-
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Stated that persons of African descent were not entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections. This is because slaves were regarded as property. -
13th Amendment
Formally abolished slavery -
14th Amendment
Brought equal protection to those born in America. It also gave citizenship to African Americans and stated we cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness without due process of the law. -
15th Amendment
Prohibits the federal government or states to deny a person the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Poll taxes
Used as a mechanism or voter suppression aimed at African Americans to keep them from voting. -
White primaries
Primary elections held in the Southern United States in which only white voters were permitted to participate. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Was ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". -
19th amendment
Proved that women are just as influential as men in the government by giving women the right to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. -
Affirmative Action
Implemented to make corrections for the historical wrongs committed against the nation’s lower castes and to create an equal playing field for underprivileged groups since they are unable to fight with those who have long had access to money and resources. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
it prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. When it was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, it was a major victory for the civil rights movement in its battle against unjust Jim Crow laws that marginalized Black Americans. -
Voting Rights Act of 1964
Civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws' discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Used the 15th amendment. -
24th Amendment
It ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans from having political power or influence. -
Reed v. Reed
Marked the first time that women were granted equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection means that women, men, and groups must be treated in the same way. -
Equal Rights Amendment
A proposed amendment to the US Constitution stating that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one's sex. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
It helped uphold affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults, in this case with respect to homosexual sodomy, though the law did not differentiate between homosexual sodomy and heterosexual sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
It protects people with disabilities from discrimination in almost all settings. The law applies to the government, schools, and many employers. -
Motor Voter Act
It advances voting rights in the United States by requiring state governments to offer simplified voter registration processes for any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or applies for public assistance and requiring the United States Postal Service to mail election materials of a state as if the state is a nonprofit -
Lawrence v. Texas
It decriminalized homosexual conduct and “keeps the government out of our bedrooms” so to speak. The right of consenting adults both homo and heterosexual to engage in sexual conduct was recognized as a constitutional right protected under the right to privacy. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
It states that state bans on same-sex marriage and on recognizing same sex marriages duly performed in other jurisdictions are unconstitutional under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.