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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott sued federal court because he claimed he was free because he lived in a free state but he lost because the supreme court ruled that negro slaves were not citizens. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery. It was a huge jump in history to abolish slavery, and the 13th amendment will always be important to everyone involved. -
14th amendment
The 14th amendment guaranteed citizenship to anyone born and raised in the U.S, including former slaves. The 14th amendment also protected all citizens with protection under all laws. It states that no state should take away anyone's life, liberty, or property without due process of law. -
15th Amendment
After the civil war, the 15th amendment was passed, granting African American men the right to vote. There were definitely people against this, especially in the South, and there were numerous acts of violence to try and prevent African American men to be able to vote. -
Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow was a popular blackface character, played by a white man, that was used to poke fun at African Americans, "Jim Crow" soon became a racial slur and was used to describe laws that oppressed blacks. Jim Crow laws were laws that enforced racial segregation in the America South. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
Homer Plessy, a black man, was a Louisiana resident, and decided he wanted to repeal the Separate Cars Act, which separated whites and blacks into separate train cars. When Plessy got into the all whites car and refused to leave, he was arrested. During the trial, the judge claimed that Louisiana could enforce the law with separate train cars as long as it was in its borders, and Plessy was convicted. -
19th Amendment
After decades of protests and agitation, the 19th amendment was passed, allowing women the right to vote. The amendment makes it illegal to prohibit someone the right to vote based on their sex, so women were finally allowed to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
In Brown v. Board of Education, the supreme court ruled that segregating schools was unconstitutional. It was a crucial part of the Civil Rights movement, and helped bring to light that "separate but equal" was not equal at all. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created to end discrimination against race, color, religion, or nationals origin in the United States. It was intended to end segregation in public and in schools as well. The act gave law enforcement the ability to prohibit acts of discrimination of any sort. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act, signed by president Lyndon Johnson, was created to stop state and local governments from passing laws prohibiting African Americans the right to vote. Its aim was to stop racial discrimination in voting. -
Affirmative Action
This is a set of procedures designed to eliminate discrimination among applicants (whether it be for education, employment, etc) and it prevents from discrimination happening in the future. This makes it possible for someone previously discrimintated to have opportunities like every one else. -
Reed v. Reed
In Reed v. Reed, a separate married couple were figuring out who would be in charge of getting the estate of their deceased son. When they both tried it, the court was in favor of the male being appointed. The female took it to the supreme court and they said the court being in favor of men is unconstitutional. -
Equal Rights amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment guaranteed men and women be treated equally. The amendments underlying principle was that sex should not determine whether you have equal rights or not. It would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters of divorce, property, or employment. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This supreme court case ruled that using race as a criteria for admission was unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The university was no longer allowed to use skin color as a basis on getting into the school. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This case brought to life whether someone had the right to engage in homo-sexual sex. Hardwick, a Georgia resident, was arrested after being caught having sexual relations with another man in his home. He took it to court, and it was granted unconstitutional. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, was passed to prohibit discrimination against disabilities. Whether you're disabled should not determine if you can vote or work somewhere, and ADA ensures you don't get discriminated if you are someone with a disability. -
Motor Voter Act
This act makes voting for Americans easier and registering to vote easier. This was impactful because if voting is easy then more people will do it. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence V. Texas made same-sex sexual activity legal in all states. This was a huge step in history considering there were many many people being arrested just for loving someone. It ruled that being punished for that was unconstitutional. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This case made same-sex marriage legal in all states. The decision was made that required all states to license marriage between same-sex couples. This was a very important part of history because it made everyone able to love who they wanted to and they wouldn't get in trouble for it.
