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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri when his owners took him to the Missouri Territory which was a free territory at the time. Scott sued the court saying that because he was taken to a free area he should be freed. When he appealed to the Supreme Court they ruled in a 7 to 2 majority that African Americans were property instead of citizens. -
13th Amendment
Following the Civil War, in an attempt to end the debate about the legality of slavery and the role of the federal government, the mostly northern and republican congress, passed the 13th amendment which abolished slavery and gave the federal government power to pass legislation to enforce abolition. -
14th amendment
Similar to the 13th amendment, the 14th amendment was proposed while Lincoln was alive and in office as part of the reconstruction plan for the south. Many "radical republicans" supported these propositions and managed to pass them despite Andrew Johnson's disapproval. The 14th amendment states that all people born within the United States are automatically citizens and includes multiple vital clauses such as the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. -
15th amendment
This amendment gave all men the right to vote and stated that these rights could not be denied or abridged. Even though this amendment was ratified, states still found ways to deny votes to blacks such as the grandfather clause which stated if your grandfather could not vote, neither can you. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This case started when Plessy would not ride in a black only car. This case using the Separate but Equal Doctrine upheld segregation. This was a major loss and step back for the Civil Rights movement. -
19th Amendment
This amendment prevented the voting right to be abridged based upon sex, which really gave women the right to vote, Women had fought hard for these rights throughout the late 18th and early 19th Century until they finally got it in 1920. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment was to give equal legal rights to all for all American citizens regardless of sex. The main target of this law was to end discrimination of women in cases of divorce, property, employment, and other such matters in which women were discriminated against. The amendment still has yet to be ratified and was proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul and failed, but was again proposed in 1972 by congress yet it still has not been ratified. -
White Primaries
These were laws in southern states that prevented blacks from voting in the primaries. The primary was not necessarily protected by the constitution only the general election is protected. Smith v. Allwright was a landmark decision in which many liberties were decided but specifically the Texas law for White Primaries was overturned -
Brown v. Board of Education
This supreme court case made ended segregation in schools in effect overturning the separate but equal doctrine. This case was also a catalyst for many other cases against segregation and the doctrine. The ruling on this case essentially started the end of segregation. -
24th amendment
During the first half of the 20th century, many African American's rights which were guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments were denied by southern states using Jim Crow laws. Voting, in particular, was blocked by many southern states using poll taxes. The 24th amendment made the use of poll taxes and the restriction of voting in the failure to pay the poll tax illegal. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law was a landmark case in Civil Rights, it really made it hard to discriminate against race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This law also ended segregation and made it so that states could not have unequal voter registration requirements. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law aimed at stopping southern disenfranchisement in the south, this law banned barriers such as poll taxes, literacy tests, etc. This would effectively guarantee the right to vote for blacks and stop the racist laws for the most part in the south, because many were aimed at black voting rights. -
Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were taxes on voting which mainly occurred in the south to prevent African Americans from voting because many were poor and could not pay the tax. This method of prevention of voting for blacks and the poor ended with the 24th amendment which stopped poll taxes, outlawing them in the US. -
Reed v. Reed
This case stopped the male priority in inheritance and was ruled unconstitutional. The 14th amendment was the reason why this law was overturned and the equal protection clause of the amendment was cited. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This rule up held affirmative action in some circumstances so that schools could take more minority students. This case also stated that racial quotas in schools were unconstitutional. -
Bowers v Hardwick
As part of the growing movement for homosexual rights during the late 20th century, Hardwick challenged his arrest for sodomy against the attorney general of Georgia in order to have Georgia's anti-sodomy laws revoked. Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Hardwick took his case against Georgia to the supreme court where they upheld the anti-sodomy laws even for heterosexual, consensual couples in a 5-4 decision. -
Bowers v Hardwick
When charged with a misdemeanor based on Georgia's anti-sodomy laws, Hardwick appealed his case against Georgia's attorney general and took his case to the supreme court. There, in a 5-4 vote, the supreme court sided with the state of Georgia and claimed that anti-sodomy laws were legal. This further intensified the gay rights movement seen in the late 20th century and the case would eventually be overruled in 2003. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This law was aimed to end discrimination of disabled peoples. This law stated prevents discrimination of disabled individuals in public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. -
Affirmative Action
First used by president Kennedy in an executive order in 1961, Affirmative Action nowadays means the preferential consideration given to minorities or previously discriminated groups in order to make up for the fiscal issues involved with being constantly trugght. -
Lawrence v Texas
When a Texas couple was found engaging in homosexual intercourse, they were arrested and fined but the couples' appeal to the Texas State court overruled the county's anti-sodomy law. The county, in turn, appealed in retaliation. The couple then took the case to the supreme court where they decided in a 6-3 vote that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional thus overruling Bowers v Hardwick. -
Lawrence v Texas
In the midst of the gay rights movement in America, Lawrence was caught engaging in homosexual intercourse in a county in Texas where anti-sodomy laws were passed. When Lawrence appealed his arrest to the supreme court, they ruled in a 6-3 decision that anti-sodomy laws were illegal and that homosexual, consensual intercourse couldn't be banned. -
Obergefell v Hodges
As homosexual relationships become even more socially acceptable as time passes into the 21st century. Justice Kennedy claimed that denying citizens' rights to marriage would cause more out cry than in they chant. In a 5-4 ruling, the supreme court decided that all stats must recognize same-sex marriage.
