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The Declaration of Independence
The signing of this document marked the birth of a new nation. A nation in which minorities would be treated as equals to the majority. In the Declaration of Independence it says “All men are created equal.” This phase has become the rallying cry of many civil right movements and has lead to more freedom and equality than was ever thought possible. -
The Seneca falls convention
This convention marked the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement. This movement had a long and hard journey but in the end women gained the right to vote and gained equality. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
Not only did this proclamation free thousands of slaves but it changed the reason for fighting the civil war. After the civil war there was immense change and progress toward civil rights for all. -
The 13th Amendment
This amendment outlawed all slavery in all of the United States. It was a huge step forward to equality for blacks. -
14th amendment
The passage of this amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S. Citizenship guarantees all of the rights and freedoms that Americans enjoy. -
The 15th amendment
This amendment granted the right to vote to all black men. This didn’t stop the south from trying to dissuade them from voting but it still provided the groundwork’s for this freedom. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This case dealt with state level segregation. Despite the court upholding the segregation laws of the state it brought national attention to this idea and set the stage for these types of laws to be overturned. This decision was later over turned by Brown v. Board of Education. -
The 19th Amendment
As the 19 amendment was passed women all around the United States gained the right to vote. What started at the Seneca Falls convention had been accomplished. -
The Indian Citizenship act
This act granted all Indians citizenship which allowed them to vote thanks to the 15th amendment. Citizenship in the United States is a very valuable thing to have. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
In a unanimous decision the Supreme Court decided that separate public education for blacks and whites violated the equal protections clause of the 14th amendment. -
The Montgomery bus boycott
This boycott was the first of many successful boycotts lead by Martin Luther King Jr. Using the principles of passive resistance taught by Gandhi King’s movement gained momentum and lead to increased civi rights in the south. -
The Civil Rights acts of 1957
A law that came in the aftermath of brown v board of education. This law was meant to protect the voting rights of African Americans but due to stiff opposition on congress several of the key amendments were taken out. -
The Civil Rights act of 1960
This act required all voting locations to be inspected by a federal agent and punished anyone that sought to restrict an individuals access to the poll. -
The 24th Amendment
This amendment outlaw poll taxes which were taxes you had to pay before you voted. This was another way that the south had used to prevent blacks from voting. -
The Civil Rights act of 1964
This act made discrimination based on sex, race, color, or national origin illegal. -
The Voting act of 1965
This act outlawed many if not all of the discriminatory practices that the south used to inhibit black voters -
The Civil rights act of 1968
This act is basically and extension of 1964’s act and prohibits housing discrimination based on sex, race, or national origin. -
The Voting act of 1970
This act basically strengthened the voting act of 1965 and banned literacy tests nationwide as far as voting was concerned. -
The 26th amendment
18 year olds are now allowed to vote. If we are old enough to be drafted we should be allowed to vote was the logic of this movement. This was a civil rights issue because it dealt with age discrimination. -
The Voting act of 1975
Strengthened the original voting act and prohibited languages based discrimination -
The voting right act of 1982
Extended the deadline for this act to 1984