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Timeline
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13th Amendment
This amendment was a huge win in the fight for civil rights for African Americans. This completely abolished slavery, therefore making all black slaves free from their owners. For many years, people had been trying to abolish slavery, and this was the time they were successful. -
14th Amendment
This addressed the issue of Civil Rights directly, stating that no person should be deprived of any right without due process of law. Everyone also now had equal protection under the law, which was a huge win in the Civil Rights movement. -
15th Amendment
Another huge win for Civil Rights Activist, this amendment gave all African Americans the right to vote. Although this was not completely enforced, this was something that people had been fighting for a long time. -
Jim Crow Laws
This started in 1890, but it went on until 1965. These were laws that enacted racial segregation, even though all African Americans were free. This started with the "Seperate but Equal" law, and ended with the abolishment of poll taxes. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
This court case included an African American challenging the government on the ground that "seperate but equal" facilites and transportation was still unequal and discrimination. The state rejected his argument, saying that the state of Louisiana was not breaking any law. -
Literacy Tests
Literacy Tests were something that the government used to prevent African Americans from being able to vote. They tested potential voters on their literacy to determine whether or not they were allowed to vote. Most African Americans did not know how to read because they were prohibited from learning how to while they were slaves, so most of them could not pass the test, which prevented them from voting. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was a huge win for women who were trying to get Civil Rights. The amendment stated that nobody could be denied in voting based on their sex. This amendment helped show society how important women are and how they should be treated equally. -
Korematsu v. United States
This court case included Japanese-Americans being put into internment camps during World War 2, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was argued that it was unconstitutional to put Japanese Americans into internment camps forcibly, based on the 5th amendment. It was decided that during war time, this was for the protection of the United States and it was not racial discrimination. -
Sweatt vs Painter
This court case included an African American who applied to the University of Texas Law school, but got denied because they did not have a law school for blacks. He challenged this and was successful, which showed the government that the "Seperate but Equal" law was actually flawed and discriminated againts African Americans. -
Brown vs Board of Education
This court case an African American challenging the supreme court because he thought the public schools were unequal. He was successful, and this became one of the most important cases in Civil Rights history, because it declared seperate black and white schools unconstitutional. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks. It all started with her. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest againts racial segregation on buses. Rosa Parks started this by refusing to get out of her seat when a white person asked her to. This led to bus segregation being ended. -
Affirmative Action
This action led to businesses and othe organizations setting aside certain positiions for minorites to have. They made this because alot of minorities did not have the sam opportunites as the majority, which led to accidental discrimination. -
24th Amendment
This amendment forced the states to get rid of poll tax and anything else that abridged the African Americans and other people from voting. This was huge because there was now no way around the fact that African Americans deserved the right to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This not only affected African Americans, but it affected everyone who had been discriminated againts. This act outlawed discrimination against everyone, which was huge for the civil rights movement. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was made to enforced the 13th and 14th Amendment, stating that African Americans should have the right to vote. Before this, the law was not enforced as it should have been, and this made sure it was enforced. -
Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were required payments to vote. This was enacted to deny most African Americans the right to vote, but it was not found unconstitutional until 1966 -
Robert Kennedy Speech
This speech was a very emotional speech. This put out the news that the leader of Civil Rights had been killed. For that time, it seemed like that would hurt the Civil Rights movement, but it still continued to grow and conquer. -
Reed v. Reed
This court case involved a husband and wife who had just divorced, and were fighting over the estate of their deceased son. At first, they ruled the male should have the estate because "men were better than women".. But after a battle in court, it was decided that this type of thinking was unconstitutional. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This court case included a white male who was denied access to a college because the college was looking for minorities to enroll. Bakke brought them to court based on the ground that it was racial discrimination. The court sided in his favor and he was admitted. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was an amendment that was never actually ratified, but only proposed. It stated that rights shall not be denied on the account of sex. Even though it was never ratified, it still provided a strong presence in the civil rights movement for women. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This court case included a police officer who found two men having consensual sex in their bedroom while searching their apartment. the two men challenged the court on the ground that they had private rights under the constitution. It was ruled that they did not have the right to have oral or anal sex because it was against Georgia's laws. This was a big court case that involved gay and privacy rights. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act prohibits discrimination based on anyone with a disability. For example, if a business does not have a ramp or does not let a disability person into their business, it goes againt this act. This includes the fact that people with either a physical or mental disability should have the same rights as everyone else. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This court case involved two gay men being arrested for being engaged in oral sex. This case was alot like the Bowers v. Hardwick, but this time, the gay men won. This ultimately made consensual sex between men legal in all US States and Territories. -
Fisher v. Texas
This court case involved two woman who were denied access into a college based on their race. This was another case that involved white peope being turned down for a college because colleges had to make room for minorities. The result was that the college was allowed to use race as part of the admissions process. -
Indiana's Gay Rights Battles
As Gay Rights are becoming more and more popular and accepted throughout the nation, some conservative states still have not agreed on what to do yet. Indiana is one of those states. They have a current hold on the issue until 2015, where they will decide whether or not gay marriage bans are constitutional or not.
