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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave who sued his master after they crossed into a free state and his freedom was refused. The Supreme Court first decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, reasoning that the power to take away slaves was protected by the Fifth Amendment since slaves were considered property. The Court also decided that slaves were not US citizens and therefore dismissed Dred Scott's case. This case helped spark the Civil War because it enraged Abolitionists. -
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Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were originally created to prevent poor African Americans from voting after the Civl War ended. Since African Americans were legally free, the South attempted to reduce their political influence through poll taxes and literary tests. Poll taxes were ended with the 24th amendment passed in 1962 and the voting hinderance on the poor disappeared. -
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Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is when the government legally tries to increase the representation of certain sexes, races, religions, sexualities, and more. This concept began diring Reconstruction and appeared in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke since the university tried to represent minority students but was unconstitutionally limiting the rights of other students. Today, affirmative action supports minorities and such publicity helps them gain legal ground towards their equality. -
13th Amdendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery and gave the government the power to "enforce [it] through appropiate legislation." While this amendment was a source of bitterness, it was a powerful step toward African American equality. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment first granted citizenship to those born or naturalized in the United States, which meant slaves became citizens. The amendment also said that the government couldn't take away rights without due process of law and finally allowed equal protection of the laws to each citizen. The 14th amendment legally protected African Americans in the reconstruction era and was also played a massive role in granting rights to minorities in future court cases as well as abortions. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment protected peoples' right to vote based on race. This allowed minorities, especially African Americans, the ability to influence their government by voting since it became unconstitutional for polls to limit African American voters. -
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White Primaries
White primaries were elections in which whites could only vote. In the South, the Democratic Party made their elections white primaries which essentially disenfranchized African Americans since the Democratic Party always won in Southern elections. In 1927, the Supreme court declared white primaries unconstitutional because they violated the 14th amendment. White primaries were another way that minorities the ability to influence their country through voting was restricted. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy was going to be imprisoned under Loiusiana law for refusing to move to a non-white train coach so he sued judge Ferguson. The Supreme Court decided that the Louisiana segregation laws were constitutional. They said that as long as things were "seperate but equal", they didn't violate the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. This case set the "separate but equal" precedent that was later overturned in Brown v. Board of Education. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment said that the right to vote could not be denied based on sex, granting women the right to vote. This made the country a much stronger republic because half of the population which was significant different from the other half got the ability affect what happened in their country. -
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Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would give equal rights to all sexes in all matters. The ERA was proposed in 1923,covered some ground in Congress, but was never ratified. If it was ratifierd, it would fix problems in our society like the wage gap and would serve as a legal counter to sexism. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown and many others sued their schools, arguing that their schools were separated, but certainly not equal. The Supreme Court agreed in a unanimous decision, saying that seperate but equal segregaton was "inherently unequal". This case made it unconstitutional for public schools to segregate based on race and was a major step in civil rights. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment granted the right to vote to those who couldn't pay the poll tax. This made it easier for those with a low income to vote and influence their country since they didn't have to worry about paying to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race sex, reigion, origin, and color. This was applied to many aspects such as getting a job and supported voting rights and desegration of schools. This Act ended the Jim Crow era established in Plessy v. Ferguson which said that discrimination was constitutional. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it so that states could no longer discriminate against race in polls and got rid of things such as literacy tests which were targeted towards African Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was also used to enforch the 14th and 15th amendments. This act increased African American voter turnout substantially and gave more people the ability to represent themselves through voting. -
Reed v. Reed
An Idaho law prefered males over females in appointing estate administrators. When Cecil Reed, Sally Reed's husband was appointed administrator, Sally challenged the law. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that the Idaho law violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The decision in this case led to the revisions of hundreds of laws that discriminated based on gender since it became unconstitutional to discriminate based on gender. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke had tried to get into the medical school but admissions were split with normal admission and minority admissions. Bakke sued the school after he was rejected, arguing that his test scores were higher than the minority students which violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The Supreme court agreed, deciding that racial quotas in school were unconstitutional but considering race was accepable within reason. This made it easier for minorites to be accepted into colleges. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was caught engaging in consentual sodomy with another man and Hardwick challenged the constitutionality of the Georgia law that said this act was illegal. The Supreme Court declared that the right to privacy implied in the 14th Amednment's Due Process Clause did not extend to Hardwick's actions.This case was controversial because it limited the rights of homosexuals. However, the decision made in this case was overturned in Lawrence v Texas. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act protected those with disabilities from discrimination by race, color, sex, origin, etc. similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA further protected the rights of minorities on the road to civil equality. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence was caught breaking Texas' anti-sodomy laws and challenged the law in court. When it got to the Supreme Court, the court deceded that the law was unconstitutional. The reasoned that the law seemed to target homosexuals, deciding that the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment applied to this case and was violated. This case overturned the Bowers v Hardwick decision that kept sodomy laws in place and was in a step in the direction of gay rights. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell had a same-sex marriage licence but it wasn't recognized in Ohio so Obergefell and many others challenged this law. The Supreme Court said that the benefits granted to opposite-sex marriages couldn't apply to same-sex marriages since they weren't legal in some states, therefore there was a violation of the Equal Protection Caluse in the 14th Amendment. This case legalized same-sex marriage and was celebrated with marriages all across the country the following day.