-
Dred Scott Vs. Sandford
The Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott case that African Americans were not American citizens even if they were born free. The ruling meant that African Americans did not have the basic human rights. The decision also said that slaveowners were protected by the fifth amendment and slaves were property instead of individuals. -
13th Amendment
The thirteenth amendment formally abolished slavery in all states after the emancipation proclamation. The amendment says that "neither slavery or servitude shall exist within the United States". The thirteenth amendment was the first in a series of amendments meant to free African American slaves. -
14th Amendment
The fourteenth amendment was the second amendment aimed at given African Americans their freedom. The fourteenth amendment gave citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States. This amendment was established after the abolishment of slavery and was meant to give everyone equal protections and simple liberties. -
15th Amendment
The third amendment that was meant to give African Americans their rights was the fifteenth amendment. This amendment gave African American men the right to vote and that the right to vote can not be denied based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". Even after this amendment many southern states still tried tactics that were aimed at stopping African Americans from voting such as poll taxes. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a tax that if put on people before they vote. These taxes were meant to make African American turnout of voter registries very low. They started in the 1890s after the fifteenth amendment was passed. The poll taxes were successful in creating low African American turnout and the result was mostly wealthy white men voters. -
White Primaries
White primaries were elections held in southern states that only allowed white voters to vote. This method used by white democrats disenfranchised minority voters. The white primaries gave African American voters no involvement in what was happening in the government. All southern states held white primaries in an attempt to keep African Americans from gaining their voting rights. White primaries started in 1890 and ran all the way through 1906. -
Plessy Vs. Ferguson
Plessy Vs. Ferguson was a supreme court case that essential ruled that separate but equal was constitutional. It upheld racial segregation in public facilities as long as they had they same amenities as whites. The ruling in Plessy Vs. Ferguson allowed Jim Crow laws to be legal and began segregation in the south. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The nineteenth amendment finally gave women their right to vote. Women's voting rights began in 1848 at Seneca Falls. The amendment states that voting can not be denied off of sex. The first year that women could vote, 8 million women showed up to polls. -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
The Browns Vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public areas was unconstitutional even if the schools were equal. This decision overturned Plessy Vs. Ferguson saying it was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. The case began the civil rights movement and started the desegregation in public areas. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment forced states to stop putting poll taxes on voters to try and stop African Americans from voting. The 24th amendment also says that congress has the power to enforce this amendment if necessary. Abolishing the poll tax meant that more African American voters could turn out, but southern states still found a way to block them from voting. -
The Civil Right Act of 1964
The civil rights act of 1964 ended segregation in public areas such as bathrooms and water fountains. It also outlawed segregation based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin. This act also banned employment discrimination. It banned all federal funding of discriminatory programs and said that segregation in schools had to stop. It also said that the department of education would help end segregation in schools. The act was passed by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. -
Affirmative Action
The purpose of affirmative action was to promote social equality through the preferential of socioeconomically disadvantaged people. Affirmative action was started by President Johnson in 1965 to try to end discrimination and give more opportunities to African Americans. Its policies, procedures, and programs encouraged women and minorities in things like jobs and education. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The voting rights act was also signed by President Johnson and banned literary tests, allowed the government to oversee voting in certain segregating states and authorized the US attorney general to investigate the poll taxes in state and local elections. The act gave African Americans their basic human right guaranteed to them by the 15th amendment. The voting rights act improved African American . voter turnout by 6 percent. -
Reed Vs. Reed
Reed Vs. Reed was an equal protection case in which the supreme court ruled that administrators of estates con not be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. The decision said that the Idaho code saying "males are preferred to females" is unconctitutional because of the 14th amendment. This was the first case that said the 14th amendment also applied to women. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The equal right amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would guarantee equal rights to Americans regardless of sex. This amendment meant to end discrimination based on sex in the workplace and other things. The amendment gained a lot of support but was not passed by 3/4ths and therefore did not become an amendment. -
Regents of the University of California Vs. Bakke
The Regents of the University of California Vs. Bakke case was a landmark decision by the aSupreme Court that held up affirmative action. This allowed race to be one of the factors for admission to a university. The court claimed that the justification for affirmative action was the educational benefits of a diverse student body. -
Bowers Vs. Hardwick
In the case of Bowers Vs. Hardwick, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the constitution does not protect the right of gay adults to engage in private, consensual sodomy. In Georgia, there were laws against this and was punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The court claimed that the "right to privacy" as part of the due process clause did not give homosexuals the right to engage in acts of sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with disabilities act is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. This includes places like schools, work, and transportation. This law is meant to give equal rights to people with disabilities. The law also required that business and workplaces provide necessary accommodations for people with disabilities. -
Lawrence Vs. Texas
The Lawrence Vs. Texas case ruled that a Texas state law that criminalized sexual conduct between two consenting adults of the same sex was unconstitutional. The decision overturned the case of Bowers Vs. Hardwick. Many think that this decision was the end of intolerance in America for gay Americans. -
Obergefell Vs. Hodges
The decision by the Supreme Court in the Obergefell Vs. Hodges case ruled that bans on same sex marriage are unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth amendment. The ruling requires all states to recognize same sex marriages in the same regard as opposite sex marriages.
