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Dred Scott vs. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave that lived in the state of Illinois and the Louisiana territory, both places where slavery was prohibited, from 1833 to 1843. Upon returning to Missouri, he filed a suit in the state courts for his freedom. Upon losing those, he took it to the Supreme Court, arguing that his residence in free states and territories made him a free man. His master, Sanford, claimed the constitution did not grant African Americans citizenship. -
Jim Crow Era (1865-1968)
Jim Crow Laws were laws made by state governments after the Civil War to disenfranchise and segregate racial minorities legally. They were denied the right to vote, the ability to get an education, to hold a job, and many other things. An example of these restrictions are arbitrary literacy tests designed to allow the testers to fail the test taker based on their color. This era was ended by civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
13th Amendment
The Thirteenth amendment forbade slavery and involuntary servitude of any kind in the United States, except for when the person has committed a crime. The amendment was passed after the Union's victory in the Civil War and was the first of the Reconstruction era amendments. It did not end racial discrimination, however the advancement of civil rights for non-white people was finally possible. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment prohibited states from depriving people of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law, as well as forbidding unequal protection and enforcement of laws. The amendment was intended to prevent racial discrimination against African Americans by state law, ultimately circumvented by Jim Crow era laws, black codes, and the Supreme court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. However, the 14th amendment is used to apply the bill of rights of the Constitution to state law. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment guaranteed African American men the right to vote and disallowed the denial of voting rights by skin color, race, or prior status as a slave. By virtue of this, this also made African American men able to run for and be elected to government offices. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark Supreme Court case in which the doctrine of "seperate but equal" was established by the court. The case occurred after a man was arrested after purposely violating Louisiana's Seperate Car Act and refusing to move to the colored car. The court held that his constitutional rights were not violated as long as the facilities were of equal quality. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment extended the right to vote to women, ending a century of protest that began with events like the Seneca Falls Convention. Activists raised awareness to their cause and lobbied the government, finally getting the vote in 1920. Despite major contributions to this effort, local laws still blocked women of color from using the newfound freedoms granted by the constitutional amendment. Despite this, the amendment still remains a major milestone in Civil Rights Legislation. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a landmark civil rights case in the supreme court which fundamentally dismantled the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson, primarily in the realm of public schools. The court held that the separation of school children based on race and was skin color inherently unequal as colored students were made to feel inferior to their white peers. The separate but equal doctrine had been heavily weakened, if not destroyed by this case. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action was an initiative started by Lyndon B. Johnson to get more employment and educational opportunities for minorities. The effort started as a remedy to long standing discrimination in the country and has consisted of policies and programs that give limited preference to minorities in hiring, admission to higher education, earning government contracts, etc. This effort has come under scrutiny by some who believe it is causing discrimination in the opposite direction now. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Signed by Lyndon B. Johnson, the Civil Rights Act was a major milestone in civil rights legislation. The law guaranteed voting rights for minorities and underprivileged people by removing unfair registration requirements and procedures. It also prevented segregation and discrimination in facilities involved in interstate commerce. The law also prevented racial and gender discrimination by employers involved in interstate commerce or doing business with the federal government. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was another major piece of Civil Rights legislation signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. The law was made to overcome legal barriers at state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their 15th Amendment rights. The law suspended literacy tests and gave federal authority to approve state changes to voting procedures and laws. These powers of the law have since expired, but the law greatly expanded voting rights to racial minorities, women, and non-English speakers. -
Reed v Reed
Idaho Probate code required that males be preferred to females when deciding estate administrators. After their adopted son's death, Cecil and Sally Reed both wanted to be estate administrator, and in accordance with Idaho law, Cecil was chosen. Sally claimed that her 14th amendment rights were violated under the law, and the court unanimously agreed with her, and that discrimination based on sex are forbidden by the 14th amendment. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This case occurred after a student applied twice to the University of California's med school unsuccessfully after they reserved some of their applicant slots for minority applicants. Bakke filed the suit, claiming that he had been discriminated against, which was contrary to the Civil Rights Act, and that his grades were higher than many of the minority students who had been accepted. The court said that the strict racial quotas weren't allowed, but that Affirmative action was constitutional. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution that would prevent federal and state level discrimination against voting based on one's sex. It states that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex" and that congress would have the power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation. Approved in 1923, the amendment took 49 years to be approved by congress, and is still in the process of beign ratified. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This case occurred after a police officer arrested a man for having sex with a male companion, which he had seen whilst serving a search warrant. The man wasn't prosecuted, but sued the police commissioner and attorney general, claiming his right to privacy had been violated. The court upheld the antisodomy law in this case. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA was passed by president George H.W. Bush in 1990 with wide bipartisan support. The law provided many civil rights for people with mental and physical disabilities, as well as provided a legal definition for a disability. The passage of the law resulted in a multitude of discrimination lawsuits which forced the courts to review and interpret the broad provisions of the law with very specific cases. -
Motor Voter Act
Formally known as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the law required state governments to allow registration when a qualifiying voter applies for or renews a drivers license. This forced state governments to make voter registration easier by providing uniform registration services. The DOJ was also given power to use the courts to enforce the law. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Police were called to a man's house on a weapons disturbance only to find him having consensual sex with a male partner. They were fined under a Texas law that prohibited that kind of activity, and had gotten help in appealing the case to the Supreme court. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of the man, overturning Bower v. Hardwick, and nullifying the laws of other states that tried to prevent consensual homosexuality. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This court case decided 5-4 that state laws against gay marriage and the recognition of it performed duly in other jurisdictions was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. The court argued that the right to marry was an inherent liberty of a person and thus protected by the 14th amendment from state interference. This case is perhaps the most recent landmark Civil Rights case to happen, being decided in 2015
