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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave who resided in a free state. When he returned to Missouri, he sued claiming that he was a free person because he went to a state where slavery was illegal. The court ruled that he was property so he couldn't possibly become a citizen of the US nor become free. -
13th Amendment
Slavery nor involuntary servitude is allowed unless if it is a punishment for a crime. The significance of this was that slaves were now free in the southern states and no person could be considered property. -
14th Amendment
No state can limit the privileges nor "immunities" of any citizen of the US. A person cannot be deprived of life liberty or property, without due process. This allowed everyone equal protection under the law. -
15th Amendment
This allowed African American men to be able to vote. This is significant because it was the first step in preventing discriminations in terms of who was allowed to vote. -
Poll Taxes Implemented by First State
The poll tax was meant to discourage poor citizens from voting because it was a set tax that was the same no matter what income was. This was used to prevent African American voters from being able to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The ruling of this case was that segregation did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment, arguing that African American's were still "separate but equal". This allowed southern states to freely discriminate against and segregate African American citizens. -
White Primaries Implemented by First State
Primary elections held in the southern states in which only white men were allowed to vote. They used many methods to prevent black voters from being able to vote. Southern states basically ignored the 15th amendment. -
19th Amendment
This amendment allowed for women to vote. This is significant because this was the first step towards gender equality in America, because before this point, men were exclusively in power and women had almost no rights. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case ruled that segregations of schools was unconstitutional even if the schools were equal in quality. This was significant because it overruled the "separate but equal" clause and was the start of the end of segregation. -
24th Amendment
No one can who is lawfully allowed to vote may be denied the ability to vote in primary elections on the basis that they can't pay a poll tax. This prevented the southern states from unfairly excluding poor African American citizens from being able to vote because of lack of money. -
Civil Rights Act
Prohibited the discrimination of any based on race, gender, color, religion or national origin. This allowed for the continuation of equality in America in businesses, because it stopped businesses from being able to hire, promote, or fire exclusively on these traits. -
Voting Rights Act
This law disallowed the use of discriminatory voting practices, including literacy tests and voting prerequisites. This completely prevented the southern states from implementing "official" limitations on African American citizens from voting. -
Affirmative Action (Executive Order 11246)
Government agencies cannot discriminate on terms of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or place of origin. There also has to be equal opportunity for all in employment. -
Reed v. Reed
This case ruled that unequal treatment of men and women was unconstitutional and that the promotion of someone exclusively based on gender was unconstitutional. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This was a constitutional amendment that guaranteed equal treatment of men and women. This was the biggest step in trying to prevent gender discrimination. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A person had applied for the University of California, but was rejected 2 years in a row, even though he was much more highly qualified than many of the people who got in through the slots saved for minorities. The ruling was 8-1 but it was also split, 4 ruling that you cannot consider race for considering applicants for college, and the other 4 said that you can consider it, but it cannot be the exclusive factor that makes or breaks and applicant. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A man was caught with another consenting male adult in sodomy by a police officer and was arrested. The court ruled that there was no protection of this and that they try to find and protect rights not easily recognizable in the constitution, but this was not an included protection. -
Americans with Disability Act
This law outlawed the discrimination of people with disabilities and included many things that made disabled people more accepted in society and more able to access buildings. -
Motors Voter Act
This allowed people who got a drivers license to also register to vote at the same time. This made voting a lot more accessible for lots of people who couldn't vote be cause they were not registered to. -
Lawrence v. Texas
When 2 men were caught in partaking in homosexual acts, they were arrested. After they sued, the court ruled that both adults were protected and that their privacy was also protected so they were allowed to partake in this behavior. This overruled Bowers vs Hardwick. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
A couple sued states that banned and refused to recognize same-sex marriages. The court ruled that this violated the equal protection clause and that the states were not able to ban same-sex marriages and not recognize them. This is significant because it was the biggest step so far in opening more rights for same-sex couples.