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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a former slave in Missouri, returned to the state after residing as a free man in Illinois and the Louisiana Territory. When returning to the state, Scott filed for his freedom since he lived as a free man but lost and his owner said that no "negro" could be z citizen of the United States. The Court ultimately decided that, “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves,” whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and could not sue. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except for as punishment for a crime within the United States. While slavery ended, racial discrimination still occurred with things such as Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws; however, progress was still made and African Americans did receive more civil rights as a result of the Amendment. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans as long as they were born or naturalized in the United States. The Amendment was put into place following some issues in the 13th Amendment and ensured that African Americans would receive the rights that white citizens had. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a fixed amount of money that people are required to pay in order to vote. These kept many African Americans from being able to vote as they did not have the money to pay the tax. This limited their civil rights until 1965 when poll taxes were taken away with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gave all men the right to vote regardless of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This guaranteed that African American men would be able to vote in elections, thus increasing the civil rights of African American men. -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections, within the Southern states, in which only white voters were allowed to participate. This kept the African American population from being able to vote which was given to them with the 15th Amendment, but largely avoided by Southern states with things such as poll taxes and literacy tests to ensure only white citizens would be able to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act,which required that blacks and whites sit in separate rail cars. Homer Plessy, who was 7/8 Caucasian, sat in a white train car and was subsequently arrested and convicted of violating the act. The Supreme Court ended up deciding that the Separate Car Act was constitutional implying that segregation did not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in elections. The Amendment was passed after women had tried for decades to obtain the right to vote. This coupled with the 15th Amendment also gave African American women the right to vote as well. -
Brown v. Board of Education
There was a large amount of cases being brought up regarding the segregation of public schools on the basis of race. More specifically, African American students were being denied their admittance into certain public schools because of their race. It was argued that this violated the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court decided that separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the active effort to improve employment, educational, and other opportunities for members of groups that have been subjected to discrimination. This includes various groups such as race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, and age. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment eliminated any poll taxes for elections of federal officials. This expanded civil rights by allowing most people to participate in federal elections since many were unable to pay the poll tax and vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or nationality. The prohibition of discrimination widened the civil rights of many with respect to voting, employment, public accommodations, education, and more. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed many discriminatory voting practices that were adopted by Southern states following the Civil War. This included literacy tests and prerequisites to voting, which largely troubled African Americans. -
Reed v. Reed
The Idaho Probate Code states that "males must be preferred to females" when considering administrators of estates. After the death of their adopted son, Cecil and Sally Reed sought to be the administrator and the title was given to Cecil according to the Idaho Probate Code. The Supreme Court decided that the law's dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional by giving preference to one sex over another. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) proposes that equal legal rights should be guaranteed to all American citizens regardless of their sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters such as divorce, property, employment, and more. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke, a white male, had applied to the University of California Medical School at Davis and was denied multiple times. The school reserved spots for minority students to redress unfair minority exclusions. However, Bakke's qualifications were much better than any of the minorities that were accepted into the school so he decided to take the school to court. The Court decided the rigid use of racial quotas at the school violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was observed by a police officer in Georgia engaging in homosexual sodomy within his home. He was then charged violating Georgia's statute that criminalized sodomy. However, Hardwick challenged the claim and it was taken to the Supreme Court. The Court decided that there was no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy, and that states could outlaw those practices. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disabilities. This includes areas such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services. Because of this, disabled citizens received benefits to help make their public lives easier. -
Motor Voter Act
The Motor Voter Act aimed to enhance voting opportunities for every American. The Act has made it easier for all Americans to register to vote and to maintain their registration. This allowed more citizens to have ease during the registration processs for voting thus making voting easier in general. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and saw him engaging in a private, consensual sexual act with another man. He was arrested since this violated the Texas statute. the Court held that the Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct violates the Due Process Clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Various groups of same sex couples sued their relevant states on their refusal to recognize same-sex marriages. The Court held that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that applies to same-sex couples in the same manner as it does to opposite-sex couples