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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This Supreme Court case reflects the anti-Black attitude at the time. In this case, Scott, a slave, sued for his family’s freedom, saying that since he was taken into a free state and territory, he was automatically freed under the Missouri Compromise. The Supreme Court ruled against him, saying that the due process clause prevented the government from freeing slaves brought into free territories, and that Scott never had the right to file a lawsuit in the first place because he wasn’t a citizen -
13th Amendment
This amendment, which was ratified shortly after the end of the Civil War, outlawed slavery completely, except as punishment. It was the first of three amendments ratified after the end of the Civil War, known as the Reconstruction Amendments that addressed slavery and civil rights, and is one of the most important moments in history. Unlike the other two amendments, this has rarely been invoked. -
14th Amendment
The second of the Reconstruction Amendments addresses citizenship and equal protection rights. It is one of the most invoked amendments in the entire Constitution, forming the basis for cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and Obergefell v. Hodges. It was bitterly contested, particularly by Confederate states, and ratification was required to regain representation in Congress. -
15th Amendment
The last of the Reconstruction Amendments focuses on suffrage, stating the federal government and state governments can’t deny a person’s right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. This amendment was interpreted narrowly, enabling states to bypass it using such things as poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses. However, the Supreme Court later began to interpret it more broadly, using it to strike down the aforementioned methods of disenfranchisement. -
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Jim Crow Era
Jim Crow Era was the time in US history, when many states, especially southern states, had laws that reinforced segregation and discrimination. For example, some of the most famous Jim crow laws made it so that there a separation between black and white facilities along with disenfranchising black voters. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This a US landmark supreme court case where the court ruled that segregation laws did not violate the constitution in a doctrine later known as “Separate but Equal”. The decision came when Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race boarded a whites only train car and was charged even though he was only 1/8 black. This is allowed states to continue to segregate people of color. -
Nineteenth Amendment
This amendment to the constitution is famous for granting women the right to vote. Women’s Suffrage fought to get this amendment ratified into the constitution for many years. Previous amendments had been proposed to get this right, however, none had been ratified before this time. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment is a proposed and unratified amendment. The purpose of the amendment was to establish equal rights for all American citizens. It was stopped by a group of Conservative women but has recently regained momentum. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This was a US supreme court decision that ruled that state laws enforcing segregation in schools was unconstitutional. This was sparked when a public school system refused a local black child into a nearby school in the state of Kansas. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This is a landmark law that outlaws virtually any type of discrimination. It is well-known for officially outlawing any type of legal segregation. It is the culmination of decades of civil rights activism and protests, and passed despite many difficulties. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This is a landmark law that congress enacted to prohibit any racial discrimination when it comes to voting across the country. It enforces the rights given by the 14th and 15th amendments. It is one broadest civil rights steps taken by the US government to ensure to every human had the ability to vote. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action which is also known as positive discrimination, is a category of policy that are intended to increase inclusion for groups that are historically under represented. It has been the subject of a lot of political and legal controversy. Finally, some people believe it can be a form of reverse discrimination. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed was a husband and wife court battle over their deceased son’s estate. As history repeats, Idaho laws favored males over females for all legal purposes. The USSC ruled in the favor of the female due to the state laws limiting rights for women. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This court case is a concerning affirmative action. The concerns of the Bakke side for the legal issues was that this action would limit the rights of white Americans. The USSC had a very gray answer, affirmative action was upheld but anything with specific racial quotas was unconstitutional. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This court case is one of the worst rulings ever in the history of USSC. It upheld a Georgia law that made oral and anal sex illegal. This ruling was overturned by Lawrence v. Texas. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act outlawed discrimination against Americans with disabilities, such as mental and physical disabilities. This act applies to a broad a group of humans and includes many different disabilities including some that are not permanent. It was signed after the recommendation from the National Counsel on Disability. -
Motor Voter Act
The Motor Voter Act ensures that all state residents have access to simplified voter registration as long as they have a valid state ID. The hopes of this act is to make the voting accessibility across the county a more fair and process. However, some states are exempted due to their election’s qualifications. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This is another landmark supreme court decision in which the court voted that any laws criminalizing any adult sex acts were constitutional. There were two men that were arrested for sexual intercourse and got arrested. It specifically overturned the results from the Bowers v. Hardwick court case -
Obergefell v. Hodges
The is a landmark USSC case where they determined that the right to marry is guaranteed to same sex couples under the 14th amendment. There were 6 same sex law suits that brought this case to the supreme court. This overturned Baker v Nelson to stop bans on same sex marriage.
