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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Scott was from Missouri, but resided in Illinois which was a free state according to the Missouri Compromise. When he returned to Missouri he claimed his residence in a free territory made him a free man. He lost the case in the state court, and took it to the federal court. The majority held that a man who's ancestors had been imported to the U.S. could not be an American Citizen and therefor could not sue in court. This case also held that the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional. -
13th Amendment
This amendment to the constitution formally abolished slavery. This is said in the way of "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 amendment passed the senate easily but Lincoln had to press the house into passing it. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all persons born in or naturalized in the United States (including former slaves). It also guaranteed equal protection of the laws. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment gave black males the right to vote. They were expected to fend for themselves, and this can be seen as the start as a life of inequality. To combat this literacy tests were established and the grandfather clause was created. -
Poll Taxes
The poll taxes were a fixed sum that every individual had to pay and show proof of payment in order to vote. They were used as a legal way to keep African Americans from voting in southern states because many of them could not afford to pay the tax (and therefor could not vote). -
White Primaries
White Primaries were primary elections held in the south in which only white voters could participate. They were established by the state Democratic Party units. This was later condemned by the supreme court, as it violated the 14th amendment. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The case of Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the separate but equal clause. The court ruled that a law implying a legal distinction between blacks and whites was not unconstitutional. This resulted in restrictive Jim Crow laws becoming commonplace. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment granted american women the right to vote. After months of protest and petition president Wilson changed his attitude causing a political shift. The house ratified it first and then the senate in a 3/4 majority. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a supreme court case that ruled racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. This case was on of the cornerstones for the civil rights movement and established that the separate-but-equal education and services were not actually equal. This reversed Plessy v. Ferguson -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment outlawed the poll tax required to vote in federal elections. Five southern states maintained poll taxes that disproportionately affected African Americans, these poll taxes exemplified the Jim Crow laws. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Later sexual orientation and gender identity were added. It prohibited racial segregation in schools as well as public accommodations, and employment discrimination. It also prohibits unequal application of voter registration. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is a set of policies within the government or an organization that are used because they seek to include members of certain groups (specific race, gender, nationality). The main goal of this is to bridge inequalities in employment and right past wrong doings, but there is controversy on if this is constitutional under the 14th amendment and the Civil Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the civil war. This was an act to enforce the 15th amendment. The violence that erupted from the issue of voting rights brought national attention to this issue and led president Johnson to sign this act. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed ruled that administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. The case was decided on the fact that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment banned different treatment based on sex. This case established a biases to analyze sex based discrimination. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The biases of the equal rights amendment was to establish the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the biases of sex. A revival of feminism in the 1960s caused this to be introduced to congress, but after backlash was never passed. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke the supreme court ruled that the schools use of racial quotas was unconstitutional, but that affirmative action to accept more minority students was. This established a means of reconciling well intentioned quota and affirmative action in the promise of equality from the constitution. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was a case that upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia Law penalizing and criminalizing oral and anal sex between consenting adults (homosexual sodomy in this case). The dissenting opinion centered around the constitutional right to privacy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disability. This acts in a way similar to the Civil Rights Act by providing protections against discrimination. This act also imposes requirements for employers to provide accommodations and follow accessibility guidelines. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In Lawrence v. Texas ruled that laws prohibiting private homosexual sodomy were unconstitutional. This decision overturned Bowers v. Hardwick, and reaffirmed the constitutional right to privacy established in cases like Roe v. Wade. This decision made same sex sexual activity legal in every U.S. state and territory. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell v. Hodges was the court case that ruled that the fundamental right to marry was guaranteed to same sex couples by the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. This overturned Baker and required all states to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples and to recognize same sex marriages preformed in other districts as valid.
