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Dred Schott V. Sandford
Dred Scott was a resident of Missouri where slavery was forbidden. He sued the Missouri court for his freedom claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. He lost and filed a federal suit where the Supreme Court rule against Scott, and set a precedent stating that enslaved people were not American citizens and could not expect any protection from the federal government, courts, and that Congress has no authority to ban slavery in federal territory. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States and it's territories, stating that slavery and or involuntary servitude is only to be used as a punishment for crime in which the party is convicted. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States. This includes former slaves and guarantees every U.S. citizen equal protection under the law. This effectively overturned the ruling of Dred Scott V. Sandford. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote by making it illegal to deny votes on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
In 1892, Homer Plessy refused to sit in a train car for black people. He was arrested and convicted by a New Orleans courts of violating a law that states there are to be separate train cars for white and black passengers. Plessy filed a petition against judge Ferguson stating his 14th amendment rights were violated. The result was the Supreme Court ruling against Plessy creating the precedent of "separate but equal" effectively making segregation legal. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment states that citizens of the United States can not be denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. It effectively gave white women in the United States the right to vote, but the amendment did not address the many challenges black female voters faced while trying to cast their ballot, still leaving them disenfranchised. -
White Primaries
White Primaries were primary elections held in southern states where only white voters were permitted to vote. The white primaries were widely put into effect by the Democratic Party who excluded African Americans from the party in order to disenfranchise them. The Democratic Party had the ability to require all voters in their primary to be white. This was outlawed with the ruling of Smith v. Allwright in 1944. -
Brown v. Board of Education
After the precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson, many African American children were denied entrance in "white only" schools all throughout the country. In a class action lawsuit, Brown claimed that black schools were not equal to white schools and segregation violated the equal protection clause. The lower courts upheld Plessy v Ferguson, but the Supreme Court overturned that precedent stating that "separate but equal" does not apply to schools, effectively fueling the Civil Rights Movement. -
Poll Taxes
On November 1 in 1890, Mississippi adopted a new constitution that allowed poll taxes and literary tests. The purpose of poll taxes which became widespread throughout the US after reconstruction, was to target African American voters to ensure that they couldn't vote by requiring voters to pay a tax before they could cast their ballot. Most African Americans couldn't afford the poll tax. It was intentionally made to suppress black voters. Poll taxes were abolished by the 24th amendment in 1964. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment states that United States citizens have the right to vote in federal elections and will not be stopped due to a failure to pay a poll tax. This amendment abolished poll taxes which was one step forward in the Civil Rights Movement as poll taxes exemplified Jim Crow laws. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This act strengthened the fight for voting rights and desegregation in schools as well as destroyed the precedent of "separate but equal" set in Plessy V. Ferguson and ending Jim Crow laws. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that were prevalent in the U.S. after the Civil War. It banned obstacles to voting like literacy tests, as those were obviously established to prevent black voters. This Act had an immediate impact as by the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new black voters had been registered. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is the active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women. It is also described as "positive discrimination." It was enacted by the Johnson administration with Executive Order 11246. The first major challenge was the case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke which outlawed quota programs but allowed colleges to use race as a factor when making admission decisions. -
Reed v. Reed
An Idaho probate code states that "males must be preferred to females" when appointing administers of estates. After the death of their son, Sally and Cecil Reed both sought to be the owners of his estate. Based on the code Cecil was appointed administer. Sally challenged the law and her case made it to the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision they ruled that the courts unequal treatment of men and women in unconstitutional. Established that administers of estates can not be determined by sex. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the US Constitution. First proposed by Congress in 1972, the amendment was first drafted by women suffragists Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923. It is supposed to guarantee equal legal rights for all Americans regardless of sex. It has been in limbo for 50 years as the fight to ratify is on-going due to it being challenged by states who are rescinding their support and the lapse of ratification deadlines. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke, a white man, twice applied for admittance into the University of California's medical school and was denied due to the University's policy of 16 out of their 100 chosen applicants being minorities. Bakke argued that the University excluded him on the basis of race, violating his 14th amendment rights. They ruled to allow Bakke admittance into school but also that the use of race as a criteria for admission into higher education was permissible. . -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was charged with a Georgia statute that criminalized sodomy. The Court of Appeals ruled that Georgia's law was unconstitutional. Georgia's Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court were they ruled that there were no constitutional protections for acts of sodomy. This set the precedent that states can criminalize private sexual conduct by same-sex couples. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The problems faced by disabled people were considered inevitable, but the disabled rights movement changed things and brought the problems faced by Americans who are disabled to the eyes of the public. The American with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 and states that discriminations based on a persons disabilities, in areas like employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs is prohibited. -
The Motor Voter Act
The Motor Voter Act advances voting rights by requiring state governments to offer simplified voter registration processes for anyone who is eligible for a motor vehicle license or applies for public assistance. This act has made it easier for Americans to register to vote and to maintain their registration. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence was found by police in his home engaging in a consensual sexual act with another man. Lawrence and Garner were arrested under a Texas law that banned two people of the same-sex from engaging in certain sexual conduct. The Supreme Court ruled that the Texas statute violates the Due Process Clause stating that they have the right to engage in their conduct without the intervention of government or state. This ruling overturned the precedent of Bowers v. Hardwick. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Groups of same-sex couples sued their state agencies challenging the constitutionality of their bans on same-sex marriage. They argued that the states violated the 14th amendment and one group argued a claim under the Civil Rights Act. The Supreme Court ruled that the 14th amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriage and recognize same-sex marriage in other states. This had a huge impact of gay rights with the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide.
