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Dred Scott v Sanford
The question the Supreme Court was supposed to decide on was whether or not Dred Scott was free or a slave, but the case was dismissed because article 3 stated Scott wasn’t a citizen of the US, so he wasn’t allowed to sue. The Court also decided that parts of the Missouri Compromise were unconstitutional by unrightfully taking people’s property. This case was important because the Court said slavery couldn't be outlawed in any new territories, nor could people of color be American Citizens. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States. The amendment stated that slavery and involuntary servitude were to be ended across the nation, except for use in punishment for a crime after conviction. The amendment was the first mention of slavery in the constitution, even though the constitution made it clear that liberty and equality were the key principles of the nation, which allowed slavery to be legal in all 13 colonies until the passing of this amendment. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States. A large population of former slaves was the biggest group affected by this amendment. The amendment was rejected by southern states, but still passed with the required 3/4ths of states ratifying the amendment. The 14th was a step towards equal protection under the constitution of all people in the nation. Other groups attempted to use the amendment later to argue their rights to vote as well. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment gave black males the right to vote by stating that citizens could not be denied the vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The amendment was not well-liked by southern states, however, and many states used various discriminatory practices such as literacy tests and grandfather clauses, which prevented men whose grandfather had not been able to vote in the 1860s, to prohibit black males from voting until the voting rights act was passed much later. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v Ferguson was a landmark case that ruled that racial segregation was constitutional. The case established the separate but equal doctrine that established that segregation was legal as long as the facilities for blacks were equal to those for whites, no matter if they were separate from those for whites. The case arose when Plessy refused to use a train car for blacks, which violated Louisiana’s Separate Car act. The court ruled that the Louisiana act did not violate the 14th amendment. -
Poll Tax
A poll tax is any tax at the poles, or at the place of voting. They were used as major funding operations for states, but also as a way to disenfranchise black and poor people. They were mainly used in the south, but other states had them as well. In the south though, these poll taxes came from Jim Crow laws, laws meant to keep black people out of power and prosperity. Poll taxes were done away with, with the passing of the 24th amendment, which made those taxes on voters unconstitutional. -
19th Amendment
In the original Constitution, voting rights were given to white, land owning men. With the addition of the 15th amendment, virtually all men were able to vote, but this left out half of the population of the US. With the addition of the 19th Amendment, women were finally given the right to vote. Officially, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This was a huge toward getting everyone the vote. -
White Primaries
White primaries were used by the Democratic party, which mostly controlled elections in the south where the Republican party had mostly disappeared. White primaries were elections that only allowed whites to vote and largely suppressed black voters by limiting the ways that they could be politically involved. White primaries were created when the states they were held in prevented blacks from voting in primaries, or when the Democratic party prohibited African Americans from joining the party. -
Brown V Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a case revolving around segregation in schools. The question posed was if black students were allowed to be segregated from their white counterparts solely based on their race under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Plessy v. Ferguson had allowed segregation, but this case overturned that and said that separating based on race was unconstitutional. This was important because it helped get many black students the same education as the white ones. -
24th Amendment
After the abolition of slavery and the subsequent voting rights given to black males, some southern states operating under Jim Crow laws had a tax on voting, called a poll tax. This was done in an effort to keep black people and some poor white people from voting. The 24th Amendment made it so that these were made unconstitutional for general elections. The impact was a step toward the ending of black rights being suppressed in southern states, though it didn’t fully end it. -
Civil Rights Act
After the trio of amendments giving black people freedom, citizenship, and voting rights, there came a period of decades where, Jim Crow laws were in effect limiting black rights. Then, the Civil Rights Act was passed, ending segregation in public places. The law banned practices that discriminated on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or nat origin. The act was very important as it was the first time since the abolition of slavery that civil rights were laid out explicitly in law. -
Voting Rights Act
The voting rights act was passed under Lyndon B. Johnson, and its goal was to overcome legal barriers that prevented many African Americans from voting. It allowed 15th amendment rights to be restored to African Americans and ended many of the measures taken by southern states to prevent blacks from voting, such as literacy tests and the grandfather clauses used in many states. The passing of the act was influenced heavily by the civil rights movement that had been going since the 50s. -
Reed v Reed
Reed vs Reed involved a dispute between a separated couple about who would take control over a dead son’s estate. Idaho law stated that "males must be preferred to females" in deciding, and appointed Mr Reed to administer the estate. Mrs Reed appealed to the supreme court which heard the case and delivered a 9-0 decision that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited different treatment based on sex. The court ruled that any code giving preferential treatment to either sex had to be removed.. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights amendment was passed by congress in 1972, but is yet to be ratified even with bipartisan support. The amendment was created to give equal legal rights to all citizens regardless of sex. Its goal is to end distinctions between men and women in cases involving divorce, property, employment, and other issues. The deadline to ratify the amendment was originally in 1979, but has since been extended since the amendment has not been ratified by the necessary 38 states. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This case revolved around the 14th amendment, and the practice of affirmative action. A white man was denied entrance into med school even though he was more qualified than some black people who made it in due to a quota set by affirmative action. The Court came to a no decision, requiring that Bakke be admitted into med school but not forcing a real change in the practices. This was a landmark case and set a precedent for how to interpret the 14th amend and how it would be applied to college. -
Bowers V Hardwick
Bowers vs Hardwick arose when a police officer arrested 2 men in violation of Georgia’s antisodomy laws. The case was not prosecuted, but Bowers sued for a violation of privacy. The law prevented certain types of sodomy, and the court upheld its constitutionality in a 5-4 ruling. Justice White stated that the implied right to privacy did not apply to this law and that the crime in the case was an “infamous one against nature” and violated millennia of moral teaching. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, with the intended effect of eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities. The law made it so that employers had to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and added certain accessibility requirements for public accommodations. This act was, once again, a step in the right direction for the end of discrimination, this time for those who had disabilities at birth or who had been seriously injured. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action describes the actions regarding minority groups, especially ones previously discriminated against, certain advantages. This happens most frequently in colleges and universities where they set certain diversity quotas, making sure to admit the highest qualified people of every race, not just one or two. This is important because it has defined how decisions have been made for the past few decades, especially since Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. -
Lawrence V Texas
Lawrence vs Texas was a landmark ruling that relied on the implied right to privacy established in multiple other cases. The case involved a man and his partner who were charged with misdemeanors under Texas anti-sodomy law. Larence took the issue to court and appealed his way to the supreme court, supported by a civil liberties union. The court ruled against the state and declared all anti homosexual sodomy laws unconstitutional, which saw bills in 13 other states invalidated. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In this case, groups of same-sex couples sued their states for not allowing them to get married. The Court had to answer the questions, whether or not states were required to allow same sex marriage, and recognize same sex marriages from other states. The Court decided yes for both. This was important because now same sex couples can marry, and no official can deny that right. Many state officials continued to deny the rights, but they were eventually fired for not following the Constitution.
