-
Dred Scott v. Sanford
This decision made by the Supreme Court ruled that a black person could not be an American citizen if they had ancestors who were slaves. This decision was reached at a 7-2 decision in favor of Sanford. This, until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, crushed all hope of African Americans being free at any point in the near future. -
13th amendment
The 13th amendment was the first of three reconstruction amendments designed to integrate and protect the now free African American population. In modern day, the 13th amendment is used to give Congress power to make laws regarding other forms of forced servitude. Out of the three Reconstruction Amendments, it is the least cited in courts of law. -
14th amendment
the 14th amendment is extremely important. It specifically spells out American citizenship and how it is obtained. It also establishes a census, that being all men of or over the age of 21 regardless of race. It also establishes the systems of due process and equal protection in article -
15th amendment
The 15th amendment does one really big thing, and that is to enfranchise blacks to vote in elections. This would not be taken in kind by southern, formerly confederate, states. -
Period: to
Jim Crow Era
This era was a time of extreme black voter suppression, segregation, and general visceral behavior towards African Americans. This was mostly in the South, but there was segregation everywhere. This would ultimately "end" with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This is an important case for the simple reason that it upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine of the day. The majority opinion stated that, although the 14th amendment was meant to establish an equality of the races, being separate did not automatically mean inferior. However, this was often times not the case. -
19th amendment
This amendment granted women of any color the right to vote. This is important because of how massive the women's suffrage movement was in America at the time. This also corrected one of the civil wrongs on the nation, but there was still more to be done. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
This case is instrumental in the Civil Rights movement. It overturns the ruling made in Plessy v. Ferguson, stating that all separate but equal facilities are unequal by their being separate, thus violating the 14th amendment and equal protection clause. This decision was unanimous, and the majority opinion was that separation was unequal because it instilled a sense of inferiority. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act gave blacks further federal protection by outlawing any form of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion and national origin everywhere in the nation. This was done in an effort to prohibit unequal voter application requirements, racial discrimination in schools and public accomodations and -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This bill, proposed by President Johnson, aimed to improve the means by which African Americans can vote in elections and to prevent states from infringing on that right by giving them legal recourse. Civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. were present at the signing of the bill, marking its significance. This bill also increased black voter turnout significantly, being something that blacks can use against states that restrict their vote. -
Beginning of affirmative action
Affirmative action began when President Johnson issued executive order 11246, which eliminated employment discrimination on any basis. Affirmative action seeks to help underrepresented groups become more represented. -
Reed v. Reed
In the wake of the death of their son, Cecil and Sally Reed were vying to be the administrator of his land, but an Idaho Probate Code gives preferential treatment to men in such cases. Feeling that this violated the equal protection clause, Sally Reed to this case to the Supreme Court, where she won in a unanimous decision. -
Equal Rights amendment
This would be the 28th amendment to the constitution and would guarantee equal rights for women. This amendment has been stuck for a while, and is likely dead, but its future is still uncertain, -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a white man who applied to University California at Davis but was rejected on the basis of his race despite his well above average scores. He sued, basing his argument on the idea that racial quotas violated the equal protection clause and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The supreme court ruled in Bakke's favor, having applied strict scrutiny to the school and determining they did not have a compelling reason. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This case related to homosexuality and whether or not states could criminalize sodomy. In this case, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that yes, the states could outlaw sodomy. The majority opinion writes that they did not want to rule whether or not states could outlaw this for fear of sending the court towards illegitimacy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This was an act to prevent people with either physical or mental disability from workplace discrimination. It also required every public building to be accessible to people with disabilities. It gives protections to the disabled not unlike the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
National Voter Registration Act
The purpose of this act is to streamline the process of registering to vote in elections and to make it less difficult. This is done by offering registration opportunities by mail-in, at motor vehicle agencies (the BMV), and at public offices. The final requirement is that states keep an updated and accurate list of registered voters. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This case, first and foremost, overturned the decision in Bowers v. Hardwick. This made it so any law regarding the outlawing of homosexual interactions was unconstitutional. The court said that such laws do not further any meaningful goal of the country or the state and are therefore unjust and unconstitutional. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
The court ruled in favor of states having to license and recognize same-sex marriages in and out of state lines everywhere in the union. The supreme court ruled that the fourteenth amendment requires states to do this because of due process. The first amendment was used to supplement this in that religious institutions do not have to adhere to this if it violates their beliefs (i.e., catholic churches do not have to marry same-sex couples), but states cannot do the same under any circumstances.
