-
Dred Scott v Sanford
Dred Scott a previous enslaved person from Missouri had lived in Illinois and Louisiana as a free man. When he returned to Missouri they did not consider him a free person. He took this to court with claims that he was a freeman because of his residence in free territory. The Supreme Court decided the case was out of their jurisdiction with the reasoning being previously enslaved people/ descendants of enslaved people couldn't be citizens so they couldn't bring a case to court. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was passed after the civil war abolishing slavery and indentured servitude in America unless being used as a punishment for a crime that a persons has been tried for and convicted of. It came after Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people in Confederate territories as a strategy in the war. -
14th Amendment
Again this amendment was added after the Civil War in attempt to outline new meanings of American citizens stating that anyone born in the United States is a citizen and no state can deny citizens their same rights/ privileges' as everyone else and under the law they're given equal protections. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment extends voting rights to men of color in America stating that the right to vote cannot be denied to someone based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude by the federal government or states. However, it did not extend this right to women. -
Poll Taxes
With the 15th Amendment states could not explicitly prohibit black men from voting in elections. As a way around this they created poll taxes. Due to systemic conditions many black citizens didn't have very manageable wages. States created a tax to vote knowing that black citizens wouldn't have the money to pay it and it excluded them from voting. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This case surrounded the state of segregation occurring at the time. Louisiana created a "Separate Car Act" declaring that there would have to be different train cars for black and white citizens. Plessy a 7/8 black man was arrested for sitting in the white car. He said that this was a violation of his 13th and 14th amendment rights. The court stated that the Separate Car Act was constitutional because segregation doesn't necessarily mean that it is discriminating. -
White Primaries
White primaries were laws used in Southern states to prevent black people from voting. Southern states would only vote between democratic nominees to the point where republicans wouldn't run so the democratic party said that black people couldn't become members and then to prevent them from voting at all primaries would be closed to non party members. Unlike poll taxes that were targeted toward black people but weren't necessarily limited to them; white primaries solely excluded black voters. -
19th Amendment
Another extension of the 15th amendment the 19th amendment excluded voting discrimination based on sex. This came after many pushes by women called the suffragette movement. -
Brown v Board of Education
At the time public schools were segregated by race so a group of different cases arose stating that not allowing black students to enroll in public schools based on race was a violation of the 14th amendment under the supreme court their claims were denied because of the precedent set in Plessy v Ferguson however, the Supreme Court found that "separate but equal" fundamentally cannot stand true and it creates the feeling of inferiority amongst black citizens. -
24th Amendment
This amendment extends protections for the right to vote stating that additions of poll taxes/ other taxes are not allowed should they prohibit citizens from voting. This amendment combats many Jim Crow Laws (laws made to target Black Americans right's) that states were using to stop black voters from participating. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This laws combated many issues involving segregation occurring at the time and continuing into other marginalized communities stating that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Again it worked to undo different systemic battles coming from Jim Crow, and protect American citizens -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Another attempt to combat Jim Crow laws involving voting. Targeted more towards southern states passed by president Lyndon Johnson with a goal to diminish laws surrounding literacy that prevented black people from voting -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is a program made to expand opportunities given to black citizens, and other people of color. It is typically targeted towards work and education. Overtime it has been restricted but the basis of it is to give marginalized communities a greater opportunity. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was never federally passed but it is a proposal for the guarantee of equal rights regardless of sex. It needed to be ratified by 38 states but was only ratified by 35. -
Reed v Reed
In this case it was law that in distribution of estate from the deceased males should be placed over females. When the son of divorced couple Sally and Cecil died Cecil was awarded the son's estate and Sally challenged it. The court said that the treatment placing men over women was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
Bakke a white man stated that he was being denied admission to a graduate program due to the schools affirmative action program. The court both agreed and disagreed stating that racial quotas went against the 14th amendment but that in higher education with criteria it was still okay. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Hardwick was arrested for being observed participating in gay sexual intercourse. He said that the Georgia law condemning it was unconstitutional. The court said that it was not a right given in the constitution for acts of sodomy so laws against it were okay. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA is a law put in place for the protection of the disabled community. It prohibits the discrimination of people with disabilities in areas involving the general public such as work, school, public transportation, and so on. Places must offer accessibility to disabled citizens. -
Motor Voter Act
This act increase the accessibility of voting. It allows people to register to vote when they're issued a license increasing the amount of people voting and the diversity of the people voting. -
Lawrence v Texas
Another case involving laws against homosexuality Lawrence was arrested for having sexual intercourse with another man. He claimed that this was against the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment because heterosexual couples weren't regulated for the same thing. The court ruled that it was a violation of their freedoms to be regulating the sexual intercourse of these people. -
Obergefell v Hodges
Multiple cases arose saying that prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples was a violation of the 14th amendment because they were not getting equal protections. The court ruled that the ability of marriage should be given to gay couples as it is given to straight couples.
