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13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. It impacted the whole country because African Americans were no longer allowed to be slaves or servents. And because of this amendment the country would be a better place to live for everyone. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law". This amendment impacted people because it says no one will ever be denied their basic rights without due process. That is important because no one will be treated unfairly. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". This impacted our country because it gives people the right to vote even if they are a minority. This is important because it gets our country closer to having equality for women as well. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 in the United States at the state and local level. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with, starting in 1890, a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. The separation led to conditions for African Americans that were inferior to those provided for white Americans. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This case is important because Homer Plessy was suing Louisiana because the East Louisiana Railroad had segregated trains and that had denied him his rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, which provided for equal treatment under the law. But the judge presiding over his case, John Howard Ferguson, ruled that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies while they operated within state boundaries. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax was used as a implicit pre-condition of the exercise of the ability to vote. This tax emerged in some states of the United States in the late 19th century as part of the Jim Crow laws. After the ability to vote was extended to all races by the Fifteenth Amendment, many Southern states enacted poll tax laws as a means of restricting eligible voters, especially African Americans. This was not good for our country because people should not have to pay to vote. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote in any election. This was very important for our country because now we have voting equality for everyone, even women and we have been working towards this goal for a long time. This impacted women because now women actually have a role in society. -
Literacy Tests
A literacy test refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level. It was a device to restrict the total number of immigrants while not offending the large element of ethnic voters. This was important because it restricted immigrants from voting in elections. -
Korematsu vs. United States
Korematsu v. United States was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship. This is important because during WWII the U.S. put Japanesse-Americans in internment camps to prevent any more attacks. -
Sweatt vs. Painter
The case involved a black man, Heman Marion Sweatt, who was refused admission to the School of Law of the University of Texas, whose president was Theophilus Painter, on the grounds that the Texas State Constitution prohibited integrated education. At the time, no law school in Texas would admit black students, or, in the language of the time, "Negro" students. This was important because it ended "seperate but equal" -
Brown vs. Board of Education
This case is really important because it ended segragation segragation in public schools. That is important because now African Americans can now go to school with whites and it is not illegal. -
Montomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott, an event in the U.S. civil rights movement, was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person on the bus. Rosa Parks was important to our country because she moved the country closer to being equal for all. -
Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges is an American activist known for being the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. Bridges was one of six black children in New Orleans to pass the test that determined whether or not they could go to the all-white school. Two of the six decided to stay at their old school, three were transferred to Mcdonough, and Bridges went to a school by herself. She was important to our country because she started to get blacks and whites in the same school. -
24th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. This was important for our country because it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. This was very important to our country because it ended segragation in schools and in public and it was a terrific time in our country. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. This was good for our country because it allows everyone to vote and participate in elections. -
Loving vs. Virginia
Loving v. Virginia was a landmark civil rights decision of the United States Supreme Court which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. This is important because it allowed interracial couples to get married. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Kennedy, the United States senator from New York, was campaigning to earn the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. Before boarding a plane to attend campaign rallies in Indianapolis, Kennedy learned that King had been shot. When he arrived, Kennedy was informed that King had died. Despite fears of riots and concerns for his safety, Kennedy went ahead with plans to attend the rally. During the speech Kennedy offered brief remarks for peace that is thought to be one of the best public speeches -
Reed vs. Reed
The Idaho Probate Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates. After the death of their adopted son, both Sally and Cecil Reed sought to be named the administrator of their son's estate. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the law's dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. This was important because it allowed women to be equal to everyone else and their rights can not be denied because of their sex. -
Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978) was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. However, the court ruled that specific quotas, such as the 16 out of 100 seats set aside for minority students by the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, were impermissible. -
Bowers vs. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick is a United States Supreme Court decision, overturned in 2003, that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults when applied to homosexuals. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. This was important to our country because there are a lot of people with disabilities in America and they should be able to have the same opportunities as everyone else and they should not be discriminated upon. And thats what this act does, it allows people with disabilities to be equal to everyone else. -
Lawrence vs Texas
In the 6–3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by extension, invalidated sodomy laws in thirteen other states, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every U.S. state and territory. The Court overturned its previous ruling on the same issue in the 1986 case Bowers v. Hardwick, where it upheld a challenged Georgia statute and did not find a constitutional protection of sexual privacy. -
Fisher vs. Texas
Fisher vs. Texas is case concerning the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Texas at Austin. The Supreme Court voided the lower appellate court's ruling in favor of the University and remanded the case, holding that the lower court had not applied the standard of strict scrutiny, articulated in Grutter v. Bollinger and Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, to the University's admissions program. The Supreme Court's ruling in Fisher took Grutter and Bakke as give -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is the policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture. It is important because it favors minorities in stuff like job hiring because it gives the business diversity. -
Indiana Same Sex Marriage
Indiana has restricted marriage to male-female couples by statute since 1986. By legislation passed in 1997, it denied recognition to same-sex relationships established in other jurisdictions. A lawsuit challenging the state's refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Baskin v. Bogan, won a favorable ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on June 25, 2014. Until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted a ruling on June 27th
