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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, lived in Illinois, a free slave state. Dred Scott filed suit in Missouri court after his freedom and the court said that he was not free. After losing, Scott brought a new suit to the federal court. His master believed that no slave, or decent of a slave, could be a free man. The Supreme Court ruled that no African American, whether free or slave, was an American citizen. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment of the United States abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime. The amendment states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all people that were brown in the United States. This included formerly enslaved people. It also granted citizens equal protection of all laws. This was one of three amendments passed during the reconstruction era that abolished slavery. -
15th Amendment
The 15h amendment allowed all citizens to vote despite their race, color, or if they were a slave previously. This was one of the three amendments passed during the Reconstructive Era in order to abolish slavery. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a result, public places separated by race became one. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment was the amendment passed that allowed all women to vote. It allowed all citizens to vote in the United States despite their sex. Congress had the power to enforce this article. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education was a case that the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the act that prohibited the discrimination of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also prohibited all of these types of discriminations when hiring individuals. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discrimination of voters that was done by many of the southern states. This included literacy tests as a prerequisite for voting. It enforced the 15th amendment. -
Reed v. Reed
The case of Reed v. Reed was a case that ultimately overturned the Idaho law that gave fathers precedence over mothers in administering a deceased child's estate. Justice Ginsburg's work on this case is what prompted that courts to take into consideration the 14th amendment. -
Title IX
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that was passed in 1972. This law prohibited sex-based discrimination in schools or other education programs that receives federal financial assistance. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
In the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke the Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial remarks in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of affirmative action to accept more minority students was constitutions sometimes. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits the discrimination of individuals with disabilities. It ensured that disabled people had an equal opportunity to become employed as well as government facilities, public accommodations, and transportation. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
The case of Obergefell v. Hodges overturned the Baker case and now requires all states to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly. This is for all United States territories.
