Civil Rights Timeline

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford

    Dred Scott v. Sanford
    Supreme Court decision that stated that slaves were not citizens; that living in a free state or territory, even for many years, did not free slaves; and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
  • Ammendment XIII

    Ammendment XIII
    Abolition of slavery: Slavery is not allowed in any state or territory under the government of the U.S.A.
  • Ammendment XIV

    Ammendment XIV
    Civil Rights in the States; All persons born or naturalized in the United States are subject to its laws and cannot be denied any of the rights and privilege's contained in the Constitution.
  • Ammendment XV

    Ammendment XV
    Black suffrage: Citizens cannot be denied their right to vote because of their race or color or because they were once slaves.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    The Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal. This is a huge case because it basically said that racial segregation was constitutional. This case also led to Jim Crow laws and mistreatment of colored people.
  • Ammendment XIX

    Ammendment XIX
    Womens RIghts: Gave women the right to vote
    -states that "The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any State on account of sex".
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    court found that segregation was a violation of the Equal Protection clause "separate but equal" has no place. The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Civil Rights Act of 1964
    Prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Voting Rights Act of 1965
    signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.
  • Reed v. Reed

    Reed v. Reed
    an Equal Protection case in the United States in which the Supreme Court ruled that an Idaho law preferring men over women was unconstitutional and in violation of Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment and the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes
  • Title IX

    Title IX
    To prohibit against discrimination on the basis of sex in the United States. Men and Women should be treated equally under any education program or activity receiving Federal Financial Assistance
  • Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

    Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
    Ruled that a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority applicants was constitutional in some circumstances. This changed a lot about college admissions today and how schools have to look at race when admitting students.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    Americans with Disabilities Act
    A federal civil rights law designed to prevent discrimination and enable individuals with disabilities to participate fully in all aspects of society.
  • Obergefell v. Hodges

    Obergefell v. Hodges
    Obergefell sued because he wasn't able to put his name on his deceased husbands death certificate, claiming it violated his fourteenth amendment under the Equal Protection Clause. Same sex-marriage became legal throughout the entire United States. This case requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and actually acknowledge them as valid.