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Dred Scott v. Sanford
After Dred Scott was taken to a free state/territory, he attempted to sue for his freedom. His case began in 1856 but the ruling was made in 1857 by the Supreme Court. They ruled that any person with African American decent are not citizens which means they cannot sue. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment is still the most influential and progressive amendment we have today, seeing as it abolished slavery. It went through the Senate then the House, later to be approved by President Lincoln on February 1, 1865. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States of America. At the time, this was extremely important because it included recently freed slaves. This would've given Dred Scott a shot in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case since he wasn't deemed a "citizen" at that time. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote. Although this was a huge step in equal rights for African Americans, people in the south made it extremely difficult to vote by adding prerequisites that only they couldn't meet. -
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Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were used as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections mainly used against African Americans, but later used for other discriminated groups and on females. It was put in place after the American Civil War and mainly used in the South. -
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White Primaries
A White Primary was made by the Democratic party to disenfranchise African Americans and other minority groups from voting. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Plessy v. Ferguson case made it to the Supreme Court where they settled on legalizing segregation. They ruled that segregation is still "separate but equal". Ever since that court ruling, the NAACP had fought to end the division between races since 1909. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. This was a milestone made possible through decades of protesting and struggle. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a powerful point stop for the civil rights movement when the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" was unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th Amendment. This guaranteed that all schools nationwide would be integrated from then on. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was passed in order to outlaw poll taxes for voting in federal elections. This was a step in guiding the 15th Amendment to being equal and fair even though it was put in place almost 100 years later. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was a landmark for the Civil Rights Movement and Labor Law Movements. -
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Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action was introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson and issued as an executive order, requiring government employers to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. It stopped employers from discriminating against minorities and groups at a disadvantage. However, when colleges were accepting new applicants, some students had better grades and performances/resumes compared to others. This caused an uproar when minority students got in and majority students didn't. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that was adopted in many southern states after the American Civil War like literary tests. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed was an equal protection case that the Supreme Court ruled against the administrators of estates being named in a way that discriminates between sexes. This was a huge success for the women's civil rights movement by ruling that it was in violation of the 14th Amendment and influenced cases in years following that was based on gender discrimination. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The equal Rights Amendment or ERA was a proposed amendment to the constitution that would guarantee equal rights to any American citizen regardless of sex. This was a main source on settling legal disputes like property ownership and divorce. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case was brought to the Supreme Court. They ruled that the use of racial quotas for admission was unconstitutional; however, using affirmative action in order to accept more minority aplicants was consitutional. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was a case originated in Georgia that banned sodomy. The case eventually made it to the Supreme court and they ruled that the constitution does not protect the rights of gay adults to engage in private. However, in the 2003 case, Lawrence v. Texas, the case was overturned. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in many areas like employment, transportation, and communications. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas was a landmark case for the LGBTQ+ Community when it overturned the Bowers v. Hardwick case (1986). It was determined by the Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to criminalize the intimacy between to consenting same gendered adults. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell v. Hodges was a marvelous victory for the LGBTQ+ Community when the Supreme Court held a 5-4 decision in stating that the 14th Amendment guarantees and protects same sex marriages in all states and must be recognized in all states.
