-
The Thirteenth Amendment
This amendment to the US Constitution officially abolished slavery. It was passed at the end of the Civil War. It stated that Congress has the power to enforce this amendment in all states.The Emancipation Proclamation was declared by President Abraham Lincon, and it freed only the slaves in the Confederate States during the war. Eventually, Lincoln emphasized the importance of their freedom and it led to national emancipation. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
The 14th amendment of the US Constitution granted all equal, civil, and legal rights to all African American slaves. By stating "all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” this gave African American slaves the out to gain their freedom and rights. -
The Fifteenth Amendment
This amendment gave African-African men the right to vote. Although it was technically legal, it was still nearly impossible for them to vote because states would go to great lengths to prevent African-Americans from voting. They would use poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise them, and give unfair advantages to whites with exceptions such as the grandfather clause. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This was a case where the Supreme Court had a seven to one majority, and it led to the “separate but equal” doctrine. It involved Homer Plessy challenging the separate train cars and other means of transportation. The court upheld the racial segregation laws within public facilities. This allowed for a more diverse workplace, transportation, and restaurants. -
The Nineteenth Amendment
This amendment gave all American women the right to vote. It ended nearly a century of protests fighting for women’s suffrage. It was first introduced to Congress in 1878 and advocates had worked tirelessly for this amendment. Some tactics for protest included parades, silent marches, and even hunger strikes. -
White Primaries
The white primaries were voting held in the Southern states, only allowing white citizens to vote. A case called Smith v. Allwright was Texas trying to get rid of the white primaries in all the states. However, the case only allowed Texas to get rid of the white primaries. The case did bring awareness to the other states and the primaries slowly went away. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The first case was one of the most significant rulings because it outlawed racial segregation in schools - it was ruled unanimously by the Supreme Court, stating it violated the fourteenth amendment. This decision agreed that separate schools for white and African American students were nowhere near equal. The second case focused on the importance of integrating the schools as much as possible, with both teachers and students of all races. -
Affirmative Action
This action created Ny Kennedy, is described as policies that support members of a disadvantaged group that has previously suffered discrimination in such areas as education, employment, or housing. These individuals color, race, sex, origin, or religion are taken into an account of giving them more opportunities. This basically gives these unfortunately treated minorities some benefits. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were fees that people were required to pay if they wanted to vote. It was a method that states, especially Southern states, would use to prevent African Americans from voting because most of them could not afford the tax. Southern states often did whatever they could to prevent minorities from voting, because they had traditional values and knew that they would vote for candidates who wanted a change. -
The Twenty-fourth Amendment
The 24th amendment banned the Congress and states from taxing citizens when going to vote in federal elections. Any form of taxation trade for voting is illegal. Poll tax during voting was exempted Jim Crow Laws, which were laws trying to deprive African Americans from voting. There were still five states that continued taxing; Virginia, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act ended public segregation and employment discrimination based on rac, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was first proposed by President John F. Kennedy, and then later signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. Minorities could no longer be denied service based on their race because of this act. This act required equal access to public places and employment for all races and genders, and it enforced the desegregation of schools and the right to vote. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
In 1965 President Johnson, outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in most southern states after the Civil War. Including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. The act defended African American voters who were getting taxed or trying to register to vote. The act was taken into action the next day. -
Reed v. Reed
The Equal Protection Case in the United States in which the Supreme Court ruled that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. Gender discrimination was seen as prohibiting and violating the Equal Protection Clause and the fourteenth amendment. This case began when Sally Reed’s teenage son was discovered in her abusive ex-husbands basement. The case was labeled as a suicide however Sally disagreed. The courts ended up favoring the husband's wishes. -
dThe Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was put in place to give equal rights to all American citizens regarding sex. It began to put a legal distinction between men and women regarding divorce, property, employment. Ect. ERA was passed to the Senate and it provided “legal equality.” -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This case was about a 35 year old white man named Allan Bakke, who was rejected from the University of California Medical School twice. His GPA and scores exceeded many of the minorities who were accepted, and the reason he was rejected was because they reserved 16 spots in each class of 100 for qualified minorities. The Supreme Court ruled that the university violated the Equal Protection Clause. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was caught in Atlanta having sex with another man. Even though these were two consenting adult men they were arrested. Hardwick took this case to court stating that his right to privacy had been tampered with. He explained that this violated the fourteenth amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” -
American's With Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA, outlaws discrimination against people with disabilities in all aspects of public life. This includes their options of transportation, accessibility to public places, job opportunities, and schools. This act ensures they have equal rights and opportunities. It was passed and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. -
Lawrance v. Texas
Police barged into John Lawrence’s home and saw him and another man engaged in consensual sexual activity. They were both arrested for violating the Texas law that forbids same sex relationships. Lawrence sued and claimed it violated the Due Process Clause under the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Texas law is unconstitutional and violates the Due Process Clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Many groups of same-sex couples sued their state agencies in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee to challenge their state bans of same-sex marriage. They argued it violated the Due Process Clause in the 14th amendment. The questions were whether or not states should be required to license a same-sex marriage and if the states should recognize the marriage in a different state. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution guarantees their freedom to marry the same sex.
