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Declaration of Independence
announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". -
13th Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. -
14th Amendment
the amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. -
15th Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal." -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States -
19th Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. -
Colorado becomes the first state to grant women the right to vote
Colorado was the first state in the union to enfranchise women by popular vote -
Bronwn vs. Board of Education
case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
Executive Order 10450
used to define a security risk were largely political, that is, affiliation with suspect organizations or a clear demonstration of disloyalty. -
One Inc. v. Olesen
it was the first U.S. Supreme Court ruling to deal with homosexuality and the first to address free speech rights with respect to homosexuality. -
Civil Rights Act 1964
civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
24th Amendment
The Twenty-fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. -
Voting Rights Act 1965
aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment -
Stonewall inn riots
they are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. -
Title XI (Education Amendments of 1972)
creating a National Foundation for Postsecondary Education and a National Institute of Education -
APA removes homosexuality as a mental disorder
before then, psychiatrists and psychologists looked at homosexuality as a perversion and as a deviant behavior, but the idea that it was a mental illness was considerably more controversial. -
Defense of Marriage Act
is a United States federal law that allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. -
Massachusetts legalizes gay marriage
in the decade since the highest court in Massachusetts issued its landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, 14 other states and the District of Columbia have legalized it, with Illinois poised to become the 16th in a few days. -
Illinois becomes first to repeal its sodomy laws
which outlawed a variety of sexual acts, were historically universal. -
Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Gay and lesbian Americans eager to serve the country but not willing to compromise who they are as individuals will, for the first time ever, be able to openly join. -
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
the law prohibiting gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the military—is officially in the dustbin of history. For 17 years, the law prohibited qualified gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the armed forces and sent a message that discrimination was acceptable.
