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Dredd Scott V. Sandford
The United States Supreme Court ruled that African Americans who were descendants of slaves did not have the right to citizenship. -
The 13th Amendment
Amendment passed by Abraham Lincoln that abolished slavery -
The 14th Amendment
Gave citizenship and equal/legal rights to African Americans annd slaves who had been emancipated after the Civil War. -
The 15th Amendment
The Federal government cannot deny a citizen's right to vote based on race, or past "servitude" -
Plessy V. Ferguson
In this case segregation was kept legal as long as the facilities were equal in quality. Known as "separate but equal". -
White Primaries
Method used by white democrats to not give minorities and blacks the right to vote. -
The 19th Amendment
This amendment prohibits the federal and state government from denying the person a right to vote based on their sex. -
Brown V. Board of Education
In the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka case the court ruled that racial segregation in school is unconstitutional. -
Affirmative Action
The term "affirmative action" was first used by President Kennedy to label and remedy persisting discrimination that disregarded civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. -
The End of Poll Taxes
The use of poll taxes were abolished in federal elections but not specifically in state elections. -
The 24th Amendment
This amendment restricts the congress and states from denying a person their right to vote due to not paying poll tax or any other taxes. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and/or nationality. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law was signed in by President Lyndon B. Johnson to help prevent African Americans from being denied the right to vote which is guaranteed by the 15th Amendment. -
Reed V. Reed
This was an equal protection case where the supreme court ruled administrators of estates cannot be discriminatory of the sexes in it's name. -
The Equal Rights Amendment
This was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution to give guaranteed equal legal rights for every American citizen. -
Regents of the University of California V. Bakke
Case where the supreme court decided that gave affirmative action to allow race to be one of many factors in college admission policy -
Bowers V. Hardwick
In this case, the constitution was upheld because of Georgia's law that criminalizes sodomy. However, there was no law differentiating between homosexual and heterosexual sodomy-so the case was overturned. -
The Americans with Disabilities Act
This act was passed and signed into law by George H.W. Bush and it restricts discrimination of people with any form of disability. -
Lawrence V Texas
The court ruled that laws prohibiting private homosexual activity of consenting adults was unconstitutional. -
Obergefell V. Hodges
The states ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the constitution.
