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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave born in Virginia in 1795. In 1820, he was brought to Missouri by his master. Missouri was a free state and prohibited slavery under the Missouri Compromise. Dred Scott sued his master for his and his families freedom in a Missouri court in 1846. He lost and eventually made his case to the supreme court. The court ruled that even slaves in free states do not have citizenship therefore do not have rights. -
13th Amendment
Amendment after the Civil War that abolished slavery. This made it so all African-Americans became free after the Civil War allowing them to become citizens. -
14th Amendment
Amendment during the reconstruction era after the Civil War that granted African-Americans citizenship and equal rights under the Constitution. This allowed African-Americans the same basic protections under the Constitution that whites had. -
15th Amendment
Last of the reconstruction amendments, granting Arican-Americans the right to vote. This was thought to give African-Americans a bigger role in politics, but due to resistance from southern states they were primarily stopped from doing so. -
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Poll Taxes
A method used by states in the south to further prevent African-Americans from voting. The states would make a poll tax that was to be paid if you were to vote and since many African-Amerians were poor crop farmers they could not pay the tax. The states also included the Grandfather Clause that stated that iif you're grandfather could vote before 1860 then you were excluded form the poll tax. -
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White Primaries
A method used by states in the south to prevent African-Americans from running for office. The method was used to keep African-Americans from entering office and potentially changing laws in the south. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Adolph Plessy bought a train ticket to challenge the Seperate Car Act. Plessy boarded a whites-only car and after refusing to move train cars he was arrested. The Supreme Court ruled that public accomodations could be seperate as long as they were equal. -
19th Amendment
Amendment to the Constitution that granted woman suffrage. This was the first point in history that women were finally being included in the equality discussion. Marked the beginning of the attempt for women to be on the same level as men in terms of equality. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Oliver Brown was a parent who's daughter had to walk a very long distance just to get to her school when the whites only school was just a few blocks away. He sued the Topeka Board of Education stating that it wasn't right that his daughter had to walk so far and that seperate accomodations were going to inherently be unequal. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor that seperate public schools were always going to be unequal. The court decision thus overruled the descision in Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the idea of giving back to those who have been discriminated against and giving them accomodation for the troubles they have had. -
24th Amendment
Amendment to the Constitution that officially banned poll taxes for use in voting. This amendment was the first attempt to really allow African-Americans the ability to freely vote without being turned away. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Law that prevented discrimination based on race in public accomodations. It also forbade discrimination in employment. It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision to enforce the equality in unemployment. It provided federal grants to be witheld from governments that racially discriminated. Allowed the justice department to initiate laws to desegregate. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Legislation that abolished any ways that states could prevent people from voting. Allowed the government to intervene if states did not follow. -
Reed v. Reed
A Supreme Court case that became the first case that upheld a claim of gender significance. More specifically says that administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. -
Equal Rights Amendment
An amendment that was attempted to be added to the Constitution. Amendment tried to extend equality of rights to sexes as well, but was turned down in the final stage of ratification. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a medical student applying to the University of California's medical school. He had very good grades and test scores, but was still denied admission to the medical school. He sued the school on the basis of discrimination of race. The court ruled in Bakke's favor stating that universities can't admit less qualified students on the basis of race. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A Supreme Court case that upheld the Constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults when applied to homosexuals. This law was aimed at outlawing homosexuality in states. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Legislation that prevents discrimination based on one's physical or mental disabilities. The act required public facilities to have "reasonable accomodations" for disabled people. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Supreme Court decision that that struck down the sodomy law in Texas, thus invalidating the other thirteen state's sodomy laws, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every U.S stae and territory. The decision also overturned the ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick.
