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Dred Scott v Standford
Dredd Scott was a slave in missouri, and later resided in Illinois as a free man. Illinois is a free state that prohibits slavery. Dredd filed a suit in Missouri court for his freedom but lost. Then he took it up to federal court claiming his residence in a free territory made him a free man. March 6, 1857, the court ruled that a negro can not sue in court because he is not an american citizen. The vote was 7-2 -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was the abolition of slavery in the US. Section 1 states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This freed black men from having to be forced to do free labor for American citizens anywhere in the US. Section 2 states "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment, simply put, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including previously enslaved people. This amendment also gave citizens equal protection of the laws.The Citizenship Clause granted citizenship to All persons born or naturalized in the United States. The Due Process Clause declared that states may not deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law." -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment allowed people of color to vote. The amendment has 2 sections. Section 1 states "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This means that is is now not possible to deny voting rights solely based on race or for being a former slave. Section 2 states "The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. ... As a result, restrictive Jim Crow legislation and separate public accommodations based on race became commonplace. It essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. -
19th Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920. It declares that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” It was a big thing for women because they were finally allowed to vote in the United States. -
Brown v Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education marked a turning point in the history of race relations in the United States. On May 17, 1954, the Court stripped away constitutional sanctions for segregation by race, and made equal opportunity in education the law of the land. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights act is a landmark civil rights and labor law, which significantly changed how things were. In simple terms, it outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or national origin. It has made a big impact in the United States and is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements. It ended segregation and banned employment discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. ... This “act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution” was signed into law 95 years after the amendment was ratified. -
Reed v Reed
In 1971, the United States Supreme Court invalidated an Idaho law that required the selection of a man over a woman to serve as administrator of an estate when both were equally qualified. Reed v. Reed was the first major Supreme Court case that addressed that discrimination based on gender was unconstitutional because it denies equal protection. The director for the ACLU, Mel Wulf, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote Sally Reed's brief. -
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Women now could not be denied education simply because they were women. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
This was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. The Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority applicants was constitutional in some circumstances. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government' programs and services. Under the ADA , you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects you if you have a history of such a disability, or if an employer believes that you have such a disability. -
Obergefell v Hodges
The plaintiffs led by Jim Obergefell, who sued because he was unable to put his name on his late husband's death certificate argued that the laws violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Decided on June 26, 2015, Obergefell overturned Baker and requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions. This established same-sex marriage throughout the United State
