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Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Dred Scott decision stated that an African American could not be a citizen and, thereby, could not sue in a federal court. It also stated that the Federal Government had no power to regulate slavery in the territories acquired after the creation of the United States. -
Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to all freed slaves. It also led to the incorporation of the Bill of Rights to include states as well as the national government. -
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Jim Crow Era (Poll taxes and white primaries)
Poll taxes were used to exclude poor African Americans from voting. White primaries excluded both African American voters and African American candidates. Poor whites were exempt from these laws based on the grandfather clause, which allowed any man whose grandfather could have voted before the Civil War to vote. -
Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth gave African Americans the right to vote. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v Ferguson was a Supreme Court case which established the doctrine of "separate but equal". It was overturned by the ruling in Brown v Board of Education. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. -
Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education banned segregation in schools, arguing the segregation was inherently unequal. This was the beginning of the end of de jure segregation. -
24th Amendment
The 24th banned poll taxes and white primaries. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or natural origin. It was based on the commerce clause of the Constitution and ended de jure segregation. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act banned literacy tests and other such discriminatory voting practices. It also allowed federal officials to go to states with history of discrimination and directly register voters. -
Reed v Reed
Supreme Court rules that arbitrarily favoring men over women is illegal. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA would have guaranteed equality between women and men. It passed Congress in 1972, but it was not ratified by enough states as of Congress' deadline of 1982, and it has not been passed. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke/Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court ruled that having a racial quota for incoming students is illegal. Race may be a factor, but it cannot be quantified. -
Bowers v Hardwick
The Supreme Court rules that it is legal for states to ban homosexual sodomy. The decision was overturned in 2003. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act prohibited discrimination based on any form of disability, whether mental or physical. It has been highly controversial due to the ambiguous nature of the term disability. -
Lawrence v Texas
The Supreme Court overturned the narrow decision of Bowers v Hardwick with a 6-3 decision, ruling that homosexual acts were protected by the privacy interpretations of the Constitution. -
Texas v Fisher
The Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas was not wrong in using race as a factor in the admissions process. Affirmative action was allowed to continue.
