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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This was a Supreme Court case about a black man named Dred Scott and the question of whether he has the same rights as a white man when he enters free territory. The Supreme Court ruled that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories. This case was a milestone to the Civil War because this case invalidated the Missouri Compromise. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified after the end of the Civil War. This amendment stated that slavery was unconstitutional and that it was not allowed anymore in the United States. The ratification of this amendment along with two other amendments introduced the era of reconstruction and segregation. -
14th Amendment
The ratification of this amendment was after the Civil War. This amendment forbids the states from denying anyone "equal protection of the laws." This is the first and only part of the constitution to invoke the idea of equality. It also states that no state can "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." -
15th Amendment
Before the 15th amendment, voting rights were mainly only given to property holding white males. The ratification of the 15th amendment guaranteed African Americans the right to vote, at least in writing. However this wasn't completely followed for a full century. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were small taxes levied on the right to vote. They were mainly used by southern states to exclude African Americans from voting. This stopped them because elections were typically around the time when poor sharecroppers had the least bit of cash on hand so they weren't able to pay the tax to vote. -
White Primaries
This was a device used mainly by most southern states to permit political parties to exclude African Americans from voting in the primary elections.African Americans were typically only allowed to vote in general elections due to the white primaries. Smith vs. Allwright declared white primaries unconstitutional in 1944. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court case provided the ability under the constitution for segregation. This law in Louisiana stated that segregation was allowed so long as the facilities were equal. However, this was not really the case because the Courts mainly paid attention to the separate part rather than the equal part such as high schools and professional schools strictly for white people and there was no such thing as a school for black people. -
19th Amendment
The start of the idea of giving women the right to vote was the signing of Seneca Falls Declaration of sentiments and resolutions. 72 years later, this movement inspired the ratification of the 19th amendment which allows women the right to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court decision reversed the case Plessy v Ferguson meaning that the Supreme Court overturned the clause "separate, but equal" and they believe that segregation in schools is unconstitutional because it violated the 14th amendment about equal protection. This case led to 9 African American students going to high school with white students for the first time in Little Rock, Arkansas. -
Affirmative Action
A policy that involves efforts to bring about increased employment, promotion, or admission for members of groups who have suffered from discrimination. The goal is to move past "equal opportunity" and get to "equal results." -
24th Amendment
This amendment was ratified to prohibit poll taxes in federal elections. Two years later, the Supreme Court voided poll taxes in state elections in Harper vs. Virginia State Board of Elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This civil rights law was believed to be the most important in nearly a century. This law made racial discrimination illegal in hotels, motels, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation. It also forbade discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or gender. This law was created to try to stop all discrimination and there would be consequences if it wasn't put to an end. Finally this law strengthened voting rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This was a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans registered to vote, and the number of African American elected officials increased dramatically. -
Reed v. Reed
The court ruled that any "arbitrary" gender-based classification violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. This was the first time the court declared any law unconstitutional on the basis of gender discrimination. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This was an amendment originally introduced in 1923 but passed by Congress in 1972, stating that rights cannot be denied or limited based on the account of sex. Despite public support, the amendment fell short of the three-fourths of the state legislatures required for passage. Women were less likely to support the amendment than men were. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke. a white man, had applied for admission to the University of California Medical School. He was rejected twice. The school reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action program. Bakke's qualifications exceeded those of any of the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke was rejected. Bakke argued in the Supreme Court, that he was excluded from admission on the basis of race. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was observed by a Georgia police officer while engaging in homosexual acts with another adult in the bedroom of his home. After being charged with violating a Georgia statute that criminalized this, Hardwick challenged the statute's constitutionality in Federal District Court. The court dismissed. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding that Georgia's statute was unconstitutional. He was granted certiorari. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Act prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against the disabled. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Responding to a weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another man, Garner, engaging in homosexual activity. Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse. The State Court of Appeals held that the statute was not unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, with Bowers v. Hardwick. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex couples sued state agencies in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee to challenge the constitutionality of those states' bans on same-sex marriage or refusal to recognize legal same-sex marriages. The court favored the plaintiffs. The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and held that the states' bans on same-sex marriage and refusal to recognize marriages performed in other states did not violate the couple's Constitutional rights..
