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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave who moved to Illinois, which was a free state. The controversy was whether or not Scott could apply as a free man. The Supreme Court ended up ruling against him, but this angered many abolitionists and helped lead to the Emancipation Proclamation. -
13th Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery and was implemented after the Civil War, when country was reestablished as a whole. -
14th Amendment
This amendment granted citizenship to anyone born in the United States and forbid states from restricting people based on their color. It was meant to help give former slaves more equality. -
15th Amendment
This amendment granted African American men the right to vote, even though they were still discriminated against and often not allowed to vote. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a payment that was mostly required by African Americans in order to vote, which the majority were unable to pay and this is a way that they were still discriminated against even after the 15th Amendment. -
White Primaries
These were primary elections in the southern states where only whites were able to vote, continuing a pattern of discrimination against colored people. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy was jailed after sitting in a whites only car of a train. The Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal was okay. Meaning that segregation was okay as long as both sides received equal facilities. -
19th Amendment
This amendment granted women the right to vote. It prohibited states from denying people the right to vote based off gender. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Was a proposed amendment that would guarantee equal rights regardless of sex, and was passed in Congress but not ratified by the states. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This ruling stated that segregation was not allowed in schools, and overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. It was argued that it violated the Equal Rights Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
A policy in which a person's race, sex, religion, or origin are taken into account in order to provide opportunities to underrepresented parts of society. -
24th Amendment
Prohibits Congress and states from charging a poll tax, helping end discrimination at polling centers. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Banned discrimination based on sex, race, religion or country of origin. Also forbade the use of federal funds for any discriminatory program or agenda. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Banned literacy tests and other discriminatory procedures at polling places that mostly targeted minorities. -
Reed v. Reed
The Reed's were a couple who split and were in an argument over who should receive their deceased son's estate. Idaho code stated that men were preferred over women, but the case went to the Supreme Court where they ruled the Equal Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment prohibited states from discriminating based on gender. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The school had 16 reserved spots for qualified minority students. Bakke who was more than qualified was denied twice because of his race. The Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to have racial quotas for students. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Two homosexual men were found in their home having consensual sex and were arrested. The Supreme Court ruled against the men, because Georgia's anti-sodomy laws were found constitutional. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act prohibited discrimination towards any sort of mental or physical disability. This applied to all areas of public life, but most importantly jobs. This allowed disabled people to not be fired or rejected based simply on their ailment. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Police responded to a call and entered a private home where they found two homosexual men having consensual sex. They were arrested due to the anti-sodomy laws in Texas. When the case was brought to the Supreme Court, it was ruled the anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This case forced all states to issue same sex marriage licenses and recognize same sex marriages.
