Civil Rights Timeline

  • Scott v. Sanford

    "Property" cannot sue for freedom, or sue in general. Defended Slavery
  • Period: to

    Reconstruction

    National Guard was stationed in the South to enforce the 13th Amendment; the effort to reunite and reconstruct the South.
  • 13th Amendment is passed

    Outlaws slavery
  • 14th Amendment is passed

    Covers citizenship, extends due process to state and local governments, Equal Protection Clause
  • 15th Amendment passed

    Voting cannot be denied because of race
  • Period: to

    Jim Crow Era

    Laws promoting segregation were passes in the South, "Separate But Equal" Doctrine.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Creates the "Separate But Equal" Doctrine; upholds segregation
  • 19th Amendment passed

    Voting cannot be denied because of sex
  • Period: to

    Scottsboro Boys

    9 black teenagers were falsely accused of rape, all were eventually let go.
  • George Stinney case

    George was accused of murdering two white girls. He was sentenced to death without a fair trial.
  • Brown v. Board

    Desegrated schools, ruled segregation in schools were "inherently unequal."
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Outlaws discrimination by religion, sex, or race
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Prohibits discriminating in voting.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968

    Prohibits discrimination in housing.
  • California v. Bakke

    Upheld private schools being able to admit people in based on race
  • Gratz v. Bollinger

    Upheld schools being able to prefer certain races for a diverse student body.
  • Meredith v. Jefferson Co Board

    Schools cannot broadly control student diversity: they must be "fine tailored".
  • Shelby County v. Holder

    Struck down Section 4(b) of the VRA of 1965.