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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This was a decision by the supreme court that declared that all African Americans free or otherwise were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The decision split the North and the South. The seeds of a more vocal outcry from northern aboltionists were planted and in essence sparked an unavoidable politcal conflict. -
13th Amendment
This document offically ended slavery. This document was the 1st of the recosntruction era amendments. it garnered much support from the abolitionists while it lead the south to eventually make the jim crow laws to reinforce african american inferiority. The amendment also enables Congress to pass laws against sex trafficking and other modern forms of slavery. -
14th Amendment
The amendment distributes citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, This was one of the reconstruction amendments. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by Southern states, which were forced to ratify it in order for them to regain representation in Congress. The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark decisions such as Roe v. Wade. -
15th Amendment
prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This was the 3rd and final reconstruction era amendment. Nowadays, the Court began to interpret the amendment more broadly, striking down grandfather clauses in Guinn v. United States (1915) and dismantling the white primary system in the Texas primary cases (1927–1953). -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections for party canidacy. These were instituted to make it so that any candidate would have the approval of the white voters. These primaries simply excluded the black vote and were just one more way that blacks were labeled as second class citizens in this time period. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
a landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of separate but equal. Separate but equal remained standard doctrine in U.S. law until the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. Plessy legitimized the state laws establishing racial segregation in the South and legitimized urther segregation laws. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax was enacted in southern states from 1889 to 1910 and served to degrade blacks and some poor whites by charging money as a prerequisite for voting. Many of these policies were eliminated by the 1940's but were not completely made illegal until 1964 with the 24th ammendment. -
19th Amendment
prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The amendment was the embodiment of the women's suffrage movement in the United States, which fought at both state and national levels to achieve the vote. This effectively raised womens' place in society and gave them a voice in politics -
Brown v. Board of Education
was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which allowed state-sponsored segregation. The Case paved the way for the integration and was a great victory for civil rights advocates. -
Affirmative Action
The policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture. this was desighned to give minority groups equal opportunities to the majority of society. The power of govenrment to help civil rights and those inpoverty was demonstrated through this act. -
24th Amendment
This amendment brought an end to poll taxes in federal elections. This brought in more voice from the minorities in the poltical process. The amendment overturned the Breedlove v. Suttles decison that declared the poll taxes constitutional in 1937. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This peice of legislation gave all minorities equal protection form discrimnation and prevented many businesses and facilities from continuing segregation practices. This legislative peice ended segregation and was the epitome of the civil rights movement. This somewhat forced people to integrate amongst minorities and protect those minorties from further abuse. -
Voting Rights of 1965
This prvented discrimination in voting; futher expanding on the civil rights act of 1964, 14th, and 15th amendments. The amendment allowed for minorities to vote with no threats or dangers by rmoving or outlawing any and all practices that acheived that goal. The minorities voted en masse and allowed for a more diverse voice in the electoral process. The -
Reed v. Reed
This was an Equal Protection case in the United States in which the Supreme Court ruled that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. this was seen as another victory for the women's rights movement -
Equal Rights Amendment
This was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Several feminist organizations that dispute the validity of the ratification. The issues addressed here were eventually brought to light. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. The decision allowed more diversity in schools and was found a compelling interest of the government. The case allowed affrimative action to contiue unchanged for a period of time. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
this is a United States Supreme Court decision, overturned in 2003, that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults when applied to homosexuals. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This was a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. Disabilities include both mental and physical medical conditions. A condition does not need to be severe or permanent to be a disability. The case brought about an even greater victory for equality for all people. -
Lawrence v. Texas
A landmark case that invalidated sodomy laws in Texas and in 13 other states. The case's ruling made same sex sexual actvites legal and invalidated the ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick. The case also ruled that intimate consenual sexual conduct was protected by the substanive due process under the 14th amendment.
