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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Dred Scott v. Sandford was a Supreme Court case that held that all people of African descent were not United States citizens. The 5th Amendment protected slave owners because they believed slaves were their property and therefore had no right to sue in court. Dred Scott, the petitioner, was a slave living in the free state of Missouri who sued under Missouri laws which allowed people of color to sue for wrongful enslavement and allowed slaves moved to free territories to no longer be enslaved. -
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Timeline
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13th Amendment (1865)
The 13th amendment 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.” This amendment abolished slavery and was the first mention of slavery in the Constitution. In addition to abolishing slavery, the amendment bans involuntary servitude. A person convicted of a crime by due process can still be forced to work as punishment. -
14th Amendment (1868)
The 14th amendment grants citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States and guarantees “equal protection of the laws” to all citizens. This amendment made former slaves American citizens and gave them protection under the law. The equal protection and due process clauses, the latter of which states “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law,” have been widely applicable to protecting civil rights in Supreme Court cases. -
15th Amendment (1870)
The 15th amendment granted African-American men the right to vote. It states that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” however the amendment was not strictly enforced. Poll taxes, literary tests, intimidation, and violence were used to suppress newly eligible voters in the South. These practices were ended by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Plessy v. Ferguson stated that segregation was not unlawful discrimination. Plessy wanted to challenge the Separate Car Act, which required separate train cars for white and black passengers. He sat in a whites-only train car, refused to move, and was arrested. Plessy claimed that the Separate Car Act violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment but the Supreme Court held that the law was constitutional. As a result of the case, Jim Crow legislation became even more common. -
19th amendment (1920)
The 19th amendment states that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” and legally gave women the right to vote. The amendment ended decades of protest and push for womens’ rights. The ratification of the 19th amendment did not assure rights to minority women though, who continued to struggle due to discriminatory voting laws. -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections in the South where only white voters were allowed to participate. White primaries were used to suppress black voters and maintain white supremacy. In fact, Southern states were dominated only by one political party due to the white primaries. White primaries began to end in 1944, but other methods of voter suppression were still widely used. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were fees that people had to pay in order to cast their ballot. They were created as a way to keep African Americans from voting in southern states (but not exclusively) because they often could not afford the poll tax. Poll taxes could be upfront charges or proof of payment but often poll taxes were made difficult to pay. Poll taxes were banned for federal elections by the 24th amendment in 1964 and for local elections by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
African American students in multiple states were denied admittance to public schools because of their race. The students argued that the segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. The case went to the Supreme Court and the Court ruled unanimously that “separate but equal” facilities such as schools are unequal and violate the Equal Protection Clause. Chief Justice Warren, who wrote the opinion, based it on social science rather than court precedent. -
Affirmative Action (1961)
Affirmative action is an effort to remedy discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex or more. The first mention of affirmative action was by John F. Kennedy and since 1965 government contractors and those who receive federal funds are required to document affirmative action practices. It began during this time to improve opportunities for African Americans. Examples of affirmative action are giving preferences to minorities and women in hiring or admission to college. -
24th amendment (1964)
The 24th amendment states that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote… shall not be denied or abridged by the United States... by reason of failure to pay poll tax.” This amendment, in writing, eliminated poll taxes as a necessity to vote. Poll taxes were used to undermine the 15th amendment right of African American men to vote. There are still indirect costs of voting like the cost of obtaining voter identification documents, but these have not been successfully challenged. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs. The Act marks the end of Jim Crow laws and other legalized forms of discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the predecessor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which furthered protections against discrimination in different sectors. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests and provided federal oversight of voter registration in some areas Additionally, the act made it so that any new voting practices or procedures created by states have to be cleared by the District Court for D.C. or the Attorney General of the United States. The act was not strongly enforced in the South, but it gave African American voters the legal means to challenge voting restrictions in their communities. -
Reed v. Reed (1971)
The son of Sally and Cecil Reed, a separated couple, died without a will and was the owner of an estate. Both parents filed petitions to take ownership of the estate. The law stated that “males must be preferred to females” if there are two people equally entitled to an estate. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court who said that the law’s unequal treatment of men and women was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. -
Equal Rights Amendment (1972)
The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, in its most recent form, reads “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States... on account of sex.” The ERA was first proposed in 1923 but support for the amendment began in the late 60s with the feminism movement. The ERA was approved by Congress and was sent to the states, but the amendment failed to achieve ratification by the states. Minus the right to vote, sexual equality is not protected by the Constitution. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Bakke, a white man, applied for admission twice to the University of California Medical School and was rejected. The school reserved places for minorities but Bakke’s qualifications were better than any of the minority students. The Supreme Court held that racial quota systems violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, they said that the use of race is permissible as one admission criteria. The Court agreed that Bakke should have been admitted but upheld affirmative action. -
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Hardwick, the respondent, was caught by a police officer while engaging in consensual homosexual sodomy with another adult in his bedroom. Hardwick was charged and appealed up to the Court of Appeals which ruled the law against sodomy in Georgia unconstitutional. Bowers, Georgia’s Attorney General, appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court stated that there is no constitutional protection for sodomy and that states can prohibit it. -
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all public and private places that are open to the general public such as jobs, school, and transportation. The purpose of the act is to provide legal protection for people with disabilities and to guarantee people with disabilities equal opportunity. The act also expanded the amount of places that are, for example, handicap accessible. -
Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
Lawrence was arrested and convicted under a Texas law forbidding intimate sexual conduct for people of the same sex. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court under the argument that the Texas “Homosexual Conduct” law violates the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court ruled that the “Homosexual Conduct” law violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment. This case overturned Bowers v. Hardwick, which was used as justification for the discrimination against gay people. -
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Groups of same-sex couples challenged bans on marriage in multiple states, arguing that the bans violated the 14th amendment. The trial courts were in favor of the plaintiffs, but the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that same-sex marriage bans did not violate the couples’ rights. The Supreme Court held that the Due Process clause does guarantee the right to marry to same-sex couples as well. The dissenting Justices argued that the Constitution does not address same-sex marriage.
