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13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment declared 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, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
14th Amendment
Defined what it means to be a US citizen. Prohibits states from reducing the privileges of citizens and ensures each citizen the 'right to due process and the equal protection of the law'.
Granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States. Forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gave all men the right to vote regardless of race or color or whether they had been slaves -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws, in U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. The Jim Crow law started around the 1880's and lasted through the 1960's. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In this case Plessy refused to sit in the black railway carriage car and was arrested. He then went to court and argued the judge, Ferguson, that his fourteenth amendment was violated as well as his thirteenth. The court rejected Plessy’s arguments and pointed out that blacks and white were both given equal facilities under the law and each person is equally punished for breaking the law. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave all women the right to vote and prohibited any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. -
Korematsu v United States
Fred Korematsu refused to obey and leave his home and report to a relocation camp for Japanese Americans. He was arrested and convicted. After losing in the Court of Appeals, he appealed to the United States Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the deportation order. The Court sided with the government for the safety of Americans and that outweighed his rights. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Sweatt was refused admission to the School of Law in Texas. But at the time there was no law school for blacks. The state then built a law school for blacks only, but the conditions of it were not equal to the conditions of the white law school. They black students were given as many teachers and did not have all the books they needed. By this the court decided that Sweatt should have an equal education opportunity and was able to transfer to the white’s law school. -
Literacy Test
Literacy Test were used to keep people of color and, sometimes, poor whites from voting. There were tests handed out at the discretion of the officials in charge of voter registration. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 abolished literacy tests. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case is known as a landmark case. It declared that separate public schools for black and white students is unconstitutional. It over turned the separate but equal laws. By doing so it allowed for children of all ages to be given the equal education opportunity. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1st, 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott was a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.
It didn't start on December 1st, that's just what sparked it. this boycott lasted from 1955 through 1956 -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a tax levied by state and local governments on individuals, who often had to pay the tax in order to vote. These taxes were used to keep people of color and sometimes women from voting. This was abolished by the voting rights act of 1965. Used to keep people of color and sometimes women from voting. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment stated that people don't have to pay a tax, called a poll tax, in order to vote. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is an active effort by many levels of government and by private employers in the United States to improve the employment or educational opportunities for minority groups and for women. Affirmative action policies are intended to fix decades of discrimination against such groups and to increase diversity. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Kennedy was going to indianpolis do to his campaign speech. When he found out MLK was killed, he was told it wouldn't be a good idea to say anything, with the crowd containing mostly African Americans. He ended up actually talking about it. -
Reed v. Reed
This was the first case to declare sex discrimination a violation of the fourteenth amendment. A couple had split up and when their adopted son passed away they both wanted the property. But the husband was given the property based on Idaho’s statues that said males must be preferred. The case was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme court. This was an important case because it recognized sex discrimination as a violation to the constitution. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke was a thirty five year old white man who applied twice for The University of California Medical School at Davis. He was denied both time. He argued that he was denied admissions because of race. The court decided that the school did discriminate against him and he was allowed in. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A male homosexual was criminally charged for committing consensual sodomy with another male adult in the bedroom of his home. The law stated at the time that there was no constitutional right to have sex with another man. They argued that they had the right of privacy and the court decided that they did have the right to privacy but it was against the law for two men to have sexual relationships with each other. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The American Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. Employers also have to provide accommodations to their employees who are disabled, and make it accessible to the public disable people. This act includes bother mental and physical conditions and does not always have to be permanent. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Two men were caught having sexual intercourse with each other. They were both arrested and charged. They argued that their fourteenth amendment had been violated and the court agreed with them. -
Fisher v. Texas
Fisher applied for admissions and was denied. She sued the college alleging that the University’s consideration of race in admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause. The court decided that the college was wrong. -
Indians Gay Rights Battle
Indiana has been fighting the gay rights battle for some time now. Indiana was one of the few states that had actually made gay marriage legal but shortly after it got banned again. Now it is still being discussed in courts whether or not Indiana should legalize gay marriage
