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Dred Scott v. Sandford
7-2 decision that black people who had ancestors imported for slavery couldn't be an American citizen and therefore didn't have standing to sue in court; slaves were property under the 5th amendment and moving to a free state didn't render emancipation. -
13th Amendment
Made it so slavery or involuntary servitude weren't allowed unless as punishment once duly convicted. -
14th Amendment
Made it so all born in the US were automatically a citizen and prevents the deprivation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of citizens (without due process). -
15th Amendment
The right to vote became protected from being denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes began in the 1890s as a preventative measure to keep African Americans from voting and was even upheld after the ratification of the 24th amendment in several states until the Supreme Court decided them to be unconstitutional in 1966. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy challenged the Separate Car Act in an effort to test whether or not the Act violated the 14th amendment. In a 7-1 decision, the Court upheld that the state law was Constitutional as segregation didn't constitute unlawful discrimination. -
White Primaries
Beginning in the 1920's, at their core, white primaries were another legal tool used by some southern states to prevent African Americans from voting in a meaningful way. It was so effective as to last almost until the 60's due to the dominating presence of what was then the Democratic party; the party membership of African Americans was excluded and therefore they couldn't vote for said party. It wasn't until Smith v. Allwright and Terry v. Adams that such ways were struck down. -
19th Amendment
Guarantees the right to vote for women. Supporters of women's suffrage had been fighting since the mid 19th century to achieve the right to vote. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Though introduced in the 1920's, very little was done regarding the ERA until the 70's when the amendment was proposed in Congress. The purpose of the amendment would be to clearly state that the equality of rights couldn't be denied on account of sex. Though 38 states have ratified it, some within the last 4 years, the amendment has yet to be officially ratified in the Constitution. -
Brown v. Board of Education
In a unanimous decision for Brown, this particular case decided that the separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
The federal government began to institute affirmative action policies under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an executive order in 1965. Affirmative action is an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women in opposition to a long history of discrimination. -
24th Amendment
Protects voters from being denied to vote in any election due to unpaid [poll] tax. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing; ended the application of Jim Crow laws. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Outlawed discriminatory voting practices (mainly present in the South), such as literacy tests being taken and passed in order to vote. -
Reed v. Reed
In a unanimous decision, it was decided that the Idaho Probate Code violated the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th amendment and dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
In this case, it was decided that the use of racial quotas by schools violated the Civil Rights Act as well as the Equal Protection Clause, but that race as a factor in making decisions was permissible by the Constitution. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
In a 5-4 decision, the Court claimed that there were no Constitutional protections for sexual acts [between homosexuals] and thus states could outlaw such practices. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. -
Lawrence v. Texas
In a 6-3 decision, the Court overturned Bowers v. Hardwick explaining that the Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct violates the Due Process Clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples in the same manner as it does to opposite-sex couples.
