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13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery in the Unites States and was the first of three Reconstruction Amendment adopted in the five years following the American Civil War. It 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. It was ratified in December 6, 1865 -
14th Amendment
The Amendment granted citizenships to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” which includes former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War. It forbids any states to deny any person “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” of to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Ratified in July 9, 1868 -
15th Amendment
This Amendment guaranteed that an American citizen cannot be discriminated against in exercising the right to vote. The Amendment states that the “rights 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.” Ratified in February 3, 1870. -
Jim Crow
These laws were racial segregation state and local laws enacted after the Reconstruction period in Southern United States. These mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern U.S. States with a “separate but equal” status for African Americans. It started in the 1880s. -
Poll Taxes
It had the effects of disenfranchising many blacks as well as poor whites. Payment of a tax was prerequisite for voting. Stated in 1889. -
Literacy Tests
This refers to state government practices of administering tests to prospective voters purportedly to test their literacy in order to vote. These tests were intended to disenfranchise African-Americans. Started in the 1890s -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
The court case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. It was an incident where African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car, breaking a Louisiana law. The Court ruled that a state law that implies merely a legal distinction between whites and blacks did not conflict with the 13th and 14th Amendment. Decided on May 18, 1896. -
19th Amendment
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. The extended voting rights to all women. It was ratified on August 18, 1920. -
Korematsu vs. United States
A landmark Supreme Court Case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9069, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenships. The Court sided with the government, ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional. Decided on December 18, 1944 -
Sweatt vs. Painter
This case dealt with an African American, Sweatt, being denied entry into the School of Law at the University of Texas. Sweatt was denied entry on the ground that he was an African American and Texas state law forbade the integration of schools. The Court decided that under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Sweatt had the right to attend the School of Law at the University of Texas. Decided on June 5, 1950 -
Brown vs. Board of Education
This case served as a catalyst for the modern civil rights movements, inspiring education reform everywhere and forming the legal means of challenging segregation in areas of society. The Court ruled that “separate but equal” public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. Decided on May 17, 1954 -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
It was a mass protest by African American citizens in city of Montgomery, Alabama, against Segregation policies on the city’s public buses. The boycott lasted for 11 months. It ended in late 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public bus segregation was unconstitutional. Started on December 1, 1955. -
Affirmative Action
Policies in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American Society. These policies tend to focus on issues such as education and employment, specifically granting special consideration to minorities and women who have been historically excluded groups in America. First introduced in 1961 -
24th Amendment
This Amendment was passed to address one particular injustice that prevented numerous citizens from voting, the poll tax. The poll tax was a state fee on voting. Along with literacy tests and durational residency requirements, poll taxes were used to keep low-income (primarily African American) citizens from participating in elections. Ratified in January 23, 1964 -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A landmark piece of civil rights legislative in the United States. It outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. It was enacted on July 2, 1964. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their rights to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This act is considered among the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Robert informed the audience in Indianapolis about King’s assassination. He reminded the audience of King’s effort to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love. This is considered one of the best public addresses of the modern era. It was given on April 4, 1968. -
Reed vs. Reed
Sally and Cecil Reed, a married couple who had separated, were in conflict over which of them to designate as administrator of the estate of their deceased son. Idaho Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates and the court appointed Cecil as administrator of the estate, valued at less than $1000. This was an Equal Protection case in the United States in which the Court ruled that administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discr -
Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke
Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times. The school reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action program. Bakke’s qualification exceeded those of any of the minority students admitted. The Court ruled that 16 of the 100 seats set aside for minority students were impermissible. Deci -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA was the most highly publicized and debated constitutional amendment for the United States. It would have become the Twenty-Seventh Amendment of the Constitution. The proposed addition would have read, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” It failed to be ratified on its final deadline on June 30, 1982. -
Bowers vs. Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was observed by a Georgia police officer while engaging in the act of consensual homosexual sodomy with another adult in the bedroom of his home. After being charged with violating a Georgia statute that criminalized sodomy, Hardwick challenged the statute's constitutionality in Federal District Court. The Court ruled that Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between homosexuals was constitutional. Decided on June 30, 1986. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This legislation prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities. Under this Act, discrimination against a disabled person is illegal in employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and government activities. Signed on July 26, 1990 -
Lawrence vs. Texas
Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another adult man. Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse in violation of a Texas statute forbidding two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct. The Court rule struck down the sodomy law in Texas and overruled Bowers vs. Hardwick. Decided on June 26, 2003. -
Fisher vs. Texas
The Texas legislature enacted a law requiring the University of Texas to admit all high school seniors who ranked in the top ten percent of their high school classes. For the remainder of the in-state freshman class the university would consider race as a factor in admission. Abigail Fishers, white female, applied and was not in the top ten percent of her class. The University denied her application. The Court ruled 7-1 favoring Fishers. Decided on June 24, 2013 -
Indiana’s gay rights court battle
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Indiana. It was ruled that Indiana’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, allowing same-sex couples across the state to receive marriage licenses. Decided on June 25, 2014
