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Gibbons v. Ogden
the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. -
Plessy V Fergurson
upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". -
Korematsu v. United States
the Supreme Court held that the wartime internment of American citizens of Japanese descent was constitutional. Above, Japanese Americans at a government-run internment camp during World War II. -
Brown V Board of Education Topeka, Kansas
the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional -
Miranda V Arizona
the Supreme Court ruled that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination. -
Roe V Wade
Roe rendered these laws unconstitutional, making abortion services vastly safer and more accessible to women throughout the country. The decision also set a legal precedent that affected more than 30 subsequent Supreme Court cases involving restrictions on access to abortion. -
United States v. Nixon
resulted in an unanimous decision against President Richard Nixon, ordering him to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to a federal district court. -
Texas v. Johnson
the burning of the U.S. flag was a constitutionally protected form of speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states.
