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Dred Scott v. Sandford (Dred Scott Case)
Dred Scott, a slave living in a free state was deemed not an American citizen as the Supreme Court said that slaves could not become American citizens because they were property due to fifth amendment. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment formally ended slavery in the United States. This did not apply to those who were charged with a crime. -
14th Amendment
14th amendment granted citizenship to everyone born in the United States (Naturalization) including slaves. This also granted equal protection under federal law. -
15th Amendment
This amendment guaranteed that citizens cannot be denied the right to vote based on race, color, sexual orientation, etc. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Upheld segregation and created "Separate but equal" doctrine. -
19th Amendment
Allowed women to vote. Outlawed any prohibitions on voting for the voter's sex. -
White Primaries
White Primaries were primary races where only white people were allowed to vote in. These were primarily used to disenfranchise Black voters along with other measures. White Primaries ended with Smith v. Allwright in 1944 which outlawed the Texas law. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Deemed racial segregation illegal in schools -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the process of allowing certain minority groups to have a "reservation" for admissions in colleges or a quota in jobs. Most schools have these and are determined to be "positive discrimination". Although still in use, one of the earliest examples of affirmative action was the Kennedy Administration where he gave jobs to Africans-Americans and other minority groups -
24th Amendment
Eliminated the Poll Tax required to vote -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. -
Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were used as a method to stop African-Americans from voting. officially ended after 24th amendment -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Outlawed discriminatory voting practices to stop African-Americans from voting in southern states like literacy tests -
Reed v. Reed
SCOTUS ruled that men and women cannot be given different treatment and that merits would be more important in this case. -
Equal Rights Amendment
prohibited discrimination based on sex. Gave equality to women up to men's standards. Ratified in 1972 but has not became an amendment -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a man attempting to get in the medical school of UC Berkley but was denied due to the school having an affirmative action program that had reservations for minority students. Bakke sued and SCOTUS determined that Bakke should receive his spot but also that schools are allowed to use race as a factor in the admissions process. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Georgia man, Michael Hardwick was charged with committing sodomy and GA court of appeals determined that GA's law was unconstitutional. Bowers v. Hardwick determined that sodomy was not protected in the constitution and that states could outlaw it if they wanted. -
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Prohibited discrimination on individuals with disabilities. -
Motor Voter Act
This act made it easier for citizens to vote. This would allow voters to register to vote and be able to maintain that vote -
Lawrence v. Texas
Two gay men were arrested by Texas's law forbidding same-sex couples from having sexual acts. Lawrence sues in court of appeals and court of appeals says the law is correct because of the precedent in Bowers v. Hardwick. SCOTUS determined that Texas was violating the due process clause of 14th amendment with outlawing same-sex seual acts -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell, one of the plantiffs was arguing that law in states that prohibited same-sex marriage were in violation of the fourteenth amendments. Once brought to the supreme court, SCOTUS determined that the 14th amendment applied to marriage as well.