-
13th Amendment
This amendment called for the total abolition of slavery in the United States. Many confuse this amendment with the Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed slaves in the rebelling states during the Civil War. The 13th amendment, however, ended the institution of slavery in all of the states forever. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment essentially granted citizenship to freed slaves. This amendment also directly addresses equality and was meant to promote diversity in the states, although its power was not enacted until nearly 100 years late during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. This amendment is not always used in racial situations, it is also used in other equality situations such as gender and sexual equality. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment was originally meant to allow blacks to vote, yet it also allowed many blacks to run for public office. While in office, they implemented many desegregation policies such as integrated schools and marriages. This amendment was not entirely effective, however, due to the creation of numerous Jim Crow laws. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
A Supreme Court decision that ruled "separte but equal" between the White and colored races. This decision enabled the precedent for separate facilities for blacks and whites only if they are of equal quality. Pless v. Ferguson was considered the legal basis for racial segregation for many years after. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were specific laws established between 1874 and 1975 that essentially made it “legal” to deny African Americans equality. In theory, they were originally meant to simply separate whites and blacks in southern communities. But in practice they only created loopholes for white supremacists to discriminate blacks without facing legal consequences. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment essentially granted women the right to vote. This right was long awaited, especially after the legalization of blacks voting. This took many generations of woman suffrage supporters to finally get this important piece of legislation passed. -
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States concerns the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066--ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War 2 regardless of citizenship. This controversial decision led to a 6-3 decision siding with the government, that the exclusion order was constitutional. One of the Supreme Court official's opinion was that the need to protect against espionage outweighed Fred Korematsu's, and Americans with Japanese descent, individual rights. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Herman Marion Sweatt was rejected of admission to the University of Texas Law School based on his skin color. The Court unanimously decided that he be admitted into the school under the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment. This case successfully challenged the "separate but equal" rule, and paved the way of desegregation at all levels of public education. -
Literacy Tests
When literacy tests were still in use, white people could be exempt from the test if they met alternate requirements, which proved that they were only meant to exclude blacks from the voting process. This was later outlawed in the 24th Amendment and was seen as one of the various Jim Crow laws. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a class suit filed against the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education to reverse the policty of racial segregation in public schools. The Supreme Court declared any state law establishing separate public schools for white and black students was unconstitutional. This decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott consisted of African Americans refusing to ride the city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. It was significant in that it was the first mass protest on behalf of civil rights in the United States. This was also the event that led to the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s prominent leadership in the civil rights movement. It was the first protest demonstration against segregation in the United States. -
Ruby Brideges
The story of Ruby Bridges consisted of an African American elementary student attending an all-white elementary school. This story is significant in that she was the first black student at the formally all-white school and faced tremendous opposition and discrimination. Unlike other situations similar to hers at the time, she was attending the school alone. Other schools had groups of African Americans integrating their schools. She then went on to work actively in the Civil Rights Movement thro -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is essentially favoring a members of a group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination. Otherwise known as positive discrimination, affirmative action varies from region to region and members of minorities are given preference in various selection processes. This is very apparent in present day college admission processes. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolished any form of taxation on voting. It got rid of poll taxes, which were implemented in the south during Reconstruction as a way to bar African Americans from voting. Poll taxes, though not too expensive yet just enough to discourage blacks to vote, created a never ending cycle that made it difficult to elect officials that would in turn end discrimination. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes are the amount of money you pay in order to submit your ballot and vote. This was a certain type of Jim Crow law that discouraged black citizens to vote because although it was not super expensive to the point where whites wouldn’t vote, it was just enough to keep blacks out of the voting booth. Poll taxes were outlawed with the implementation of the 24th Amendment. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 deemed it illegal to publically segregate and discriminate and also forbad racial discrimination in the workplace. This led to the creation of the Equal Opportunity Commission which was made to enforce the Civil Rights Act and gave the president more power to enforce these rules. It was significant because it was the first attempt from a president to outlaw public segregation, and even more important because LBJ was not originally meant to support civil rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote. It also authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks. The was significant because it ended the cycle of not allowing blacks to vote in order to elect officials that would work to end discrimination. Because blacks were ensured a vote, they elected black officials that brought jobs, contracts, and facilities and services to the black community. This encouraged soc -
Loving v. Virginia
Loving v. Virginia was a civil rights case that invalidated the law prohibiting interracial marriage. This case was brought by Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying a person of another color. The Supreme Court's unanimous decision rendered this prohibition unconstitutional, ending all race-based legal restrictions in the United States. -
Robert Kennedy's Indy Speech
Robert Kennedy decided to go on with his public address after getting news that MLK had been assassinated earlier that day. Kennedy’s speech in Indianapolis will go down in infamy as one of the most emotionally moving addresses ever given by a president in a time of crisis. His deep words and honest tone truly showed his sincerity while addressing the crowd of rallying Hoosiers. This was significant in that he handled the situation with such delicacy as he broke the heart wrenching news to the g -
Reed v. Reed
The case of Reed v. Reed regards married couple, Sally and Cecil Reed, who each signed a petition over which of them were designated as administrator of the estate of their deceased son. The Idaho Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" when appointing admisistrators of estates. For the first time, the Supreme Court ruled using the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that differential treatment based on sex was prohibited. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment outlawed any discrimination whatsoever based on gender. This was first viewed as a tremendous success by women’s suffrage groups, but never ended up meeting the required number of votes for ratification. Most states did, however, adopt their own similar amendments to their state constitutions. This was significant because it marked an almost amazing success for woman’s suffrage. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be a factor in college admission policies. Allan P. Bakke applied for admission to medical school, but was rejected because he was considered too old. After being rejected twice to University of California Davis, Bakke filed a suit in state court; the Supreme Court ruled the program was violative of the rights of white applicants and ordered Bakke admitted. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
The Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults, when applied to homosexuals, is prohibited. The majority opinion argued that the Constitution did not confer "a fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy". This case was later overturned in 2003 in the Lawrence v. Texas ruling. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 requiring employers to accommodate for those with disabilities. This act also prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the workplace. The impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act is that those with disabilities will not be discriminated any longer in the workplace. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas was a 6-3 ruling of the Supreme Court that made same-sex sexual activity legal in all U.S. states and territories. The Court overturned its previous ruling on this issue in the Bowers v. Hardwick case. The Court stated that intimate consensual sexual contact was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Fisher v. Texas
Fisher v. Texas is a Supreme Court case concerning the affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Texas. The goal of the case was to argue that the university's race-concious admissions was inconsistent with previous case Grutter v. Bollinger, which gave race an appropriate but limited role in the admissions process of public universities. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the University of Texas. -
Baskin v. Bogan----Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is seeking to legalize marriage of same-sex individuals in the state of Indiana, as well as receive the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. In an unanimous 3-0 vote in the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, discriminatory marriage bans of same-sex couples in the states of Indiana and Wisconsin were struck down. The Supreme Court has been asked to review the case of Baskin v. Bogan seeking same-sex marriage equality in Indiana.
