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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a former slave from Missouri, had been living in Illinois for about ten years when he decided to return to his home state. When he returned, he filed for his freedom, arguing that his time in Illinois made him free. He lost, then brought his case to a federal court, and eventually up to the Supreme Court. The court ruled 7-2 that because Scott and his ancestors were not considered US citizens, he had no right to file this case in the first place. -
13th Amendment Passed
After issuing the Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves in Confederate States, Abraham Lincoln pushed for Congress to pass an Amendment banning slavery in all states. After persuading some members of the House, the 13th Amendment passed, and since then slavery or other kinds of involuntary servitude have been illegal (with the exception of prisoners). -
14th Amendment Passed
The 14th Amendment states that anyone born or naturalized in the US is automatically granted US citizenship, as well as citizenship for the state they were born in. It also grants citizens equal protection under the law. -
15th Amendment Passed
The 15th Amendment grants the right for all citizens to vote, no matter their race, skin color, or history of slavery. This piece of legislation notably did NOT grant women the right to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Working with the Committee of Citizens in New Orleans, a man named Homer Plessy (who was 7/8 Caucasian) tried to sit in a "whites only" section of a train. He purposely got himself arrested to challenge the segregation law. His case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where in a 7-1 decision, the court said that the law was constitutional, so long as the facilities were equal in quality. This set the precedent of races being "separate but equal". -
19th Amendment
This Amendment made it so that the federal and state governments could not prevent people from voting based on gender. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
After his daughter was denied from attending an all-white elementary school, Oliver Brown filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education in Topeka, KS. His case made it to the Supreme Court, where the justices ruled unanimously in Brown's favor. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Warren said that the segregation of blacks and whites violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. This case made it illegal to have segregated schools. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or ethnicity. It also prevents businesses from hiring, promoting, and firing based on race or gender. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act outlawed the discriminatory voting practices in the South that were implemented following the Civil War, such as literacy tests. This was meant to give the government more ways to enforce the 15th Amendment. -
Reed v. Reed
After their adopted son died, Sally Reed and Cecil Reed (who had been divorced) had a dispute over who would get the rights to his estate. Idaho Probate Code said that males must be preferred to females for inheriting an estate. Cecil was given the property and Sally challenged the law in court. The case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, where the justices ruled unanimously in Sally Reed's favor. Future Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg represented Sally Reed in the case. -
Title IX
This civil rights law prevents schools from discriminating based on gender in schools that receive money from the federal government. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
After being denied admission to the University of California twice, Allan Bakke contended the decisions in court. Bakke was a white man, but because of affirmative action policies, he was denied admission despite having higher qualifications than the other students. The case made it to the Supreme Court where several questions were answered. The biggest decision was that the affirmative action program violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
This law prevents discrimination based on disability and requires businesses and government buildings to make accommodations for people with disabilities. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
One of several cases brought up to challenge state laws against same-sex marriage, this case made it to the Supreme Court. The question was whether or not the 14th Amendment required states to license same-sex marriages and recognize legally married same-sex couples who were married in another state. In a 5-4 decision, the Court said that under the Equal Protections clause of the 14th Amendment, the states cannot discriminate against same-sex couples.