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Dredd Scott vs. Stanford
The majority of judges voted that any black man, free or enslaved, was not eligible for a U.S citizenship, and thus the rights of a U.S citizen, such as the right to a fair trial, are not given to black men. This was Pre-Civil War so the thought of giving rights to a black man was not as popular then. Most likely influenced the 15th Amendment. -
13th Amendment
Basically said that no slavery or involuntary servitude is allowed, unless the person has been convicted of a crime. So if they did murder or theft, then they can be forced to work in prison or do public service. Other than that, any work done without proper compensation, is not legal. -
14th Amendment
All people born or naturalized in the U.S are U.S citizens, and as such, have the same rights as everyone else. They are also citizens of the state they live in, and no state can pass a law that deprives a person of life, liberty and property, that takes away a citizen's immunities, or denies a citizen due process of law. One of the first times we see incorporation. -
15th Amendment
Gave voting rights to men of color who are also citizens of the United States. Take notice on the "men". No women had voting rights until 1920. Voting for black men; however, was still pretty hard due to states making it hard for them to vote. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Established 'Separate but Equal' doctrine. Required segregated facilities to have same quality as each other. So it established that segregation is allowed, as long as segregated facilities are the same, but this was often not the case, yet segregation remained. -
19th Amendment
Right to vote won't be taken away on the basis of sex/gender. Allowed women to vote. It was ratified August 18th, 1920 and revised in 1992. Allowed women, who make up a good chunk of the U.S population, to finally have a say in matters, and would lead to many other women's rights being made. -
White Primaries
Primary Elections held in the Southern United States where only white people could vote. Meant to disenfranchise colored voters. It was brought back in court multiple times from the 1920's to 1940's and Smith vs. Allwright in 1944 ended White Primaries, saying it violated the 14th and 15th Amendments. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Stated that segregation in public schools, even if the schools have the same quality, is unconstitutional. Like at the beginning of the movie 'Remember the Titans' bringing black people into white schools was unheard of, but 70 years later, here we are. -
Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes have been used for a long time through out history, mainly to deny lower, working classes the right to vote, as it did many African Americans in the United States. With the ratification of the 24th Amendment, the requirement to vote in the U.S no longer included having to pay a poll tax. -
24th Amendment
The right to vote for President, Vice-President, Representative or Senate member won't be restricted because said voter can't pay a poll tax. Having to pay to vote literally gave power to higher class folk, and restricted voter turnout, which is bad and unfair. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Very important law that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Martin Luther King Jr. led the charge on this one. Discrimination was never outlawed before, so no one took any previous statements on race seriously, but now that being racist is kinda illegal, well people don't really do it much anymore. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
An Act that enforces the 15th Amendment, and prohibits racial discrimination in voting. As previously mentioned, many states tried to decrease black voter turnout through a series of discriminatory acts, but this Act said 'no more'. Also black women can vote now too, so it was now a lot of the minority population being helped out. -
Reed vs. Reed
Court stated that the treatment of men and women must be equal, and no one gender can be preferred over the other. Though we still see some acts like this today, sexual discrimination is basically gone in today's world. At the time this must have been revolutionary, especially since female judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg led the charge on this case. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Gives equal legal rights to all people of the U.S regardless of sex/gender. Was not ratified until 2019, when Virginia finally ratified it. This Amendment was supposed to be thrown out in 1975, but i guess they forgot. Virginia ratified it last year and so it may go into the Constitution, honestly not sure. -
Affirmative Action
President John F Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 which said no applications can be discriminated against due to race or color. In it the words Affirmative Action are used and that still goes on today. It started in 1961, but gained popularity as a debate topic around the time of Bakke vs. Regents of the University of California. -
Bakke vs. Regents of The University of California
Court decided Affirmative Action is constitutional, but specific racial quotas are not. So the court said that race can be taken into account, like hey its a minority with super intelligence and that's cool, but they can't set specific racial quotas, as in they have to take x amount of African Americans or x amount of Asians. -
Bowers vs. Hardwick
Sodomy, or two males having a consensual sexual relationship, is not allowed and unconstitutional. This was after the court case where the Supreme Court recognized privacy as an implied right. It was the 1980's so AIDS was a fear and 2 gay men having a relationship had a lot of negative views back then, so I could see why Court made this decision. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in public areas and facilities and private areas open to the public. This was an Act that allows the disabled to do more and be treated more equally. The bad part is if you're not up to code, then you can be sued and lose a bunch of money. -
Lawrence vs. Texas
Prohibited any laws that banned private homosexual activity between two consenting adults; basically repealed Bowers vs. Hardwick. This was in 2003, so we had more progressive views of homosexual activity and this probably led up to Obergefell vs. Hodges. -
Obergefell vs. Hodges
Same-sex marriages are constitutional and every state must recognize them. One of the more recent cases that shows that we are moving forward as a nation. I remember there being a surge of news stories that week on gay marriages of old people who had been waiting for same-sex marriage to be legal for a long time.
