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Dred Scott v Sanford
This was the first time a slave had fought legally for his freedom. Mr. Scott was a slave in missouri but moved with his owners to illionois which was a slave free state. When he moved back to missouri he argued he was a free slave in illinois so he should be freed from his owners. Ultimately the courts sided against Scott but it brought to the table the argument of slave citizenship -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery.It stated that any involuntary service or slavery was a crime unless it was being used as a punishment against a criminal. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment gave citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. This included enslaved people and gave all citizens equal protection from laws. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment stated that citizens should not be stopped from voting based on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Plessy v Ferguson
In this case Homer Plessy borded a train car that was "whites only". This violated at the time a law that separated passengers into cars based on color. Charged with "boarding a whites only car" Plessy appealed the case to the supreme court where they decided 7-1 that it did not violate the 14th amendment and is considered one of the worst decisions ins supreme court history.
