citizen. He took his case to the Supreme Court and argued that since he was born in California, that made him a citizen. Wong won the case and was allowed back into the U.S. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Overturning the Supreme Court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson of 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This ruling said that segregation in schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
14th Amendment is ratified by the final state
Ohio finally decided to re-ratify the 14th amendment in 2003, 135 years after it was added to the U.S. Constitution. They were the last state of the Union to ratify the amendment. Ohio repealed the initial ratification in 1867.
