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Dred Scott v. Sandford
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court where the Court held that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be citizens and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. This decision was one of the many catlysts for the Civil War, and also set yet more of a legal precedent against black citizens having rights (or existing). -
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. As one can expect, this freed the slaves. Although they were now free, they were absolutely and unfortunately not equal to their white countrymen. The rest of the civil rights movement is set into motion to fix this. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws to all citizens, and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. This was merely one small step on the road to equality for black citizens, but it was an important milestone as it made all people born in the United States citizens of such. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." In other words, any direct attempt to prevent black citizens from voting were shut down by this amendment. Sadly, this still allowed indirect attempts, such as Poll Taxes. -
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Poll Taxes
A number of states enacted poll tax laws as a device for restricting voting rights to any non-white races, along with some of the poorer whites. This was in response to the 13th Amendment, which should have allowed voting rights to all races. The laws frequently allowed any adult male whose father or grandfather had voted to vote without paying the tax. This was a hurdle that strangled the voting rights of many black Americans, but it was thankfully ended by the 24th Amendment. -
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White Primaries
These were, as one might expect, primary elections in the Southern states of America in which only white voters were permitted to participate. They were blown to bits by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, due to flat-out preventing the participation of black citizens from voting. This was simply yet another hurdle for the Civil Rights Movement to navigate in its search for equality. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal”. Ending such discrimination was part of the goal of the Civil Rights Movements. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment prohibited any American citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of their gender. This was a marked change in the exact parameters of the Civil Rights Movement, as it moved to encompass more than the rights of black citizens. It now encompassed women, and would eventually encompass all people. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision set a precedent for overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896. This ruling paved the way for integration and was a major victory of the civil rights movement. -
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Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is the policy of favoring members of groups that are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture, which in America means any group that isn't white males. Affirmative action allowed for many people that otherwise would have simply been discounted to be capable of gaining employment or schooling, but also still draws criticism for essentially discriminating against white males (sorta). -
24th Amendment
The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited requiring a poll tax for voters in federal elections. This covered up the largest indirect effort to prevent black citizens or poor white citizens from voting by simply outlawing it. As such, it made elections much more free (literally, too!). -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. This was a massive victory for all people in America, as no specific group could be specifically targetted for discrimination (aside from homosexuals, unfortunately, but they get their time to shine). -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting. It was designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Although this right should already have been guarenteed by said previous legislation, this Act ensured that voting was a shared right between all races. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed was a Supreme Court decision that ruled that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes. This was yet another step towards equality between the sexes. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The equal rights amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was designed to guarantee equal rights for women. It never passed, although talk about it continues even today. Its failure to pass means that females are not specifically protected from the abridgement of their rights, although, as citizens, they still are. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of sodomy laws that criminalized homosexual oral and anal sex. This ruling was a punishing blow to homosexual rights, as they were forced to continue to lack the legal ability to act on their sexual desires, even in private. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act was a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. In addition, the ADA also required covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposed accessibility requirements on public accommodations. This Act extended rights the disabled, which were otherwise essentially ignored by society beyond charities. By forcing companies to have to make accomodations for them, the disabled gained better lives. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas was a decision by the Supreme Court that overturned its previous ruling on the same issue in the 1986 case Bowers v. Hardwick, thereby allowing legal homosexual intercourse in private. This was a victory for sexual freedom for all homosexual Americans, as they could now do their thing without fear of government interference. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke was a decision by the Supreme Court that upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be a factor in college admission policy. However, the court ruled that specific quotas of minority students were impermissible. This wasn't a victory or a failure for the Civil Rights Movement -- very little actually changed.
