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U.S. Constitution ratified
Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 counts each black slave as three-fifths of a person http://constitutionus.com/ -
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court rules that Dred Scott, an African American, is excluded from U.S. citizenship and therefore cannot bring suit for his freedom -
Emancipation Proclamation
Upon taking effect in January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million African American slaves. -
14th Amendment ratified
Congress overturns the Dred Scott Decision by including in its Section 1 the following language:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
http://constitutionus.com -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Signed into law by President Arthur, this statute made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here to ever become U.S. citizens
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/exclusion.html -
Magnuson Act
President Roosevelt signs into law the Magnuson Act, which repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act because China becomes an ally with the U.S. in its war against Japan. -
March on Washington
As many as 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
