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Dred Scott v Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in the state of Missouri. He went to the states court to declare his freedom but ultimately was denied. He ended up taking his efforts to the Supreme Court. The supreme Court came to the conclusion that "a negro, whose ancestors were imported into the U.S., and sold as slaves" is not an American Citizen. This decision highlighted the fact that, during this time, the Constitution of the United States wasn't mean to include American Citizenship. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment ultimately terminated the use of slavery in the United States. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment ultimately states that anyone born or naturalized in the United States is a U.S. Citizen, and no state has the right to take this right away unless its due to a process of law. It also states that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and property with equal protection laws. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment ultimately states that despite color,race, or religion, every U.S. Citizen will have the right to vote. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a tax on every adult, without reference to income or resources, that could usually lead to suffrage. -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections held in the Southern United States in which only white voters were allowed to vote. This was unconstitutional and violated the 15th amendment. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. Homer Plessy who was part black wanted to sit on the white car but was immediately kicked off. Plessy quickly went to the courts to argue against this unconstitutional law. The Supreme Court held that the state law was constitutional and that the 14th amendment should be emphasized to reach equality for different races.. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment ultimately further elaborates and extend the rights of the 15th amendment to women. In other words, the 19th amendment allowed any U.S. Citizen (including women) to vote. -
Brown v Board of Education
Th Brown vs Board of Education was directly related to the segregation of public schools on the basis of race. African American students wouldn't get accepted into schools based on laws allowing public education to be segregated by race. Obviously making it to The Supreme Court, The Supreme Court held that “separate but equal” schools were still unequal and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Brown v Board of Education II
After its decision in Brown v. Board of Education the Court later wanted to make all public schools all around equal and implemented immediate desegregation "with all deliberate speed." -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment is an innovation off of both the 15th and 19th amendment and ultimately states that any U.S. Citizen has the right to vote (including women) and this right cant be revoked by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed in law by Lyndon B Johnson. This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action basically is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was signed into law by President Lyndon B Johnson in 1965. The objective of this act was to take quick action on the 15th amendment and extend to the state and local levels for African Americans. -
Reed v Reed
This case was over the dispute between a superior gender between a married couple and was quoted that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates. The Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the law's dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times. All his scores and gpa exceed majority of the minorities attending. He felt that he was getting rejected based off race and went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that any racial quota system supported by government violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Bakke should be admitted to the medical school. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The name of this amendment basically summarizes its purpose. This amendment states that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one's sex and can also be applied to one's race. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was arrested by a Georgia police officer because of an engagement of consensual homosexual sodomy with another adult. Hardwick was charged with violating a Georgia statute that criminalized sodomy. He decided to take this case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that there was no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy, and that states could outlaw those practices -
Americans with Diabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. This includes employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government’ programs and services -
Lawrence v Texas
This Supreme Court case involved sexual conduct between two gay males. The court ruled that the Texas law on sexual conduct between gays was unconstitutional and people have the right to act in privacy due to the Due Process Clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges I
Obergefell vs Hodges was a case that took place in the Supreme Court. This case established that the 14th amendment still applies to same sex marriages and opened society's eyes on gay rights. -
Obergefell v. Hodges II
The second court case for Obergefell vs Hodges concluded that the Constitution does not address it and that this issue should be decided by individual state legislatures.
