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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was an African American slave. When his owner took him to a free state, Dred Scott sued, saying he was a free man because he was in a free state. The court ruled that he was property, and that he wasn’t even allowed to sue. -
13th Amendment
This Amendment was passed by the Senate to declare that slavery was illegal. This Amendment was passed after the American Civil War, and after the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. -
14th Amendment
This amendment was passed to protect people from the states, and to protect the rights of the people from discrimination. The amendment says that “Nor shall the State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws” -
15th Amendment
This amendment was passed to prohibit the federal and state government from not allowing citizens to vote, no matter their race, color, or any other form of discrimination. States would then create poll taxes to prevent African Americans from voting. -
Poll Taxes
After the 15th amendment, the states made poll taxes on voting, meaning certain people, like African Americans, had to pay a tax to vote. Poll taxes were meant to stop African Americans to vote. Began around late 19th century. -
White Primaries
A poll in which only whites are allowed to vote, mainly in the southern states. Began around 1890. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Upheld the constitutionality of state laws that required racial segregation. The doctrine of “separate but equal” was supported. This was overturned in Brown v Board of Education. -
19th Amendment
Prohibited citizens from denying the right to vote on basis of gender. It was the culmination of the women suffrage movement and a continuation of the civil rights movement. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Overturned Plessy v Ferguson and declared that “separate but equal” is false and unconstitutional as separate cannot be equal. Eliminated de jure segregation in public facilities. -
Affirmative Action
Programs introduced in the early 1960s in order to combat racial discrimination in the hiring process. In 1967, it was expanded to gender as well. Today, affirmative action policies are designed to benefit minority groups that may be under-represented. -
24th Amendment
This amendment prohibits both the federal government and state governments from making poll taxes on voting. Before this, certain states made pole taxes to try to prevent people from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
In 1964, the Federal government make it illegal to discrimination based on racial, sex, ethics, national and religious beliefs. This was the first major landmark piece on civil rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was linked to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but this act outlawed discrimination in voting, meaning all people, no matter of race, ethnicity, origin, sex, or religious belief, can vote. -
Reed v Reed
Established that administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. The Case was between Sally and Cecil Reed in an argument of who gets to administrate over a deceased son (Idaho law preferred the male to administrate) -
Equal Rights Amendment
First introduced in 1923 by Alice Paul, it was designed to guarantee equal rights for women. It was passed in Congress in 1972, but failed to meet the deadline of state ratification (30 June 1982). -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Upheld affirmative action, effectively allowing college to permit race to be a factor in college admissions. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Upheld that anti-sodomy laws are constitutional. The anti-sodomy law was in Georgia outlawing private homosexual sex. This was overturned seventeen years later by Lawrence v Texas. -
American With Disabilities Act
ADA covers an expansive range of civil right laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability. Very similar to Civil Rights Act of 1964 but of course for people with disabilities. The ADA expanded National power by forcing states to comply to the standards, in lots of cases, without the funds to accomplish them. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Anti-sodomy law struck down in Texas overthrew the courts previous decision in Bowers v Hardwick. Consequently, anti-sodomy in 13 other states became unconstitutional and homosexual sex in private locations could not be prohibited by law. -
Fisher v. University of Texas
Fisher v. University of Texas was a case concerning affirmative action in the admissions process at the University of Texas at Austin. Abigail Fisher was denied entrance into the university for the 2008 fall semester and claimed that many minorities were admitted over her who were less qualified. This violated her 14th amendment rights, she said. The university claimed that they used a holistic admissions process. In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the university's policies.
