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13th Amendment
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The 13th Amendment is abolished slavery. It can not exist unless under for a crime. -
Jim Crow
“That legalized segregation between blacks and whites.” It separated the whites and blacks. -
14th Amendment
“The amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War.” States may not deny any person life, liberty, or property without due process of law. -
15th Amendment
“The Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that 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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude." For all male race, color, or previous condition of servitude to have voting rights. -
Literacy Tests
“Refers to state government practices of administering tests to prospective voters purportedly to test their literacy in order to vote.” It gave them the right to order to people of color and poor whites from voting. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Court case that gave legal standing to the idea of separate but equal. This doctrine required that any separate facilities had to be of equal quality. However, as segregation grew in the South this was often not the case. The Plessy decision would be used as a precedent until 1954 with the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. -
19th Amendment
“Constitution granted American women the right to vote—a right known as woman suffrage.” Was significant because it gave women the same rights as what the men had. So they had the right to vote. -
Korematsu v. United States
Case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Dealt with an African-American Sweatt, being denied entry into the School of Law at the University of Texas. The justices came to the decision that “separate, but equal” was an oxymoron that did not provide true equality. By ruling that the segregated law schools were not equal the Supreme Court also undid the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Declared that segregation in school systems was unconstitutional. With this decision, the Supreme Court put an end to the pretense that “separate” could be assured of being “equal” and thereby struck down all laws mandating racially segregated educational facilities, shortly following this was a series of Civil Right Acts ending de jure segregation more generally, along with the civil-rights movement for active integration toward racial harmony. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
“A 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.” It gave MLK a position of leadership with in a national movement. -
Affirmative Action
Policies are those in which an "institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American society. “Affirmative action policies tend to focus on issues such as education and employment, specifically granting special consideration to minorities and women who have been historically excluded groups in America. -
24th Amendment
“To the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials.” It gave more rights to African Americans, women, and the poor. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
“Is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” It’s significant because it ended segregation. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
“Aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.” It is significant because it was about the voters. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
“Broke the news of King's death to a large gathering of African Americans that evening in Indianapolis, Indiana.” It was a surprise upon him when he heard about the death of MLK. -
Reed v. Reed
First time in the Fourteenth Amendment's 103-year history that the Supreme Court ruled that its Equal Protection Clause protected women's rights. Supreme Court decision as the ruling marked the first time that women were granted equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection means that women, men, and groups must be treated in the same way. Because of this decision, women and men had a basis for gender discrimination claims. -
Equal Rights Amendment
“A proposed amendment to the US Constitution stating that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one's sex.” It was so significant because it represented a major step for women’s rights. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choosing a diverse student body in university admissions decisions. The Univ. of California, Davis, and medical school had, by maintaining a 16% minority quota, discriminated against Allan Bakke, 1940–, a white applicant. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Byron White, ruled that the right for gays to engage in sodomy was not protected by the Constitution, that the Georgia law was legal, and that the charges against Hardwick would stand. The Court first argued that the fundamental "right to privacy," as protected by the Constitution's Due Process Clause against the states, does not confer "the right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy." -
Poll Taxes
"A tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources." Its rasing money for the government. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
"Forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps." Congress enacted amendments in 2008 that were designed to make the law more inclusive. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In the 6–3 ruling the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by extension, invalidated sodomy laws in 13 other states, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every U.S. state and territory. The Court overturned its previous ruling on the same issue in the 1986 case Bowers v. Hardwick, where it upheld a challenged Georgia statute and did not find a constitutional protection of sexual privacy. -
Fisher v. Texas
The use of race as a criterion in university admissions. In a 7-1 majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to re-evaluate the case of plaintiff Abigail Fisher, who claimed that the university unconstitutionally discriminated against her as a white woman in rejecting her application. -
Indiana's Gay Rights Court Battle
Had the right to marry same sex couples. People that were attracted to the same sex had the right to get married to each other.
