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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a slave who lived in a free state, was told he didn't have freedom. The SCOTUS said that African Americans would never be U.S. citizens and that the 1820 Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This case propelled the country closer to a civil war. -
13th Amendment
The U.S. will not allow slavery or involuntary servitude except for a rightly convicted crime as punishment. This amendment finally prohibited buying and selling humans and made it illegal. This is important to reinforce what Lincoln had previously done to free slaves in the emancipation proclamation. -
14th Amendment
Gives citizenship to everyone born/ naturalized in the U.S. This means people who were slaves can be citizens. It gives due process of the law as well as equal protection, which makes the federal and state governments follow the bill of rights. -
15th Amendment
Voting rights cannot be taken away on the basis of race, color, or previously being a slave. Although it was meant to protect black men's voting rights, many states took other actions like literacy tests to determine voting rights. It also does not include voting on the basis of sex. -
Jim Crow Era (start)
This era enforced many laws in the south that made segregation based on race legal. African Americans couldn't have jobs, vote, go to school, etc. An example is the strict black codes which limited work for African Americans. Groups like the KKK also targeted black Americans. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana created a Separate Car Act which said there had to be separate black and white train cars. Homer Plessy say in a whites only car as a black man and was asked to leave. The Supreme Court established the separate but equal clause which made segregation legal. -
19th Amendment
Gives women the right to vote. It is illegal to not allow voting rights to a U.S. citizen based on sex. It was brought up in congress in 1878 and took all the way to 1920 to be ratified. It was the result of the women's suffrage movement started by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. -
Jim Crow Era (end)
This era enforced many laws in the south that made segregation based on race legal. African Americans couldn't have jobs, vote, go to school, etc. An example is the strict black codes which limited work for African Americans. Groups like the KKK also targeted black Americans. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Segregation in public schools is illegal because of the harmful effects on children by enforcing inferiority. This case trumped the plessy "separate but equal" clause. There was a doll test that proved segregation in schools mentally harmed children. -
Affirmative Action
First said by John F. Kennedy in 1961. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the idea that discrimination based on color, race, sex, religion, sexuality, gender, nationality, etc is unconstitutional in 1964. It has been used many times throughout history to justify many court rulings for civil rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Makes public discrimination illegal, specifically places that use interstate commerce.This means public schools and other public areas have to be integrated, and discrimination in employment is illegal. The act is mainly focused on stopping discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Its purpose was to help African Americans be able to use their voting rights from the 15th amendment. The amendment was broken when there were literacy tests and actions to limit voting rights. Lyndon B Johnson enforced the act because of the Selma march violence. -
Reed v. Reed
Idaho had a law that said males have to be above females as administrators of estates. When their son died, separated parents both applied to be the admin of his things, and the father was chosen. The mother argued because of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. The courts agreed with the mother and said unfair treatment between men and women was unconstitutional in an estate. -
Equal Rights Amendment
A constitutional amendment that tried to establish equal rights for women. There was a lot of complications on the ratification because not enough states passed it in time. Its ratification is still being talked about in the 20th century, as Virginia was the last state out of 38 needed in 2020. The question is if it can still be an amendment even after the deadline for ratification is almost 50 years passed. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A white man with outstanding credentials was rejected from a medical school that had 16 of 100 spots reserved for minorities. He argued that he was excluded based on race from the school. The decision was that schools can't use race as a definite basis for admissions because of the 1964 civil rights act and the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A man was seen by a police officer engaging in sexual activity with another man in his home bedroom. The man was charged because his actions violated a Georgia law that made his actions illegal. The decision supported the state and made it clear that the constitution does not explicitly protect privacy for homosexual acts. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Makes it illegal to discriminate in public places like work, transportation, or school for people with disabilities. It makes having accommodations more widespread. People can advocate for their employers to give them their rights for equal opportunity. -
Motor Voter Act
It tried to make registering to vote easier so that more people could vote. When people sign up for drivers licenses, states have to give them the chance to register to vote. It also says that voting registration can be sent in the mail. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Police caught two men engaging in a private, consensual sexual act when searching a home for reported weapons. The men were arrested for breaking texas laws against same sex intercourse. The texas law was said unconstitutional because of the due process clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Deals with the topic of same sex marriage. The due process clause of the 14th amendment allows people to marry as a needed liberty no matter same sex or opposite sex. Some people argued that states should be able to choose since the constitution doesn't address marriage.
