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Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Dred Scott case was between Dred Scott, a slave, and his slave owner. Scott lived in a free state for 10 years, so he argued that he should be a free man. The court ruled that Scott and all black people were to be legally seen as property, not people. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment banned slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, in all states a few months before the end of the Civil War. -
14th Amendment
The second Reconstruction amendment, the 14th amendment gave citizenship to all people born in the US, and provides equal protection under the law to every US citizen. -
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Jim Crow Era
The Jim Crow Era refers to the timespan where certain laws were adapted easier discriminate against people of color. These included laws allowing for racial segregation, laws restricting the voting rights of newly enfranchised African Americans, and laws trying to prohibit African Americans from getting higher levels of education. -
15th Amendment
The third and final reconstruction amendment, the 15th said that you can't restrict someone from voting based on race, color, or being formerly enslaved. The amendment did not include women. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark case resulting in the allowance of segregation based on the notion that the segregated spaces were "separate but equal". It would take until the 1950s with Brown v. Board of Education to overturn this precedent. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote saying local, state, and federal governments could not deny people the right to vote based on sex. The passing of the 19th came after years and years of women helping to lead many movements for others rights without having the right to physically have a say in government. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This court case ended the "separate but equal" precedent first used in Plessy v. Ferguson. The court ruled that black kids could legally be allowed to go to previously all white schools on an elementary, middle, and high school basis. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Some sections specifically prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex and race in hiring, promoting, and firing. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern, and some northern, states. Specifically, the act outlawed literacy tests, poll taxes, and other methods used to keep black people from voting. The Voting Rights Act effectively brought an end to Jim Crow voting laws. -
Affirmative Action
With Executive Order 11246, President Lyndon B Johnson started "Affirmative Action" by prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin by organizations receiving federal contracts and subcontracts. Affirmative Action itself refers to the practice of an organization hiring or admitting people based on diversity traits like race and/or sex. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed was a case centered around whether men should be preferred over women for administrators of estates. The court decided that administrators of estates can't be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA was a proposed amendment that was designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all citizens, regardless of sex. Opponents of the amendment argued it would get rid of the legal distinction between men and women regarding things like divorce, property, employment, and other matters. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A case centered around affirmative action, the court ruled that race can be a factor in considering students for college admission, but it cannot be the only factor. The court also decided that racial quotas for schools were illegal. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was a case regarding whether a Georgia law against sodomy was legal. The court decided that there was no constitutional right for consensual sodomy, which was eventually overturned in Lawrence v. Texas. -
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was a civil rights law that prohibited discrimination based on disabilities. This includes disabled people's ability to get a job, buy goods and services, and participate in government programs on both a federal and state level. -
Motor Voter Act
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known by the better name of the "Motor Voter Act", made it so that you can register to vote at DMVs/BMVs. This act only covers 44 states, with the other 6 states allowing for election day registration. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas' ruling that a same-sex couple can do whatever in the privacy of their home that straight couples can do overturned the ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick that said their was no constitutional right to such action. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the court ruled that same-sec marriage is protected under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment.
