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Dred Scott v Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, but moved to free Illinois and the Louisiana Territory. When returning to Missouri, he claimed he was free, because he was free at one point. The supreme court ruled in favor of Sandford that no "negro", slave or free, could be a citizen and could not sue in court. Slaves were considered property. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional, because it took property from the slave owner. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were a part of the Jim Crow Laws used to disenfranchise African Americans. Poll taxes make it so that you have to pay a tax in order to cast your ballot. Because of the grandfather clause, white people who had grandfathers who could voter were allowed to vote without paying a poll tax. -
13th Amendment
Unless a punishment for a crime, the 13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. After the Civil war, Abe Lincoln declared all slaves free by the Emancipation Proclamation, but it was not certain if they were really free. After his assassination, the 13th amendment was passed. Black codes, that restricted African American freedoms, still existed after the amendment was passed though. -
14th Amendment
This amendment was a part of the Reconstruction Amendments after the civil war. The Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship for all former slaves to be citizens. The Due Process Clause prohibits states and local governments from depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property without a due process (fair court process). The Equal Protection Clause grants equal protection and bans discrimination. This amendment is most significant for granting citizenship to slaves. -
15th Amendment
This was the last amendment in the Reconstruction Amendments after the Civil War. It allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of color or previous servitude. Even though African Americans technically had the right to vote, many weren't able to because of ballot box limits and the Jim Crow Laws. These laws included a poll tax and arbitrary "literacy" tests that no one could get correct. The grandfather clause, in which if your grandfather voted so could you, allowed white votes. -
White Primaries
After the Civil War during the Reconstruction period, the South tried to retain white supremacy. The White Primaries were primary elections in which only white people were allowed to vote. This was a method used by the former Confederacy to disenfranchise African American voters. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In Louisiana, the Separate Car Act segregated train cars by law. Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th black, challenged this law when he refused to go on the colored car when getting aboard the whites only car. Plessy argued that it went against the 13th and 14th amendments. This case ruled in favor of Ferguson, because the cars were deemed separate, but equal. -
Nineteenth Amendment
This Amendment allowed women the right to vote. It officially said citizens can not be denied to vote on the basis of sex. Although the 15th amendment gave men (regardless of color) the right to vote, it didn't include women the right to vote. This was a big accomplishment for the women's suffrage movement to revise the 15th amendment to include women. However, it was not fully enforced by all states until decades later when the Equal Rights Amendment was passed. -
Brown v. Board of Education
It discussed the issue of public school racial discrimination. It ruled in favor of Brown. They said "separate, but equal", decided by Plessy v Ferguson, was inherently unequal and violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. It psychologically and socially disadvantaged African Americans. In 1955, the 2nd case decided to there were varied local solutions to desegregate, but to do it "with all deliberate speed." Thurgood Marshall was the 1st African American supreme court lawyer. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment prohibits states and Congress from having poll taxes and any other taxes on voting. This amendment stopped poll taxes, which were a part of the Jim Crow Laws that kept African Americans from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This Act was influenced by the Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. It banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This discrimination, or lack of, applies to schools, employment, and public accommodations. It also developed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This federal agency enforces civil rights laws in the workplace. This Act's goal was desegregation. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This Act further emphasized the 14th and 15th amendments that allow African Americans to vote, but went a step further to enforce these amendments. It banned literacy tests, allowed federal officers to be at the polls to enforce this Act, and made it mandatory for states to have to go to the Justice department to ask for permission before changing any electoral laws. This Act directly affected African American voter turnout. After this was enacted, voter turnout was seen almost overnight. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action describes policies supporting disadvantaged peoples who were previously discriminated against. It could be hard quotas for a certain amount of minority individuals, or it could be encouragement to participate. There is controversy about these policies. Some see it as a stepping stool leveling the plane for minorities to be equal to the majority. Others see it as discrimination towards the majority, because one may choose a less qualified minority to meet a quota. -
Reed v. Reed
The Idaho Probate Code said "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrator of estates. When the Reed's son died, Cecil was named administrator of his son's estate. Sally challenged this in court. The court said that the Probate Code was unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This Amendment is a proposed amendment for equal rights to everyone regardless of sex. It seeks to end legal distinctions based on sex in divorce, property, employment, and others. It didn't win enough states to get ratified. Oppositions are that it will lose protections for women, such as not being drafted and economic support from husbands. The National Organization for Women says it will stop women being economic dependent and child support and jobs should be determined by individual not sex. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a 35-year-old white man who was twice rejected to the University of California Medical School at Davis. His college GPA and test scores where higher than the 15 "qualified" minorities in their quota. The courts decided that his rejection was a violation of Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The judges were somewhat split on the decision, because some thought that race was an acceptable admissions qualification, but others saw it as unequal discrimination. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A police officer saw Hardwick engaging in homosexual, private, consensual oral sex, also known as sodomy. The courts voted that there was no constitutional protection for sodomy. The unidentifiable rights in the Constitution were only protected when they were "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty" or "deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition". They said if they were to allow sodomy, it would be a "judge-made constitutional law" and delegitamize the court system. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Signed by George H.W. Bush, this Act prohibits discrimination based on disability in all areas of public life, such as jobs, schools, transportation, and all public accommodations. It requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations, and requires accessibility to public accommodations. This was the first time the rights of people with disabilities were protected by law. -
Lawrence v. Texas
The police saw Lawrence engaging in a consensual homosexual act which violated the Texas law of deviate sexual intercourse. The court agreed with Lawrence's claim that it was unconstitutional, because it violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. The court ruled that there is no state interest to intrude upon an individual's private liberty. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same sex couples sued state agencies about their refusal to recognize homosexual marriage. They argued that it violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment. The court agreed with this claim. This case also expanded the power of the Judicial branch taking power away from the Legislative branch according to some of the Judges.
