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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a black slave who crossed from a free state into a slave state, which legally meant he was free. He sued his owners in US federal court, and congress filed a 7-2 decision against him stating black Americans did not have the same rights granted to white Americans by the constitution. This would create the idea that black americans were in fact not citizens, and would give the abolitionist movement more traction. This would in turn spark the civil war. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment stated "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." This was used to free slaves in all states, even those that were at one point confederate. It has also been used to give congress the ability to create laws against peonage and sex trafficking. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment grants everyone the same rights to life, liberty and justice regardless of differences unless due process takes said rights away (Like imprisonment). This of course meant that black Americans were now afforded the same rights as white americans. It also would be used later on in cases regarding a woman's right to an abortion and same-sex marriage. -
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Jim Crow Era
A period of time when the laws being passed by congress were actively protecting black citizens, but the behavior of white politicians and citizens actively contradicted this. Laws known as Jim Crow Laws, like segregation and restricting voter registration played a part in this. Terrorist organizations like the KKK also used violence to intimidate black voters. This suppressed the right of black people to vote even though it was now legal for them to do so. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment said states couldn't deny people's right to vote based on things like race or prior servitude. This would make it theoretically possible for former slaves and black americans to vote. However, many states implemented a reading test that made it mandatory for black americans to pass purposefully difficult tests so that they would get their vote taken from them, which made it somewhat void. -
Plessy v Ferguson
The ruling of this case cemented that segregation was constitutional. The concept of Separate but Equal was used to support this ruling. Beyond segregating black and white Americans, it would also lead to the conditions of Black and White amenities having different levels of upkeep. -
Nineteenth Amendment
This amendment granted women the right to vote, which is known as women's suffrage. This of course widened the ability for more people to vote. It also opened more opportunities for women to innovate and practice feminism and express themselves as beyond the common idea of a wife. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA stated that equality of rights under the law could not be discriminated against based on sex. Despite this law being presented and most relevant in 1923, it took another 49 years (1972) for it to finally be approved by the US senate, and another 48 years (2020) for it to get the required 38 votes to be ratified. Seeing as it had a deadline for ratification 1982, it has not been set in place, but if it did it would mean both men and women would receive absolutely equal rights. -
Brown v Board of Education
The ruling of this case found that segregated institutions could never possibly be truly equal. This initially only applied to education, as the man who brought the case, Oliver Brown, was upset his daughter had to travel a long distance to school and claimed that since she didn't have equal access segregation could not be equal. However, because the same reasoning of education not being equal could apply to other things, it aided in outlawing segregation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
An act that attempted to remove all discrimination based on race, religion, sex and nationality. The act focused on institutions such as schools, trade unions and employers. It successfully removed segregation and discrimination from most interstate industries. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action began as a way of to solve long-term effects of discrimination. It has consisted of policies, programs, and procedures designed to create interests and opportunities for the hiring of women and minorities. It has really helped give people who had previously found issues trying to gain employment avoid discrimination based on their sex, race or disability. Recently however it has been under fire because it has openly allowed instituitions to practice racial discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
One of the most comprehensive pieces of Civil Rights legislation that worked to widened the scope of who could vote. It officially solidified the protections that allowed black voters to vote. Things like literacy tests, the grandfather clauses, poll taxes and other requirements set up to deter black voters were declared unconsitutional. This act essentially ended the JIm Crow Era. -
Reed v Reed
Idaho law says that men were to be favored when considering who will inherit administration over an estate. A unanimous decision during Reed v Reed found that the law was entirely unconstitutional. This decision implied that the equal protection clause did not just apply to the basic rights granted by the constitution, but all parts of the constitution. It also helped establish both the ERA and woman's suffrage as a law and not just a state decision. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The University of California had reserved 16 places in their program for qualifying minorities, and Allan Bakke, who had been denied by the college twice, had a GPA and test scores that were greater than the minorities permitted. The supreme court found that the decision was in fact in violation of the ERA and decided that the college had to admit Bakke. This set a precedent that, even if it was in favor of minorities, discrimination based on majority or minority status was no acceptable. -
Bowers v Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was caught in the act of consensual intercourse with another man in violation of a Georgia Law, and he later challenged it in the supreme court. The court found that the state did in fact have the right to regulate these sort of actions. This ruling basically told the US that the protection of gay rights was not protected under the ERA. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This law prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in all public places, including school, jobs, transportation, etc. This made many places more accessible to people with handicaps. It also made it possible for people with disabilities to support themselves through employment. -
Motor Voter Act
The National Voter Registration (Motor Voter) Act enforced states to offer simplified voter registration for anyone who qualifies. This got rid of a lot of different requirements that had kept voters away from the polls. The Motor Voter Act would make voting more available for disadvantaged American Citizens. -
Lawrence v Texas
Texas Law has a statute that says that homosexual intercourse was illegal, but when John Lawrence was arrested after Texas officers raided his home in response to a disturbance and caught him engaging in consensual intercourse with another man, he challenged it. The supreme court found that outlawing acts of sexual intercourse was against due process. This showed an important turn towards making gay rights more widespread and protected. -
Obergefell v Hodges
This case dealt with the constitutionality of banning and ignoring same-sex marriage. The supreme court found that marriage was a right inherent to the liberty of American Citizens. Therefore, the right to marry, despite whether it was same-sex or not, should be allowed and protected under the constitution. This was extremely important for the rights and protections of the LGBTQIA+ community.