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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott escaped his plantation and got to the North but was caught and returned to this plantation. The court ruled that a slave had no rights as a citizen. Also proved Congress has no authority to ban slavery. -
The 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment officially ended slavery and forbade involuntary servitude. -
The 14th Amendment
Declared, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens...nor shall nay state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -
The 15th Amendment
The amendment that granted African Americans the right to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Gave constitutional justification for segregation stating "separate but equal" is okay. -
White Primaries
Primary elections held in Southern States where only white votes could vote. -
The 19th Amendment
This amendment gave women the right to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
School segregation is unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee to equal protection. -
Affrimative Action
A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged groups. -
Poll Taxes
A tax that some places required before someone could vote. States located in the South used this tax to discriminate against African Americans. -
The 24th Amendment
This amendment banned poll taxes in federal elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law made racial discrimination in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbidding many forms of job discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law helped African Americans get a foothold in voting. Many African Americans were registered to vote and many were elected officials. -
Reed v. Reed
The first case where the Supreme Court upheld a claim of gender discrimination. -
Equal Rights Amendment
"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." -
Regeants of the University of California v. Bakke
A state university could weigh race or ethnic background as one element in admissions but could not set aside places for members of particular racial groups. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This ruling said that the 14th Amendment doesn't prevent a state from criminalizing private sexual conduct involving same sex couples. -
Americans with Disabilites Act
Employers and public facilities have to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities. It also prohibited discrimination against these individuals in employment. -
Lawrence v. Texas
The Supreme Court ruled that a Texas state law criminalizing certain intimate sexual conduct between two consenting adults of the same sex was unconstitutional, This ruling overturned the Bowers v. Hardwick ruling. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This ruling said the 14th amendment protects the right to marry for same sex couples. It also said the states are required to license and recognize same sex marriage.
