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13th Amendment
The 13th amendment formally ended slavery in the United States. . The amendment specifically says, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to to their jurisdiction." -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to everyone who was born or naturalized in the United States. It forbade states from denying anyone life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The 14th amendment also forbids any state to deny any person equal protection of the law.law. -
15th Amendment
This amendment gave African-American men the right to vote. The amendment says, "The right of citizens to the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The federal government had to step in to ensure the states were following the new law. -
Jim Crow
From the 1880s into the 1960s, many American states forced segregation through "Jim Crow" laws. Many states could impose legal punishments on people who were found interacting with a person of the opposite race. These laws did not allow interracial marriage and forced businesses to keep black and white customers seperated. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy was a mixed man with mostly European heritage, but was condsidered black because of his 1/8 African heritage. The "Seperate but Equal" clause was put into place saying that all facilities would be the same but there would be one for white people and one for black people. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Many men found that women were not educated enough to know about politics and the government and would not be able to make a wise decision when it came time to vote. This is why it took so long for this amendment to be ratified. -
Korematsu v. United States
During WWII, Japanese- Americans were forced to move into internment camps. Fred Korematsu refused to move to a camp and stayed in California even though he knew it was illegal. Korematsu was arrested and during his court case, a decision was reached that the law was not unconstitutional. -
Sweatt v. Painter
In 1946, Sweatt, applied to the School of Law at the University of Texas. His admission was denied because at this time, no black man could go to school with a white man. Sweatt argued that the law school for blacks was not equal to that of the whites and he wanted the same opportunity to be a successful laywer that the whites were getting. The court found that the "Seperate but Equal" clause had not been met due to the poor quality of the black law school. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education case ended segregation in the school system. Through this case the court found that the seperate schools were not equal and ruled it unconstitutional to have seperate schools for the two races. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for 13 months. It was done to demonstrate that the bus laws were unconstitutional. It also showed a mass protest but in a nonviolent way. The event was sparked by Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus and resulting in her arrest. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax was created to prevent African Americans from voting in an election. While this was not directly stated, it was obvious this was the reasoning. The government assumed that anyone who was able to pay the poll tax was educated enough to be able to vote. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment ended the poll tax that more often than not prevented African-Americans from voting because they were unable to pay. The amendment says, "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." -
Civil Rights act of 1964
The Civil Rights act ended segregation in public places and banned job discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or national origin. The movement was first introduced by JFK. It was strongly opposed in the south but Lyndon B. Johnson eventually signed the bill to end all segregation in the south. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action or positive discrimination (known as employment equity in Canada, reservation in India, Nepal, and positive action in the UK) is the policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture. -
Literacy Tests
Literacy tests were used to deny suffrage to African-Americans while trying to be less obvious that that was the reason. The poll tax was also used for the same purpose. Whites were excluded from the literacy test if they could meet the requirements of the Grandfather Clause. The act suspended the use of literacy tests in all states in which less than 50 percent of voting-age citizens were registered as of November 1, 1964, or had voted in the 1964 election -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act banned racial discrimination in voting by federal and state government. It was created to enforce the laws of the 14th and 15th amendments. While this was a federal law, many states still did not allow blacks to vote until federal officers stepped in to make sure it was being put into effect. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis
Robert Kennedy was making a stop in Indianapolis during his campaign for Presidential election when he heard of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. He was warned by police to not go though with the speech in case of angry citizens. He got in front of a crowd of African-Americans who had not heard of the news. Instead of campaigning, he memorialized MLKJ. This marked a time in history where blacks and whites started to come together. -
Reed v. Reed
Sally and Cecil Reed were a separated married couple who were arguing over which one of them should be the admistrator of their deceased son's estate. Idaho code said that males must be prefered to females. The Supreme Court ruled that Equal Protection Clause prohibited different treatment based on gender. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. In 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and went to the state legislatures for ratification. -
Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke
Bakke applied to the medical school at the University of California twice and was denied both times. The school stated that they had already met their quota for the number of minorities that needed to attend the school. While reviewing records, Bakke found that his credintials exceeded those of the minority students who had bee admitted. The school said he was too old to attend and due to his race. The court ruled that the quota for minority students be removed. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick brought suit in a federal district court challenging the constitutionality of a Georgia statute insofar as it criminalized consensual sodomy. The Respondent asserted that he was a practicing homosexual, that the Georgia statute placed him in imminent danger of arrest and that the statute violated his constitutional rights. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This law prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities. It also requires employers to have accomodations for employees with certain disabilities and requires accessibility accomodations in public areas. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In the 6–3 ruling, the Court ended the sodomy law in Texas and 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 v. Texas
This court case was brought on by Abigail Fisher,a white female, who said she was denied acceptance to the University of Texas based on her race. The court's ruling upheld the school's admission policy and ruled in favor of the school. -
Indiana Gay Rights Court Battle
Indiana has restricted marriage to male-female couples since 1986. By legislation passed in 1997, it denied recognition to same-sex relationships. A lawsuit challenging the state's refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Baskin v. Bogan, won ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on June 25, 2014.
