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13th amendment
The amendment abolished slavery in the United States after the conclusion of the Civil War. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax was a tax paid by citizens in order to vote. It was used to discriminate against African Americans and prevent them from excreting their voting right. Poll taxes started soon after the 14th amendment was ratified and lasted until 1966 when a Supreme Court has decided to abolish poll taxes at the state and local level. It was a tax paid by citizens in order to vote. -
14th amendment
The 14th amendment states that any person born or granted citizenship is a citizen of the United States and the state where they live. States cannot make or enforce laws that take away or threaten rights of the people. Life, liberty, and property cannot be taken away without due process of law which protects a citizens 1st amendment rights. Also, the state cannot deny a citizen equal protection under the law. There should be no discrimination. -
15th amendment
This amendment granted African American men to right to vote because the amendment stated that the right to vote cannot be denied or reduced based on race, color, or previous slavery. -
Jim Crow
Jim Crow Laws started in 1877 and lasted until about 1933. It created rules to segregate blacks and whites. It started with the idea of "separate but equal". Segregation happened in restaurants, movie theaters, buses, schools, and pretty much all other public facilities. White supremacy was being threatened in the south and suppressing African American rights was their way to keep their status. -
Literacy Tests
Literacy tests were used from the 1890s until 1970 when literacy tests were banned all over the country. The test was used to determine your reading and writing skills in order to decide if you could vote or not. Essentially it was used to keep African Americans from voting. They had to score extremely well in order to pass. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This case upheld the constitutionality of the "separate but equal" idea. The Supreme Court said that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” doesn't conflict with the 13th or 14th amendment. This reasoning was eventually overturned in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Plessy v. Ferguson led to more segregation and racism and obviously none of the African American schools, buses, or other public facilities were equal to whites. -
19th amendment
This amendment gave women the right to vote. -
Korematsu v. US
Executive Order #9066 gave the government and military the power to remove Japanese Americans from places that were deemed critical for national defense and that needed to be protected from espionage. It violated the Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34. The Court, however, ruled that national security was more important than individual, Japanese American rights. -
DeJure/DeFacto Segregation
These segregation ideas lasted throughout the 1950s and 1960s. DeJure segregation is segregation by law such as "separate but equal" idea with theJim Crow laws. DeFacto is voluntarily or more circumstantial segregation such as blacks purposely segregating themselves. Busing black students to predominantly white schools was a popular way to try to decrease DeFacto segregation in schools. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Hamon Marion Sweatt was rejected by the University of Texas Law School because of his race. When he tried to fight back, they tried to provide a separate but equal facility for black students. The court ruled that their actions were unconstitutional, as separate facilities meant that blacks would not have access to the same quality of education as whites did and thus the Equal Protection Clause was violated. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Many black students were not allowed to attend schools because of the laws requiring them to be segregated. The students felt that the “separate but equal” decision established in Plessy v. Ferguson did not truly mean they were equal because the white facilities were far nicer than the black ones. The court unanimously ruled that the separate but equal rule was unconstitutional, as seperate did not mean equal and it violated the Equal Protection Clause and Fourteenth Amendment. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The boycott lasted until December 20, 1965. African Americans refused to ride the bus in Montgomery, AL to protest segregation. The Supreme Court ultimately said that segregated the buses was a violation of the 14th amendment. This was one of many of the civil rights protest to come. This also through his leadership in this protest, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to become a prominent figure for civil rights. -
JFK Address to the Nation on Civil Rights
In the speech he responds to the threat of violence on the University of Alabama campus after trying to desegregate the campus. He explained that we are all equal and all American students have the right to attend any public campus, not matter the race. He also talked about how US can't preach about being a free country internationally while ignoring its internal problem with freedom. He explains we are one country and everyone has the right to the same opportunities. -
Civil Rights Act
This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. African Americans and other minorities couldn't be denied a service simply due to the color of their skin. This created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which is a federal agency that protects individuals against work discrimination. -
24th amendment
This amendment ended the poll tax, which burdened African American voters as they could not afford the tax. This was only applied to federal elections. States could still require a poll tax for state and local elections. -
Voting Rights Act
This act was put into place to overcome any barriers prohibiting the 15th amendment from being enacted. It banned literacy tests, and let an U.S. attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections. -
Robert Kennedy Speech
Kennedy was the first to publicly announce the assignation of Martin Luther King. He said that the US did not need division, hatred, violence, or lawlessness but love, wisdom, compassion, and justice. He said this country needed unity between blacks and whites. Following his speech, riots came in many other cities. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is a policy that encourage minority students to apply. They also offer financial support and may prioritize some applicants. This was created in order to make sure that all people have equal access to the highest levels of education. It is also made to make colleges and universities more representative of the diverse immediate environment and the nation as a whole. -
Reed v. Reed
Cecil Reed was given his son’s estate over Sally Reed because the Idaho Probate Code said that males must be preferred over females. Sally stated that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause. The court unanimously decided that the law did not provide equality between men and women and therefore was unconstitutional. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The amendment stated that rights should not be taken away or messed with based on sex. Suffragist leader Alice Paul introduced the ERA to ensure protection under the law for women. It was approved by the Senate on March 22, 1972, but it didn't reach the amount of states needed to ratify the amendment. Anti-ERA activists thought the amendment would take away exemption from things like the military draft, and they disagreed with its support of abortion rights, contraception, and gay rights. -
Title IX
This title was a part of the education amendments of 1972. It states that no one will be denied or discriminated against on the basis of sex in education or federal financial assistance. -
Regents of the University of CA v. Bakke
Allan Bakke was rejected by the university’s medical school. During those two years, there the school reserved 16 spots to minorities who all had less qualifications than him. He stated that this affirmative action program violated the Equal Protection Clause. The justices did not reach a majority opinion. Some cited that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was violated and wanted the program shut down. The other half said the affirmative action program was allowable in some circumstances. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
When Michael Hardwick was criminally charged after been caught engaging in sodomy with another male, he spoke up against the ruling, saying that law was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, however stated that there was nothing written in the constitution protecting sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in jobs, schools, transportation, and all places open to the general public. Employers may not discriminate against a qualified individual with disabilities, and they must make reasonable accommodations in the workplace. It also guarantees equal opportunity in transportation, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, museums etc with the proper accommodation needed. -
Lawrence v. Texas
After John Lawrence and Tyron Garner were arrested for privately participating in homosexual conduct. The two men argued that the arrest and the “Homosexual Conduct” Law in Texas that bans homosexual relations violated their right to privacy. The Supreme Court ruled that it indeed violate their liberties and protection of privacy. They should be able to do consensual things privately without being punished. -
Fishers v. Texas
Abigail Fisher filed suit against the University of Texas after she was rejected from the school. She felt that the consideration of race for applicants and the preference of minorities violated her rights under the Equal Protection Clause. The court, however, ruled that if the policy implemented by the school during the admissions process is to “serve a compelling government interest” then the consideration of race is permissible. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
A group of same-sex couples sued their states for banning same-sex marriages and not recognizing the marriage licenses that were granted. They stated that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clause from the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the Civil Rights Act were all being violated. The Court of Appeals ruled that was not the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause includes marriage and that there is no difference between same-sex and opposite-sex marriage.
