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Scott v. Sandford
Dred became free and sued his previous owner for being a slave in a free state. The court ruled anyone of African descent, even if free, was not a citizen and cannot sue in federal courts -
Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott became free and sued his previous owner for being a slave in a free state. The court ruled that anyone of African descent, even if free, was not a citizen and cannot sue in federal courts. -
Thirteenth Amendment
Abolition of slavery of any kind -
Thirteenth Amendment
Abolition of slavery of any kind, anywhere. -
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Reconstruction
The attempt to "reconstruct" from slavery in the South after the Civil War. Laws were made to allow freed slaves and free colored people to sue in federal courts and serve on juries (1866); forbid racial discrimination in public (1875), even though it was later removed because it was specific to colored people instead of all races. -
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Reconstruction
After the Civil War, the attempt to "reconstruct" after slavery. Laws were made to give ex-slaves and colored people more rights.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave colored people the right to sue in federal courts, serve on juries, and sign contracts. Reconstruction ended when Hayes agreed to end the efforts in order to become president. -
Fourteenth Amendment
Classified a citizen if is natural-born or naturalized for citizenship.
No citizen has any privilege over others
Due process rights -
Fourteenth Amendment
Everyone born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. No one can make laws that violate the privileges or immunities of citizens. Due process rights are also listed. -
Fifteenth Amendment
A citizens right to vote should not be denied because of race, color, or if they were previously a slave -
Fifteenth Amendment
The right vote can't be denied because of race, color, or if he was previously enslaved. -
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Jim Crow Era
Laws made to make a deeper separation between whites and any other race. Ex: “It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” -
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Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow Laws- Any law made to make a deeper separation between whites and any other race. Example- “It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” -
Plessy v. Ferguson
“Separate but equal”- any segregation is legal if each side has "equal" accommodations. Homer Plessy boarded a "whites-only" car on a train and was arrested when he was told to move to the "colored" car. In court, it was decided that these actions were legal, as he had his separate but equal section in the "colored" train car. -
Nineteenth Amendment
It gives everyone the right to vote, no matter the gender. (allows women to vote) -
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Scottsboro Boys
Multiple black boys were accused and charged for raping two white girls. Most of their due process rights were violated, giving them an unfair trial. They were all charged, but some were eventually released from prison. -
George Stinney Case
14-year-old George was accused of killing two young girls in South Carolina. The trial wasn't close to constitutional; many laws and rules were broken and there was little evidence to prove him guilty, but he was still sent the death penalty. -
Brown v. Board
Students were denied the right to go to a certain public school because of race (Separate but Equal). They went to the federal courts saying it violated the Equal Protection Clause and it was decided that separate but equal is in fact unequal. -
James Meredith enrolls at Ole Miss
James was the first non-white person to attend Ole Miss and received a lot of backlash from the other students and white people. He ended up graduating from the university with a political science degree and earned an LL. B from Columbia University in 1968. -
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Removes poll taxes- do not have to pay a tax to vote. -
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Voters do not have to pay poll taxes in order to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlaws discrimination of all types when it comes to voting, schools, employment, and public accommodations. Enforced through bribing the states with money (will take money if discriminatory actions happen) -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. The states did this to prevent former slaves and black people from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Banned discrimination in housing. The act expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination with housing based on race, religion, and national origin. -
California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had applied twice to medical school. He was rejected both times. The school instead had 16 spaces saved for every 100 students for "qualified minorities", in efforts to have diversity in the medical field. Bakke had a higher score than any of the qualified minorities both of the years he applied. There was no exact opinion to keep opportunities open for minorities, but also wanting Bakke to be admitted. -
Gratz v. Bollinger
In 1995, Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher both applied for admission to the University of Michigan’ College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Both were white and qualified, but were told they weren't "competitive enough." They argued that the admission procedure discriminated against them in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Meredith v. Jefferson Co Board
Students were given a choice of schools, but not all schools could take everyone who applied. When there were more applicants than there were spots in the school, they decided who would get in by where they lived, by lottery, and by race. None of the schools were allowed to have less than 15% or more than 50% of black students
The local courts said it was legal, but the federal courts decided that it was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection. -
Shelby County v. Holder
Shelby County, Alabama wanted both a declaratory judgment that both Section 5 and Section 4(b) in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are unconstitutional and a "permanent injunction" against them. Iy was decided that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. The court said that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act causes burdens on the voting districts, and that the section is no longer necessary.