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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri but lived in Illinois, a free state. When he went back to Missouri, he filed suit for his freedom because he resided in a free state. He believed that by living in Illinois, he was a free man. The supreme court decided in a 7-2 decision for Sanford, stating that a person of African descent, whether enslaved or free, was not an American citizen and could not sue in court. -
13th Amendment
After the Civil War, slavery was abolished in the United States. This amendment is the first time the Constitution mentioned the institution of slavery. Before this amendment, many founding fathers and government leaders owned slaves, despite knowing it was morally wrong. Many leaders continuously delayed discussion on the issue of slavery, until eventually it was abolished by the 13th amendment -
14th amendment
The 14th amendment was established during the reconstruction period. It was proposed in response to issues related to slaves following the Civil War. It states that anyone born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and the State in which they live. States can’t make any laws that go against their citizens’ rights. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was the third and final amendment in the reconstruction period. It was created in response to the inequality between the slaves and voting. The Amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the citizens’ “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy, a ⅞ caucasian man, agreed to challenge the Separate Car Act which required blacks and whites to sit in different train cars. Plessy refused to leave the whites-only car and was arrested. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the 13th and 14th amendments were violated. However, in a 7-1 decision, Plessy was convicted. The court ruled that separate cars did not mean there was a difference in quality between the blacks-only and whites-only train cars. -
19th Amendment
In the early 1900’s, many states restricted or completely denied womens’ rights to vote. The 19th Amendment stated that the right to vote could not be denied by the United States or individual states on the basis of sex. -
White Primaries
Most southern whites wanted to limit African Americans’ political, social, and economic influence. White Primaries were primaries in the southern United States in which only white people could vote, restricting the powers of Blacks in America. They were created around the 1920s but were declared unconstitutional in the court case Smith v. Allwright in the 1940s. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This was a landmark case in Topeka, Kansas. The court ruled the state laws that establish the separation of public school for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The separation violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment and also showed the power that the Federal government had over the states as well -
Affirmative Action
Usually employed when involving race and education. It is an action or policy favoring those who usually tend to suffer from discrimination, otherwise known as positive discrimination. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was passed to prohibit the federal and state governments from issuing a fee in order to vote in the national election,called poll taxes. Although the poll taxes were never a large amount of money, it was just enough to keep African Americans and some whites from voting, which created a divide in who had a say in the government and aided in inequality. This Amendment ended that. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were a legal method in preventing African Americans from voting in southern states. Before voting, everyone had to pay a fee. A few poor whites were protected by “the Grandfather Clause” which allowed them to avoid fees if they had a relative who voted before the Civil War. However, nothing protected the voting abilities of poor African Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson and outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also prohibits discrimination in public places and previously helped push the integration of schools. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Act prohibited discriminatory voting tests, like literacy tests, implemented by the Southern states after the Civil War. It African Americans from being discriminated against by their race. -
Reed v. Reed
Idaho had a code that stated males must be given preference over females when appointing administrators of estates. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that unequal treatment of men and women was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed to the Constitution and was designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. This Amendment fells short three states and was not passed due to the growing Conservative movement in the United States at the time. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The Court ruled unconstitutional a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process, but held that affirmative action programs could be constitutional in some circumstances. This case upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one significant factor in the college admissions policy. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was found by Georgia police officers engaging in consensual homosexual sodomy with another adult male in his home. In a 5-4 decision, the court stated that there was no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy and states could outlaw those actions. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This Act protects Americans with disabilities from being discriminated against in areas like transportation, public places, employment, and communication/access to state and local government programs. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Two men living in Texas, Lawrence and Garner, were found engaging in sexual acts. At the time, Texas outlawed two people of the same sex engaging in these types of interactions. In a 6-3 decision, the court stated that the Texas statute violated the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Lawrence and Garner were two adults who had a right to engage in private conduct and exercise their liberty.
