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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave who moved into a free state because the Missouri compromise prohibited slavery in northern states. Since slavery did not exist in those states he believed he should be a free man. He moved back to a slave state and said it was against his rights because he was a free man before. His claim was denied and told he was still a slave under his master. -
13th Amendment
Slavery and other forms of forced labor are outlawed unless it is a punishment or conviction of a crime. To make sure it is not cruel and unusual punishment the crime would have to deserve such a punishment. Congress had the power over the states to enforce this law. Lincoln's emancipation proclamation said that even slaves in slave states are free people and they can willingly walk away from their masters. -
14th Amendment
The main idea behind the law was to extend the right and liberties of other to former slaves. The states cannot enforce laws that are discriminatory or would deny citizens rights. The other big part of the amendment was that anyone born in the US is a citizen meaning parents who are not born here can have children who are citizens. -
15th Amendment
The amendment gave former enslaved men the right to vote. The Constitution says all men are created equal which gave the opportunity to say African Americans have the same rights as anyone else. Some southern states who did not like the idea of them voted put clauses in place to deny them voting rights. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy sat in a white only car and was detained for violating the rules. The cars were separated on race and he argued it was a violation of the his rights because the cars were not equal. The court ruled that since it happened inside the state on the railroad the state had the authority over the railroad. -
Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow laws were created to separate colored people and white people. It aimed to take away equality and their rights. The era lasted for around 80 years from just before 1880 to the 1960s. Many public places were separated based on the race of people with separate schools, buses, and restaurants. -
19th Amendment
The amendment gave women the right to vote. There were many protests for the voting right for women and it was eventually granted. It took nearly 100 years to have the calls for suffrage answered and some states granted the right to vote before it was granted on the national level. -
Equal Rights Amendment
It was an amendment proposed to give full equality to women. They wanted the same rights as all the other citizens in the US had. The amendment did not pass but women got rights through other legal victories. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The case was created arguing the separate but equal clause especially in schools where it was nowhere near equal. The equal protection clause was also violated because being segregated made African American children feel inferior to their counterparts as seen through the doll test. The monumental case found that separate but equal is inherently unequal. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
In America there were issues with desegregation in certain places and Johnson saw this as an opportunity to pass a bill that prohibited discrimination based on race. This applied to public places and also worked in workplaces meaning that there had to be a level of equality between white people and black people when hiring or working together. Schools were more equal when combined because it gave everyone the same opportunity to learn. -
Voting Right Act of 1965
Many African Americans were being denied the right to vote due to clauses such as the grandfather clause, poll taxes, and literacy tests. LBJ after passing the civil rights act wanted to make sure they had the right to vote. This enforced their right to vote and took away any clauses which meant they had the right to vote no matter what. -
Reed v. Reed
The law in Idaho said that men have the priority to claiming estate after a death instead of women. Divorced parents in Idaho both wanted their son's estate after be passed and the wife found it unfair that he got all the estate instead of her. The court found that it violated the equal protection clause because it did not offer the same opportunities to men and women. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A man applying to medical school was rejected but had higher scores and was more qualified than anyone of the required minorities that was admitted. He took the case to court arguing it was not equal protection claiming that he was not admitted because he was not a minority. The court said yes this does violate the equal protection clause because it is based on race. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was in his home and was arrested in his own home for engaging in homosexual activities. The state of Georgia claimed this activity was illegal and Hardwick appealed saying the law was unconstitutional. The court said that the Constitution did not protect such activities and that states have the right to outlaw such activities. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The act was declared a law to create equal opportunity in the US for those with disabilities. The law required public places to be accessible for people with disability as well as no discrimination in workplace hiring unless it is physically harmful for them to have a job. The law also create a government department that serves those with disabilities and helps them in life. -
Motor Voter Act
The motor voter act is officially the National Voter Registration Act. This made certain requirements before people are official voter who can participate in elections. It is called motor voter because people can register and motor agencies. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Police entered an apartment and saw a man engaging in sexual activity with another man. The men were both arrested and convicted of violation of a Texas law forbidding same sex sexual conduct. The court said it was illegal to make it a crime under the due process clause. The court said they were free as adults and were in private conduct. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex couples sued state agencies because they believed the states' ban on same-sex marriages and refusing to recognize the legal status of marriages was unconstitutional. They argued that it violated the equal protection clause. The supreme court said that any marriage needed a marriage license and that if it was legally performed the state would have to recognize it. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action had colleges made race-conscious admission decisions. The court decided if it would be unconstitutional to consider a student's race as a factor in the admission process. The ACLU argued that colleges have the right to control the diversity that are on the campus.
