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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott sued for his freedom as he resided in a state where slavery had been outlawed, despite the fact that he had been a slave in the past in Missouri. His owner died and his owner's wife did not want to grant him freedom when he moved back to Missouri. The court ruled that Scott could not expect protection from the court as he was not a citizen, being a slave. He did not have standing to sue. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress and ratified. It outlawed slavery in the United States, except as punishment for a crime if convicted. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people born on naturalized in the USA. It also guarantees all citizens "equal protection under the law". It also mentions the due process of law. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment protects the voting rights of citizens regardless of race, on a state and a federal level. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana enacted a law that required separate railway cars for black and white people. The Comite Des Citoyens solicited Plessy, who was 7/8th Caucasian, and asked him to sit in a whites-only car to challenge the law. When told to move to the black car, he refused and was arrested. He was convicted. The case went to the Supreme Court which held that the law was constitutional and that the 14th Amendment only guaranteed equality. "Separate but Equal" comes from that case. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote after decades of fighting for that right. Gradually, throughout the second half of the 19th century, women's right to vote was extended in some states. After multiple attempts by women and organizations to make an amendment guaranteeing that right, it passed in Congress in 1919, and Tennessee, by one vote, was the 36th state to ratify it, ensuring its adoption. -
Equal Rights Amendment
After the 19th Amendment was passed, women wanted another Amendment that would guarantee equal rights for all US citizens regardless of sex or gender. Congress passed several deadlines for the Amendment to be ratified, up to 1982 but not enough states ratified it (only 35). -
End of White Primaries
White primaries are primaries elections that limit voting to white people only and it was on a state level. In 1944, in Smith v. Allwright, Allwright was an election official in Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that white primaries violated the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment, and thus struck the white primaries down. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Linda Brown had been denied entrance to an all-white elementary school despite it being much closer to her and more convenient. Her father, Oliver, sued the Board of Education of Topeka. The U.S. District Court in Kansas upheld the separate but equal doctrine. Oliver and the NAACP argued that separate schools were in fact not equal in terms of quality of education, and thus violates the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled in Brown's favor, saying that segregation had no place in schools. -
End Of Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes are a set amount a citizen must pay in order to vote. Poll taxes did not apply to one specific race or gender, but it made it much more difficult for women as well as black people to vote as they were generally poorer than white men. In 1964, the 24th Amendment put an end to poll taxes. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 under President Johnson, and it outlawed poll taxes in federal elections. After many Americans protested due to the fact that poorer people could not always vote, this amendment prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes in federal elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The civil rights act of 1964 was a big milestone in the civil rights movement. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, sex, or national origin. It forbids hiring, promoting, and hiring on the basis of sex or race. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Johnson sought to outlaw discriminatory practices in some states requiring literacy tests, etc. to vote. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action refers to a set of policies and practices in the government or an organization to include particular groups based on gender, race, sexuality, creed, or nationality in areas where they may be underrepresented such as education and employment. It aims to eliminate discrimination and increase diversity. Affirmative Action started under President Johnson's administration, as he sought to expand opportunities for everyone. -
Reed v. Reed
In Idaho, the code specified that males must be preferred to females in appointing administrators of estates. Sally and Cecil Reed had a son who passed away, and while they both wanted to be administrators, Cecil was appointed due to being a man. The Court decided that the code was unconstitutional as giving preference to a gender over another violates the 14th Amendment. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke, a 35 years old white man, had applied twice to the UC Medical School at Davis, and had been rejected both times. The school reserved 16 places of the 100 class for minorities to redress racism and exclusion in the medical profession. Bakke's qualifications exceeded those of the 16 "minority" students.The Supreme Court stated that this violated the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Use of racial quotes is unconstitutional but positive affirmation is allowed. -
Bowsers v. Hardwick
Hardwick had been caught by the police in Georgia, engaging in sodomy in the privacy of his own home. This violated a Georgia law which criminalized sodomy. The Supreme Court ruled that states could criminalize sodomy as it was not protected by the constitution. They preferred to perform judicial restraint. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability, in areas such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, etc. -
Motor Voter Act
The NVRA helps people register to vote. It requires that states offer registration opportunities at State motor vehicle agencies.This applied to federal elections. It also allows voters to register by mail, when one applies for their driver's license, and at state offices for disabled people and poor people. -
Lawrence v. Texas
A Texas law criminalized sexual intercourse between two individuals of the same sex. Houston police received a call and caught Lawrence engaging in private and consensual sexual acts with a man. They were arrested and convicted. The Supreme Court stated that this law violated the due process cause of the 14th amendment. This clause gave them the right to privacy on which the government could not infringe. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same sexed couples formed a group to sue several states and challenged the constitutionality of their refusal to acknowledge their marriage. The Supreme Court stated that it did indeed violate the due process clause of the 14th amendment as well as the due process clause.