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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott v. Sanford was a controversial case that reached the Supreme Court. In this case, a man named Dred Scott was suing for his freedom from his owner, Irene Sanford. This case worked its way up the system, granting the Scott family freedom and then revoking it several times.The Supreme Court, in their trial, ruled against Scott in a landmark case that black citizens were not American citizens and therefore could not sue in court, as well as overturned the Missouri Compromise. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6th, 1865. This amendment bans slavery in the United States and all of its territories. It had a rocky journey to the Constitution. It was passed by the Senate in April 1864, but was not passed by the House immediately due to the chaos of the Civil War. Eventually, the House passed this proposal in January 1865. It became an official amendment on December 6th when it was finally ratified by Georgia. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was ratified on July 9th, 1868. This amendment grants "equal protection of the law" to every citizen of the United States - meaning everyone born or naturalized into the US, regardless of race, was a citizen. It also protected the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" of every citizen and said they could not be infringed upon without the due process of law. This holds every level of government, including the States themselves, accountable to enforce this new law. -
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White Primaries
White primaries were an exclusionary tactic used states to prevent people of color from voting during the Reconstruction era. This was used to maintain Democratic power in the South. Many of these primaries were used similarly to, or in conjunction with poll taxes and literacy tests. They were finally eliminated due to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was ratified on February 3rd, 1870. This amendment granted the right to vote to anyone of any race, regardless of whether or not they were a slave before the Civil War or had slave lineage. Still, even though this amendment was very clear on extend the vote to all men regardless of race, that didn't stop certain states from trying to prevent black men from voting through means like white primaries and poll taxes. -
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Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were an exclusionary tactic used in the South during the Reconstruction era. This was a fee that members of a community must pay to vote in any of the elections held in the state. Since many people who faced active employment discrimination did not have much money, they couldn't afford to pay to vote. This was combined with other exclusionary tactics like white primaries. Poll taxes were finally struck down in 1964 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The case was regarding the constitutionality of the Separate Car Act in Louisiana, which required segregated train cars. Homer Plessy, a 7/8ths Caucasian man, who was Black under Louisiana law, was a plant by the Comite des Citoyens and the railroad, in order to overturn the law. After being told to leave and refusing, Plessy was arrested. He challenged this in the supreme court and it was ruled the Separate but Equal does not violate the 13th and 14th amendments. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18th, 1920. This amendment grants anyone the right to vote regardless of sex. This amendment was controversial and closely tied to Women's Rights and Suffragettes movements. The tamer version of this movement led by Carrie Chapman Catt was endorsed by Woodrow Wilson during his presidency, which was used to bolster the final push to end World War 1. This bill passed by 1 vote in Tennessee, making it the final state needed to ratify this law. -
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Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action refers to initiatives designed to combat currently discrimination, make reparations for the past, and prevent future discrimination. While it has been a concept since the 19th, the movement gained traction with Brown v Board of Education. The movement's modern roots are within the 1961 JFK executive order ensuring that employment discrimination does not take place on account of race, creed, color, or national origin. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education was the conglomeration of several cases challenging segregation in public education facilities. The court ruled that "separate but equal" is inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. This went against Stare Decisis, and was based on social sciences instead. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was ratified on January 23rd, 1964. This amendment stated nobody shall be denied the right to vote by their inability to pay a poll tax or other similar taxes. This was created to strike down the voting restrictions that prevented African Americans from voting, even though a previous amendment granted them this right. Poll taxes, which are specifically named in this amendment, were a fee required to vote for an election and were a popular exclusionary tactic in the South. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a law proposed by John F. Kennedy that ended public segregation and banned job discrimination based on race or religion. This was later signed into law under Lyndon B. Johnson despite strong Southern resistance. This law has been expanded upon throughout the years by Congress and is closely tied with other Civil Right legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 by Lyndon B. Johnson. This law was aimed to remove the obstacles in the way of African Americans who faced difficulty or resistance when voting. This was just one of many pieces of legislation passed during this time to ensure the civil liberties of all citizens. This act in particular pairs well with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Reed v Reed
Sally and Cecil Reed were a separated couple that had adopted a son. After the son died, Cecil was appointed administrator because, under Idaho law, men were given preference in appointing administrators of estates. Sally sued Cecil, and the court decided unanimously that the dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. -
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Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA is a proposed amendment that would guarantee women the same constitutional protections as men, saying that the rights shall not be abridged on account of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress and sent out to states for ratification. So far 37 out of the 38 required states have ratified it. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a white man attempting to be admitted into a medical school. The school had reserved 16 places for minority students, and despite having a higher GPA and better test scores than any of those admitted during the course of two years, Bakke was still rejected. He sued, on the basis that he was refused on account of race. Bakke won, but race was determined to be constitutionally permissible as admissions criteria. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Hardwick was observed engaging in consensual sodomy with another man and was arrested.He was convicted of violating sodomy laws in Georgia, he appealed to the Court of Appeals and the decision was overturned and deemed unconstitutional.Georgia's attorney general Bowers then appealed the Court of Appeals decision to the Supreme Court, who ruled the anti-sodomy laws constitutional, rights must be "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty" or "deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition" -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA prohibits discrimination against disabled people in employment, transportation, and all areas of life public and private.It also grants civil liberty protections to these individuals. In 2008, an amendment was passed to expand the definition of disabled. -
Lawrence v Texas
This was another sodomy case in which the court found that the government did not have the authority to intrude into the private sexual life of citizens, using the due process clause of the 14th amendment, overturning Bowers v Hardwick. -
Obergefell v Hodges
Obergefell v Hodges was one of the many same sex marriage cases being decided at the time. All but one of the district courts agreed that a same sex marriage ban was unconstitutional so the issue was sent to the Supreme Court. It was decided on the basis of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment that same sex marriage was constitutional and that states must be required to issue marriage certificates to gay couples.
