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Dred Scott v Sanford 1857
A grave Supreme Court decision deciding that, as they are property, African Americans are not allowed to sue in court. -
13th Amendement
The United States abolishes slavery stating, “‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude — shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.’” Decision completely divided the U.S. and eventually led to the Civil War because of its conflict. -
14th Amendment
14th Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States” which would make African American citizens recognized and naturalized and treated and documented as citizens of the United States. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment granted African American MEN the right to vote. Which is 50 years before women received the right to vote. This decision solidified Black Americans and integrated them more into our society by involving them in grave decisions like our politics. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v Ferguson states “racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality” which completely went against the Civil Rights Act which led to protest such as Rosa Parks rightfully refusing to allow her seat to be given to a white man. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment allowed women to vote. Which is very ironic considering they passed the Civil Rights act 56 years ago which permitted against sex discrimination. Yet, women were not allowed to vote -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections (which are very important elections that helped decide our president) where only the white population were allowed to vote. Basically segregation. -
Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education states, “U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality” which states the complete opposite of Plessy v Ferguson and allowed for little black children and white children to receive the same level of education. But even then, girls such as Ruby Bridges were left alone in large schools because white parents and children were against allowing black children into schools. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment states it prohibits any poll tax in elections for officials. Because the states of Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas which were predominantly African American were the only states to keep those taxes probably from the fact that that had the most Black Americans there and ratifying this amendment helped Black Americans not feel excluded and alienated -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were charged towards adults registering to vote and since they were only given in states with a large african american population, the government decided to get involved which led to the ratification of the 24th amendment. -
Civil Rights Act
The civil rights act states it “outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin”. This was a significant positive change the United States took towards reinventing the country from the help of advocates such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights states “outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War” therefore things such as literacy tests, and the federal government became more active in overseeing the voting population and encouraging the non-white population to register to vote. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action states it’s “prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin” which helps those who are actually qualified and intelligent enough to have the jobs they are qualified for. -
Reed v Reed
In Reed v Reed there was a law in Idaho that states to choose the male candidate over the woman if both of the candidates were qualified which led to the making of Reed v Reed. Which prohibited discrimination of the sexes of administration. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) guaranteed equal rights for men and women. Which was very beneficial in ment different scenarios. Societal, Political, Work, they were now considered equal and anything against their equality was outlawed. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
The Regents of the University of California v Bakke of 1978 prohibited the admission of students based on race and determined it as violating the equal rights act because of the advantage certain race had over another in terms of admission. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Bowers v Hardwick states the private sexual intercourse of same-sex individuals, whether oral and anal cannot be outlawed according to the Civil Rights Act. -
Americans With Disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits the discrimination of those with disabilities whether they developed them, were born with them, or are US veterans. This allowed for things such as the reconstruction of buildings and parking lots to include those with disabilities. -
Motor Voter Act
The motor voter act states that certain qualifications to be a candidate should be placed on voting ballots. -
Lawrence v Texas
Lawrence v Texas states that criminal punishment for consensual adult actions were prohibited. But since this was the early 2000’ many were against the ratification. -
Obergefell v Hodges
Obergefell v Hodges allows same-sex couples to legally marry. Which was a step many countries outside of the US had taken and during all this waiting many same-sex couples lived their lives waiting for it to be federally legal.