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Dred Scott V Sanford
the decision argued that, as someone’s property, Scott was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court. which had declared free all territories west of Missouri and north of latitude 36°30′, was unconstitutional. The decision added fuel to the sectional controversy and pushed the country closer to civil war. -
13th amendment
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. The amendment officially abolished slavery, and immediately freed more than 100,000 enslaved people -
14th amendment
granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and enslaved people who had been emancipated after the American Civil War. -
15th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began to take part in running for office and voting. -
Plessy V Ferguson
The Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation -
19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. granted women the right to vote. -
Brown V. Board of Education
the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. stripped away constitutional sanctions for segregation by race, and made equal opportunity in education the law of the land. -
24th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.The 24th amendment was important to the Civil Rights Movement as it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing. It contained extensive measures to dismantle Jim Crow segregation and combat racial discrimination. -
Poll taxes
a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Were used to bar African Americans from being able to vote due to them not having enough money -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections held in the Southern United States in which only white voters were permitted to participate. Southern Democratic party chapters started to use white primaries in the late 19th century, as part of efforts to suppress black voting and weaken the Republican Party in the South. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
it outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Affirmative Action
a policy aimed at increasing workplace or educational opportunities for underrepresented parts of society. So it ensures colleges and universities provide opportunity to those historically shut out of the system because of their race, ethnicity, income, or identity. -
Reed V. Reed
overturned an Idaho law that gave fathers automatic precedence over mothers in administering a deceased child's estate. was an important case for feminism because it recognized sex discrimination as a violation of the Constitution -
Equal Rights Amendment
a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would invalidate many state and federal laws that discriminate against women. The ERA would protect individuals against discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
the Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial quotas in its admissions process was unlawful, but a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority candidates was constitutional in some circumstances. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
ruled that the right for gays to engage in sodomy was not protected by the Constitution -
Americans with Disabilities Act
prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government' programs and services. -
Motor Voter Act
Made regulations for states that included voter registration forms sent in the mail, to help all people who are able to register have the chance to vote. To help in the decline of voter participation by Americans in the recent years. -
Lawrence v. Texas
decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that sanctions of criminal punishment for those who commit sodomy are unconstitutional. which invalidated sodomy law across the United States, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every State and United States territory. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states. which made marriage equality the law of the land in the United States and confirmed that denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is unconstitutional.