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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This case was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court deciding that the U.S. Constitution didn’t extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, meaning they couldn’t enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens. The court decided whether enslaved or free, that they could not be an American citizen, therefore not being able to sue in federal court. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment states that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime where the party was convicted, should exist in the United States. In basic terms, it abolished slavery, which at the time was very controversial, yet in todays world it makes perfect sense and was absolutely necessary. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment states that no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United State. In simple terms the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws". Basically making it "equal" for everyone which is vital to society. -
15th Amendment
The importance of the 15th Amendment was that it granted African American men the right to vote, prohibiting the federal government and states from denying a citizen's right to vote on account of race or color. Almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began taking a part in running for office, and many voted. In today’s world it is still very relevant, with many African American in office and many more running for office and voting. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark U.S. Supreme court decision in which the court ruled that racial segregation laws didn’t violate the Constitution if the facilities for each race were equal in quality, coming to be known as “separate but equal”. The ruling resulting in a major setback in the struggle for equality between races in the U.S. and set the stage for racial segregation in the south for the foreseeable future. -
Jim Crow Era
The Jim Crow Era consisted of the Jim Crow laws which were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation. Jim Crow laws were state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation, which caused very high tensions throughout the African American community. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote, a right known as women's suffrage. First being introduced to Congress in 1878 it was finally certified 42 years later in 1920, making it illegal to deny the right to vote to any citizen based on their sex, effectively giving women the right to vote. The 19th amendment is still very relevant today, with women all over the place being able to vote, mostly without any issues. -
Brown v. Board of Education
A major decision the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. Even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in equality. Basically, it was ruled that separating children in public schools based on race was unconstitutional and signaled towards the end of legalized racial segregations in schools in the U.S. overruling the “separate but equal” principle. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Act prohibited discrimination in public and federally funded programs. It strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. Still in today’s world the Civil Rights Act continues to resonate in America. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the U.S. that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The legislation was put in place to overcome legal barriers at the state level that didn’t allow African Americans to vote. The Voting Rights Act is still a part of today, allowing anyone to vote. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmation action, also know as positive discrimination, was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin by those organizations receiving federal contracts and subcontracts. It involves a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to include groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, creed, or nationality in areas in which such groups are underrepresented. -
Equal Rights Amendment
First proposed back in 1923 by the National Woman’s political party, the Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination based on sex. Basically, the amendment would invalidate many state and federal laws that discrimination against women, the underlying principle being that sex should not determine the legal rights of men or women. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. The importance of Reed v. Reed decision marked the first time in history that the Court applied the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to strike down a law that discriminated against women. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke is a 1978 Supreme Court case which held that a university's admissions criteria which used race as a definite and exclusive basis for an admission decision violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The importance is explained by the Courts ruling unconstitutional a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick, later overturned by Lawrence v. Texas, found that the 14th Amendment doesn’t prevent a state from criminalizing private sexual conduct involving same-sex couples. In simple terms it was found that there was no constitutional right to privacy for consensual homosexual activity. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA, passed by President George H.W. Bush, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. The law prohibits the discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services. This impacted and still impact millions of Americans today struggling with disabilities. -
Motor Voter Act
The Motor Voter Act, otherwise known as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, is a United States federal law signed by Bill Clinton. The Act makes it easier for all Americans to register and vote and to maintain their registration. The Act has raised voting numbers and still makes it easier to this day to register and vote. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas, in which the U.S. Supreme court ruled 6-3, stating that a Texas state law criminalizing certain intimate sexual conduct between two consenting adults of the same sex was unconstitutional. The ruling of this case caused about another dozen states laws about the same issue invalidated. This case was monumental because it made same-sex sexual activity legal in every State and United States territory. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell v. Hodges is a landmark case of the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Basically the case allowed for people of the same sex to get married, which in result made the LGBTQ+ community very happy.