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13th Amendent of the Constitution
"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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Basically abolished slavery and protects people for being convicted twice for the same crime. -
14th amendment of the Constitution
Established the citizenship of the people in the us and says that all states shall respect this and treat everyone equal and give the same amount of protection for all. It estbablishes the rights of citizens and makes it so no state can make a law that goes against those rights. -
15th Amendment
This amendment established the right for black men to vote and for states to no longer deny them that right. It stated that no men shall be denied the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. Which basically means that all men had the right to vote, even if they used to be slaves or if they are black. -
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Jim Crow laws in Effect
The Jim crow laws enforced racial segregation. They basically stated in every one that black and white people cannot mix. These laws spanned the whole south at the time and formed segregated schools, bus stations, and much more. -
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Poll Taxes in effect
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Literacy tests in Effect
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Jim Crow law
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Plessy v. Ferguson
In Plessy v. Ferguson, Homer Aldoph Plessy, a 7/8 caucasian man refused to move from where he was sitting on a train (the "white's only" section), and he was arrested. The court ruled 7-1 in favor of Ferguson, stating that the fourteenth amendment was not being violated in this instance because it fulfilled the "separate but equal" doctrine. The date used for this case was the decision date. -
Poll taxes
These taxes were basically another way for southern states to deny the rights of many black families. They were a tax on voting, so you had to pay themto vote. This made it extremely hard ofr most black men and women to vote and also left behind poor white families. -
Literacy Tests
These tests were basically put in place after black people officially had the right to vote. It was a way to weed out the african americans from voting, along with the poll taxes. This pretty mush was a test for you to prove your knowledge of english. They made all people take this but since white men and women had gone to school they had the advantage. They made the test hard enough for african americans to fail but still have whites voting. -
19th amendment of the constitution ratified
The 19th amendment established the right of women to vote. This was very important as women had been fighting for equal rights for a very long time. This amendendment stated not only that no one shall be denied the right to vote based on gender. This amendment also established the right of congress to enforce this power. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This affirmed the equality of rights for all citizens regardless of gender. The ERA was written in 1923 by Alice Paul, who was a suffragist leader and founded the National Women's Party. The ERA was introduced to congress between 1923 and 1972, September 13th of last year, ERA and thier supporters participated in the Constitution Day Rally. -
Korematsu v United States
During WWII a presidential executive order and congressional statutes allowed militiants to exclude those with Japanese ancestry from areas that were deemed critical to national defense or vulnerable to espionage. The court sided with the government, stating that the need to protect espionage outweighed Korematsu's rights. -
Sweatt v. Painter
In 1946 Heman Sweatt, a black man, applied to the University of Texas Law School. His application was immediately declined because of his race, but stated that they would build a law school for black people that would be equal. Sweatt went to the courts, stating that this violated the 14th amendment, and they unanamously decided that under the Equal Protections Clause Sweatt had to be admitted, and that the "black law school" would not be of equal value, but would've been of much less value. -
Brown v Board of Education
Black children were not allowed admission to schooled attended by white children, soley on the basis of race. This was taken to court, and it was decided that though schools were "objectively" equal, the segregation of schools would be seen as a sign of inferiority. The idea of "separate but equal" was rejected and viewed as unequal in the context of education. -
Montgomery bus boycott
THis event was a huge contender in the fight against racial segregation. This movement started by Rosa Parks ended up gathering so many followers that busses were practically running empty. Martin Luther King Jr. saw this and supported it. This fight was against the segregation on buses, because black men and women had to sit in the back of the bus and were even expected to move when a white man or women came on the bus and there were no more seats in front of them open. -
Affirmitive Action
Favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are percieved to suffer from discrimination. Also defined as aiding those who have been historically excluded from American society. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amentment abolished poll taxes and made it so any citizen of the United states can vote and not have to pay a poll tax. This made it so any man could vote regardless of how much money they had. This was to make voting more nationwide and to encourage more citizens to vote. -
civil rights act of 1964
This act removed all racial segregation in public domain, as in schools and bus stations and the workplace or anywhere that served the general public. This act also esablished the right of citizens to vote no matter gender, race or religion. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act prohibited the denial of voting rights based on literacy tests. THis made it so anyone could vote no matter their education. Before this law, some cities weremaking laws that made everyone take literacy tests because they knew that black men and women had not had the opportunity to gain the knowledge to pass the test, therefore finding a way around the laws and amendments made about equal voting rights. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis
Robert Kennedys speech about MLKs death was the first that most had hear of this. Even though he knew that this speech could cause a huge riot, Robert spoke. In this speech, he talks about his own brothers assasination, that was also by a white man, which shocked everyone because he had never talked about his brothers death is public. He succeeded in calming the crowd down and keeping them from being angered, which turned around this era. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
Bakke was a 35 year old white man trying to get admitted into the University of California. He had been declined twice previously. The university would leave open 16 out of 100 spots for minority students. Bakke was not admitted even though his scores were higher than the minority students admitted. He stated that he was excluded solely because of race. The Court was a split vote, but majority resided with Bakke, with the majority stating that this was a violation of the 14th amendment. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was observed by a Georgia police officer "engaging in the act of consensual homosexual sodomy" in Hardwick's bedroom home. He was charged with violating a Georgia statute that said this was wrong, and Hardwick challenged the constitutionality of this. The court was divided, but majority ruled against Hardwick, finding that the there was no constitutional protection for sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This prohibits discrimination and makes sure that those with disabilities have equal opportunity for employment, government services, public accomadations, comercial facilites and transportation. -
Lawrence and Garner v Texas
Texas police were responding to a reported weapons disturbance and walked into Lawrence's home and found him and Garner engaging in a consensual homosexual act. They were both arrested, and courts initially ruled that this was legal. The courts later ruled in favor of Lawrence and Garner, stating that the Texan statue was unconstitutional. -
Fisher v Texas
Texas made a law stating that all students withing the top 10% had to be admitted. Because of this the University of Texas decided to alter it's racial-neutrality policy, making race a factor in undergraduate admissions. Fisher, a white female applied and was denied acceptance. She challenged this, and the court ruled in Favor of Fisher, stating that colleges could not discriminate becasue of race. -
Gay Marriage Legalized in Indiana
For a while, Indiana had a ban on same-sex marriage. Baskin v. Bogan was the case that lifted this ban. For a few days same-sex couples were allowed to marry until the ruling was stayed pending appeal. On September 4th, the court of Appeals affirmed the freedom to marry. -
Reed v. Reed
Idaho Probate Code stated that males were to be favored over females in respect to appointing administraters of estates. Cecil and Sally Reed, separated, sought control over their son's estate after he had died, however, Cecil was granted the estate according to the probate code. Sally chalenged this in court, and it was unanimously decied that the unequal treatment of males and females in this respect was unconstitutional.
