Civil Rights

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857

Dred Scott was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court in which the Court held that the US Constitution was not meant to include American citizenship for black people, regardless of whether they were enslaved or free, and so the rights and privileges that the Constition do not apply to them

13th Amendment

1865

The 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution was in 1865 and abolished the practice of slavery in the United States. Today the amendment is used to strike down race based discrimination and used to stop modern forms of slavery such as sex trafficking

14th Amendment

1868

This amendment states that former slaves are now complete citizens of the United States and have equal protection under the law that any formerly free person would have. They also set other clauses such as the Privileges or Immunities Clause and the Due Process Clause.

15th Amendment

1870

The 15th amendment prohibits both the federal and state governments from denying the citizen the right to vote based on the person "race, ethnicity or previous condition of servitude".

Plessy v Ferguson

1896

This was a supreme court case in which the court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in public places as long as the white building had the same quality as the building for African Americans.

White Primaries

1896

This is where southern democrat states would only allow whites to vote in the Primary elections so that it would ensure a white candidate would be up for the federal election that everyone could vote in.

Poll Taxes

1917

Poll taxes were a payment that must have been paid in order to vote in federal elections. They stemmed from the Jim Crow era when southern states wanted to restrict African American rights any ways they could.

19th Amendment

1920

The 19th Amendment prohibits any state or the United States from denying someone the right to vote based on there sex.

Brown v Board of Education

1954

This was the Supreme Court case that ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional and that public schools have no right to reject someone based on the color of their skin and that they must start integrating them quickly.

Affirmative Action

1961

Affirmative action was an executive order by President Kennedy that stated that employers must make sure that employees are treated equally and fairly without regards to their race or ethnicity.

24th Amendment

1964

Prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections by both congress and the states. This helps make the United States congress more diverse in their thinking because the majority of the people who would be able to afford that poll tax would vote a more certain way than the other.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws the discrimination of a person based on their race, color, religion, sex, national origin or gender identity. It also outlawed segregation in schools, public accommodations and in the workplace as well.

Reed v Reed

1971

This court case ruled that Estates cannot be divided unequally based on the differences between the two genders. It was also the first time that the 14 Amendment was used to describe gender

Equal Rights Amendment

1972

It was first introduced in 1923 but the big deal was when it was almost ratified in 1972 when 35 of the 38 states ratified it until a woman named Phylis Schlafly made a conservative movement pushing against this bill and it actually killed its ratafication.

Regents of the University of California v Bakke

1978

This was a case where the Supreme Court upheld that race can be a factor in the college admissions process but that there can't be a set quota of how many people should be white and how many should be a minority.

Bowers v Hardwick

1986

This was a case in which the Supreme court upheld Georgia's law that banned homosexual intercourse and it was not overturned until 2003 when they had Lawrence v Texas.

Americans with Disabilities Act

1990

This prohibits discrimination based on one's disability. This act also requires employers to provide accommodations to people with disabilities and make things like ramps so disabled people can get to places easier.

Lawrence v Texas

2003

This is the Supreme Court case that overturned Bowers v Hardwick and stated that people have the right to privacy in their homes and that as long as it is consenting law can not prevent homosexual activity.

Obergefell v Hodges

2015

This is the Supreme Court case in which they said that the right to marriage is equally shared for a same-sex couple as it is for a heterosexual couple and that all 50 states must recognize same-sex mariage.