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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This case made it to the Supreme Court with the issue of whether Dred Scott was a free man or slave. In a 7 -2 decision, the Court sided with Samford, stating that "ancestors of slaves imported into the U.S. had no rights". Furthermore, in the majority opinion, Roger B. Taney also articulated that The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional. -
13th Amendment
This amendment to the constitution banned the persistence of slavery in the United States and all of its territories. The amendment also gave Congress the right to enforce this with any subsequent laws they deem fit. -
14th Amendment is Ratified
The 14th Amendment was a Reconstruction Amendment guarantees all United States citizens equal protection under the law. It has been used in pivotal cases like Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, and even Bush v. Gore. -
Poll Taxes
From the 1870s on, poll taxes were enacted as one of many methods to attempt to stop poor and black voters from voting, by making citizens essentially pax a tax (need-blind) before casting their votes. A Supreme Court case decided in 1937 (Breedlove v. Suttles) decided that poll taxes were constitutional, however, they were banned by the Voting Rights Act of 1964 -
15th Amendment is Ratified
The 15th Amendment extended the right to vote to African-American men. However, it wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that this amendment truly had its intended effect. -
White Primaries Begin
White primaries were another tactic used by the white Southern Democrats to attempt to stop African-American voters from participating in elections. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws in terms of public facilities with the phrase "separate but equal" being used to justify this segregation up until Brown v. Board of Education made its way to the Supreme Court in 1954. -
19th Amendment is Ratified
Denied states and federal government to deny voters on the basis of sex. -
Equal Rights Amendment is Proposed
The ERA was a proposed amendment that sought to end discrepancies between men in women in various forms like divorce, property, and employment. However, it failed to pass by the slimmest of margins. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court case overturned Plessy v. Fergeson's "separate but equal" ruling. It made segregated public schools illegal and led to mass desegregation across America, citing a violation of the 14th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
On this date, John F. Kennedy is the first to use the term "affirmative action" with Executive Order 11246. The main purpose of AA is to give a voice/a chance to marginalized groups that they did not receive for decades, and in some cases, centuries, prior. Mainly, affirmative action is seen in the college admissions process. Some people complain that "it gives an unfair advantage to minorities", neglecting that Asians have it the hardest. -
24th Amendment is Ratified
The 24th Amendment put an end to the poll tax in federal elections. Poll taxes were enacted mainly in the South during the late 1800s as a way to disenfranchise African-American and discourage them from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally prevented discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or nationality. Extended to voting rights, segregated schools, employment opportunities, and other accommodations. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the use of discrimination tactics in voting. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This Supreme Court decision upheld affirmative action, this allows race to be a factor in the college admissions process. The issue stemmed from a white man being upset that he was denied admittance twice to the UC Davis Medical School, but there were spots reserved for African Americans. -
Reed v. Reed
This Supreme Court case decided that an Idaho estate law was unconstitutional on the grounds that it favored men over women. The issue in question was the custody of an estate regarding an estranged couple and their son. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This Supreme Court case pertained to sodomy, probably one of the more X-rated cases the court has heard. Two men were caught performing homosexual acts on one another, which is illegal in the state of Georgia. Their case made it to the Supreme Court, which decided that there were no constitutional grounds to overrule the state laws preventing sodomy. -
Americans with Disablilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents the discrimination of people based on disability in areas like including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government’ programs and services. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In this landmark Supreme Court case, the SCOTUS ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban private homosexual activity between consenting adults, overturning Bowers v. Hardwick. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This Supreme Court case gave protection to the LGBT community as far as marriage goes, citing specific clauses in the 14th Amendment as in the majority opinion.
