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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott had resided in Illinios, a free state, for 10 years. After returning to Missouri, a slave state, Dred Scott attempted to sue for his freedom due to living a free lifestyle. Chief Justice Roger Taney declared that no one but a citizen of the United States could be a citizen of a state. Since African Americans were not considered citizens of the United States, they couldn't be citizens of any state so he was considered a slave. This decision annuled the Missouri Compromise of 1850. -
13th Amendment
Passed by Congress after the end of the Civil War. It abolished and prevented slavery and involuntary servitude. It was the legislative complement to the Emancipation Proclamation so Confederate states could not reestablish slavery after rejoining the Union. -
14th Amendment
Passed by Congress, giving a broad defintion of citizenship and overruled the Dred Scott v. Sandford. It basically gave citizenship to former African-Americans -
15th Amendment
Prohibits the states from denying an individual the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. -
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Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were small taxes levied on the right to vote to exclude African Americans from voting. It was established in many states after the end of the Reconstruction era and was voided by the 24th Amendment -
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White Primaries
A device that permitted political parties in the South to exclude African Americans from voting in primary elections. The Supreme Court them unconstitutional in the case Smith v. Allwright -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Since Homer Plessy was seven-eights white, he felt entitled to ride in a railway car reserved for Whites but he was arrested when he refused to leave the railway car. The Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that laws requiring "equal but separate accomdations..." was constitutional -
19th Amendment
Prohibit states from denying an individual the right to vote on the basis of sex -
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Equal Rights Amendment
Simply states, "The provisions of this article shall not be construed to impair any rights, benefits, or exemptions now or hereafter conferred by law upon persons of the female sex." It was written by Alice Paul and introduced into Congress and passed by Congress but failed ratification from the states. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation and the policy of "seperate but equal" was unconsitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection. In essence it overturned the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson -
24th Amendment
Prohibits Congress and states from requirements of a poll tax in federal elections. Passed in response to reestablishment of segregation and Jim Crow laws in mostly Southern States. -
Civil Right Act of 1964
Outlawed unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Designed to stop barriers to suffrage or implementary of exclusionary principles such as the "grandfather clause" to permit African Americans to vote without any obstacles. -
Affirmative Action
Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon Johnson required "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin." The Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action has been widely varied and contradicting. The policy has been largely opposed although research shows it offers significant benefits for women and minorites with relatively small costs for white males. -
Reed v. Reed
Supreme Court case in which laws that gave a mandatory preference to males over females was declared unconstitutional due to the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke, a white applicant to the Univesity of California at Davis was rejected admission for two straight years. After discovering he scored significantly higher that the mean socres on the MCAT, he sued the school on the basis of racial discrimination. Eventually the Supreme Court decided that Bakke be admitted and held that a state unviersity could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race. But it did not eliminate the use of race as a criterion for admission. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Michael Hardwick and a male companion were placed under arrest for sodomy, which was defined in Georgia law to include both oral sex and anal sex between members of the same or opposite sex after a police officer entered Hardwick's residence to serve him a warrant. Hardwick believed the Georgia sodomy law was an invasion of privacy but the Supreme Court held that this right to privacy did not extend to private, consensual sexual conduct, at least insofar as it involved homosexual sex. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accomodations" for people with disabillties and prohibits discrimination against such individuals in employment -
Lawrence v. Texas
John Lawrence and a male companion were alleged to be engaging in consensual oral sex and were arrested when a sheriff's deputy entered Lawrence's apartment due to reports from a nieghbor of "weapons disturbance." They were charged charged with violating Texas's anti-sodomy statute. Lawrence appealed the decision and eventually the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to strike down the Texas law, with five of the justices holding that it violated due process guarantees, thus overruling Bowers v. Hardwick.
