-
Dred Scott v. Sandford
When Dred Scott filed court in Missouri for his freedom and lost, he wanted to take it to Federal Court, but it was ruled that any man, free or enslaved, who's ancestors were imported to America are not American citizens and therefore cannot sue in federal court. This decision polarized Americans' views on slavery and ended up accelerating the Civil War and the emancipation of all blacks, which is not what the Republicans had planned. -
Thirteenth Amendment
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution is one of the most important in history. The amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution granted citizenship to all people born in the United States, including former enslaved people. The amendment also guaranteed equal protection of the law to all citizens. This is important because the Dred Scott case ruled that because Scott was a slave, he was not a citizen and therefore could not rule in federal court. This amendment changes that. -
Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution made it illegal for any state to deny a citizen the right to vote solely based off of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This was important because before this amendment only white males were allowed to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In the Plessy v. Ferguson case, Plessy was convicted after refusing to sit in a black only car on the train. He argued that this violated the 14th amendment, but the court ruled that the separate treatment did not imply inferiority of African Americans, the quality of the white and black train cars were the same. The phrase "separate but equal" stemmed from this case. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution prohibited states from denying people to vote based on sex. This gave women the right to vote which was very important because women's suffrage was fought for a long time leading up to this. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Even if the separate schools were equal in quality, it didn't matter. This was a very important decision because there had never been racially integrated schools before, and this was something black people had fought a long time for. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was important because it helped bring an end to Jim Crow laws. Also, it allowed African Americans equal access to restaurants, transportation, other public places, and the work place. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting. This is important because the south adopted voting practices such as literary tests to try and keep African Americans from voting. -
Reed v. Reed
After separated couple's Cecil and Sally Reed's son died, they both wanted to be the administrator of their son's estate. Cecil was chosen over Sally because he was male. Sally challenged the law and the court agreed, saying that it was not right to make that kind of a decision solely based on sex. -
Title IX
Title IX was a law passed in the Education Amendments of 1972 to prevent the discrimination of sex in any public school or education activity. This was especially important for women in high school sports. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
After Bakke was rejected from medical school two years in a row even after having better credentials than the minority students accepted, he took it to court saying he was rejected based on his race. The court ruled against Bakke saying that although he was denied because of his race, it was to allow more room for minorities which was permissible. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to prevent the discrimination of anyone with any disability. This law protects people with disabilities in school, jobs, transportation, and any public place. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Groups of same-sex couples sued multiple states for not allowing or recognizing the marriage of same-sex couples, saying it violated their Equal Protection laws and 14th amendment. The court ruled in favor saying that the right to marry is a fundamental liberty for opposite-sex couples the same as same-sex couples.