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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave owned by John Emerson in Missouri. Emerson moved to Illinois and then the Wisconsin territory as part of his military duties and took Scott with him. Illinois was a free state, as was the Louisiana territory (which banned the expansion of slavery into territories in the Missouri Compromise). When he was brought back to Missouri, Dred Scott sued for his freedom in Missouri court, claiming he was a free man since he resided in a free state. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford Continued
Scott lost the case in Missouri and brought the case to a federal court. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court said Scott had no standing to sue since he had African descent, meaning he could not be an American citizen and the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Taney also ruled Congress could not free slaves in federal territory, and that depriving any slave owner of their slaves was depriving them of their property, which was unconstitutional under the 5th Amendment. -
13th Amendment
Passed after the civil war. The 13th ammendment prohibited slavery slavery in the United States. It was used to abolish slavery across the nation. It also gave congress the power to enforce the amendment. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was created after the end of the civil war to grant citizenship to African Americans that could not be taken away. It gave them protected due process. The amendment also overruled the 3/5ths compromise, giving African Americans full weight as a citizen for representative purposes. Finally, the amendment gave Congress the power to make proper laws in order to enforce the amendment, furthering their power. -
Poll Tax Picture
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Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were implemented by southern states during the period of Reconstruction. Southern states used poll taxes to bypass 15th Amendment by taxing voting so that many poor African Americans could not vote. These taxes made it so only the wealthy had power and influence; white people in political power used these to try to maintain discrimination against African Americans and limit their power. Poll taxes were ended by the 24th amendment. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment was made in response to the reduction of rights for African Americans in the Southern United states. This included treatment as well as they were being prevented from voting. The 15th amendment issued that the rights of citizens of the United States shall not be abridged or denied on account of race, color, or previous servitude, theoretically guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote in federal elections. -
White Primaries Continued & Picture
...to hold that primaries were not a part of the electoral process. Therefore, Texas was able to disregard the 14th and 15th Amendment protections for African Americans in primaries, and even moved to having primaries controlled by private institutions to evade the constitutional protections. White primaries ended with Smith v. Allwright (1944) that overturned the Texas laws authorizing the use of parties to create internal rules. -
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White Primaries
After Reconstruction in the South, southern states denied African Americans the right to vote in primaries through poll taxes, literacy tests, excluding black from party participation, and other methods. This method virtually eliminated the Republican party, which had majority of its support from African Americans. The decision in Newberry v U.S. (1921), which held that Congress could not regulate campaign spending in primaries, was interpreted... -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy was a man in Louisiana who was 1/8th African American. He conspired with a group that wanted to repeal the new Separate Car Act and sat in the white only train car. He was later arrested when he refused to move to the "black" train car. Plessy sued citing the 13th & 14th Amendments. The Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional since the "separate but equal" cars did not imply inferiority and therefore were not found to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment declared that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the account of sex. This made it so that women finally had a vote and say in the United States and made their voice in voting equal to a man. This came out of the suffrage movement in which women campaigned for their rights and equal say, stemming from a long history (starting with the national Seneca Falls Convention in 1848) of abolitionists and temperance movement supporters. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a civil rights case involving segregation in schools. African American students were not allowed to attend certain schools because their were laws in place in states that allowed public schools to be segregated by race. In the case the justices ruled unanimously that these laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. This case overturned the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson and the separate but equal decision and moved to integrate school systems. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment eliminated poll taxes, which were a requirement for previous federal elections. The amendment made all elections for primaries, the president and vice president, as well as Congressmen poll (or other) tax free. In effect, the amendment made it so African Americans would not be barred from voting in the South because of their economic stability. However, the amendment did not extend to local and state elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A landmark civil rights case which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended discrimination in public areas and advocated for equality. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader through this movement and pushed it forward with support from millions of other Americans who protested throughout the nation. King advocated for peaceful protest, while other leaders like Malcolm X moved towards violent measures to gain attention. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
In 1964, demonstrations were held that often turned violent in the effort for African Americans to gain the right to vote. The demonstrations gained public attention, specifically when peaceful protesters were attacked by state in Selma, AL. As a result, Lyndon Johnson signed the act, prohibiting literacy tests, causing new voting procedures to be cleared with the government, and for no denial of the right to vote based off of race or color. The act allowed 250,000 new black voters to vote. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the practice of favoring a group of people who were previously discriminated against. The idea first came about when John F Kennedy ensured federal contractors would not higher people on the base of race, color, religion, sex, or ethnicity. Affirmative action extended from their to give equal opportunities to African Americans and other minorities, including women, in work, schools, etc. Today, it is being questioned whether reserving spots/jobs for minorities is right. -
Reed v. Reed
Sally and Cecil Reed's had an adopted son who died when they were separated as parents. Each party wanted to be the owner of the estate. However, Idaho had a Probate Code saying "males must be preferred to females" when being named the administrator of an estate. In a unanimous decision the Supreme Court decided the law was unconstitutional to give a mandatory preference of sex. It violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment was designed to guarantee equal rights for all Americans despite sex, eliminating the discrimination of women in the workplace, in divorce, and other aspects. Many conservatives opposed the amendment as they thought it removed woman's protection from the draft. The amendment was passed in the Senate in 1972, but only 35/38 states ratified it by 1979. It has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since 1982 and getting closer to be ratifying today. -
Regent of the University of California v. Bakke
This case was brought up when a 35 year old white man was rejected from this college twice because the college reserved space for minorities even though his scores were above those of the minorities. The court ruled that colleges could use race with admissions, but it had to be considered with other factors for admission, on a case by case basis. The court ruled that in this case the college had acted wrong and prevented affirmative action used in this way. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was a homosexual man who pertained in intercourse with his partner. A police officer in Georgia observed the act and charged Hardwick with violating its law against sodomy. Hardwick took the case to Federal District Court, and appealed after they sided with the state. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said there was no constitutional protections, so the states could outlaw such practices. Chief Justice White was also concerned with making a "judge-made constitutional law." -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This civil rights law prevented discrimination of people with disabilities in all areas of public life. Schools, jobs, transportation, and businesses open to the general public were required to implement measures so that they were accessible and usable by people with disabilities, apparent or hidden. People with mental and physical impairments were covered. This act was an unfunded mandate, meaning states had to implement the proper infrastructure but without funding from the federal government. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas start when a police entered a man’s home and found him having intercourse with another man. The police arrested the men on account of a Texas law declaring that same sex intercourse was illegal. The court ruled that the Texas anit-sodomy law was unconstitutional and overturned it under account of right to privacy and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This case regarded the marriage between same sex couples in the United States. Before this case, same sex marriage was illegal in many states, and couples from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee sued to be recognized with legal marriages. From this case the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the right to marry was guaranteed to same sex couples by the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This case allowed same sex marriage in all 50 states.
