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Thirteenth Amendment
While the Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction, the document itself was too weak to abolish slavery. Lincoln realized this, so he fought for the ratification of the thirteenth amendment. It passed, freed the slaves, and is now seen as one of the three "trio of civil right" amendments. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The fourteenth amendment covers many broad topics that do apply to every citizen, but specifically were made on the horizon of the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans had been denied U.S citizenship since slavery began, but now, since they were born on U.S soil, they were officially U.S citizens. The next: due process. No citizen shall be denied life, liberty, or property without "due process" of law, and the law shall NOT discriminate, as proclaimed by the "equal protection" clause. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Every man in the United States can vote, regardless of race. Women still cannot vote, regardless of race or age, however this was a step in the right direction, as this opened up suffrage to a new, wider group of people, not just white men. -
Plessy VS Ferguson
Homer Plessy, who was 7/8 white, violated the Separate Car Act by refusing to get out of a whites only cart. When arrested, the case went to the Louisiana lower supreme court. However, the court found separate but equal to be constitutional and Plessy was convicted. -
NAACP
The National Association for Colored People was created by an interracial group including W.E.B Du Bois. They created this in the wake of the challenges facing African Americans in the period of the Civil Rights movement. They handled issues such as voting rights, lynching, and violence. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The nineteenth amendment gave all citizens of the United States the right to vote. In short, it gave women the right to vote. -
Brown V Board of Education
The court case of Brown V. Board was a court case against segregation in public schools. The case was started because schools were separated between "black" and "white". However, the supreme court found segregated schools unconstitutional, and desegregation began. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest in relation to the racial segregation expressed on public transit. It lasted fifteen days, and the aim was to socially and economically prove a point against the system. It was a vital event the Civil Rights Movement. -
I Have a Dream Speech
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech "I Have a Dream" was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Delivered during the March on Washington, it was an emotional delivery about his will for civil and economic rights for African Americans. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act is was a law that ensured African Americans' rights. While this had been tried with amendments and court cases, this made the "tricks" that had slipped under the rug illegal. This included: voting restrictions against colored people, employment, segregation in schools, and public transport and accomodations. -
Malcom X Assasination
Malcom X was a Civil Rights Activist and an American Muslim Minister. The people who opposed him accused him of preaching violence. He was shot while speaking. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights act of 1965 prohibited racial segregation in voting. While it had been written in the fifteenth amendment that African Americans could vote, there had been many limits such as literacy tests that were designed to fail so that only white men could vote. -
Loving V Virginia
This court case struck down all state laws that prohibited interracial marriage. -
MLK Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights Activist. He used peaceful protest and speeches to relay his activism. He was shot at the Lorraine Motel and killed. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Civil Rights Movement also made strides for women. The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed and passed to ensure legal rights for women. This included employment, property, and divorce.
