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Dredd Scott v. Sandford
A man by the name of Dredd Scott was a slave who had lived in the Illinois area (a free area). He sued for the right, upon returning to Missouri, to be a free man. The court ruled against him; they said he was property and not a citizen. -
13th Amendment
The passing of this amendment made slavery unconstitutional as well as involuntary servitude. It came about while Abraham Lincoln was still in office and shortly after the Civil War had finished. -
14th Amendment
This was considered to be the second step of the amendments that made up the reconstruction era. This amendment made sure that all people born within the United States of America were citizens and were to be guarenteed "equal benefits of the law". -
15th Amendment
This was the third of the three amendments that made up the reconstruction era. This amendment guarenteeed black men the right to vote. Even though it was ratified on the third of February, it was not effective until much later. -
Poll Tax
These were imposed mostly by the southern states which made up the confederation; this was essentially a fee that a person had to pay in order to register to vote. It was created in response to the 15th amendment which allowed black males to vote. This disocuraged African Americans from voting due to the fact that most of them lived poorly and could not afford to pay the tax. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
A man by the name of Homer Plessy, who was only 1/8 black, sat on white railroad cart in Louisiana. He let it be known that he was black; he was asked to move but refused. The court made it all the way to the supreme court on the basis that it violated the 13th and 14th amendments. The court ruled that the amendments were not created to bar distinction of races but rather create equality. -
19th Amendment
Women had not received much protection from the law at this point in time; this law made it possible for women to vote. President Wilson was in office of the time and turned his opinion in favor of womens rights. -
White Primaries
These types of lawas would ban African Americans from voting in specific party elections of a dominent state. For example, if a state was mostly democratic then the African American would not have a say in the democratic vote. This was a way to completely exclude blacks from casting votes. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case came about due to the seperate but equal decision that was reached in Plessy v. Ferguson case. A man by the name of Homer Brown sued the Topeka Kansas board of education on the basis that the eudcation that his daughter was receiving was not equal to that of a white child. The court rules in favor of Brown and declared "Seperate but Equal" constitutional -
Affirmative Action
This idea was brought abut by President Kennedy in the 1960's, just prior to the civil rights act. This term encompeses an entire set of laws and regualtions that were set in place in order to ensure racial equality in places such as the job and universities. -
24th Amendment
This amendment made it illegal for states to deny a person to vote based on the inability to pay a poll tax. The poll tax was created in response to the 14th amendment which allowed black males to vote. This amendment allowed African Americans to have more say in the government leaders. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights act made discriminatin based upon race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This also banned all forms of segregation. This act was connected to the commerece clause in the Constitution; all places involved in commerce had to follow it -
Voting Rights act of 1965
This legislation took place underneath President Johnson; it was in essencce a booster to the 15th amendment. The language of this amendment stated that no county or state could deny the right to vote based on a literacy test, nor could they make any changes to voting unless it was first reviewed and decided that it did not discriminate in any way -
Reed v. Reed
This court came about because of a dispute that a seperated couple had over the property of a dead son. The prior law stated that the estate should get handed down to the male and therefore the wife was not qualified to take over ownership. The case made it to the supreme court and was ruled unconstitutional on the basis of the 14th amendment protected against discrimination based on sex. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment was passed in order to allow women equal protection under the law as well as prevent discrimination. It made it through congress, however, in the mind 1970's the law received some backlask and and all of the states failed to ratify it. It was not passed and its is not the 27th amendment today. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The University of California medical school at Davis was sued by Bakke due to the fact that he was not admitted even though his credentials were very good. The school was instead deciding to use affirmative action to accept more minority applicants. Bakke argued that this violated the civil rights act. The court ruled in favor of the school in order to create more diversity -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A police officer entered a the home of Bowers to arrest him on a warrant. The officer, Hardwick, discovered Bowers engaged in homosexual intercourse. He arrested both people; Bowers sued on the basis that his constituional right to privacy was being violated. This case became the basis on which other cases of discrimination were decided. -
Americans with Disbabilities act
This law was created with the intent of protecting the jobs and preventing the discrimination against those with disabilites. It also made work places more accessible as well as some public transporation. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This case was similar in nature to Bowers v. Hardwick. It involved the accusation of two people of the same sex engaging in intercourse; the case made it all the way to the supreme court. The court ruled in favor of Lawrence.
