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dred scott
A black slave, had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil. The ruling on the case was that He was a black slave and not a citizen, so he had no rights. -
13th Amendment
Abolishes and prohibits slavery -
14th Amendment
Allowed people equal protection under the laws of the United States. -
15th Amendment
Prohibited voting restrictions based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery) -
Plessy V. Ferguson
a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal -
19th Amendment
Ratified on August 18, 1920 (drafted by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The Constitution allows the states to determine the qualifications for voting, and until the 1910's most states disenfranchised women. The amendment was the culmination of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. -
White Primaries
Democratic primary in the south that was limited to white people; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright -
Brown v. Board of education
case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education. -
Affirmation Action
programs intended to make up for past discrimination by helping minority groups and women gain access to jobs and opportunities -
24th Amendment
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in national elections. -
civil rights act
outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin -
poll taxes
How Southern states got around the 15th Amendment, guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote. -
Voting Rights Act
a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage -
Reed v. Reed
The landmark case in 1971 in which the Supreme Court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination. -
Equal Rights Amendment
constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
the Supreme Court refused to extend such protection to relations between homosexuals in marriage -
Americans with Disabilities Act
prohibits discrimination against the disabled. -
Lawrence v. Texas
A Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14th amendment. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
States obligated to recognize same-sex marriage from other states.