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Dred Scott v Sandford
Dred Scott, a former slave, sued his owner on the basis that he and his family were free, as they had lived in an area where slavery was banned. The Supreme Court ruled that black people could not be citizens of the US and thus did not have the right to sue. They also ruled that the federal government had no right to free slaves, as they were "property" of slaveholders, even after having lived in an area where slavery was banned. This exacerbated tensions between the North and South states. -
13th Amendment
After the Civil War, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. The 13th amendment said Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to slaves that had been emancipated after the American civil war. It also phrases that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." The amendment prohibited states from depriving any person of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law." -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment granted African-American men the right to vote. The 15th Amendment states that "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.” -
White Primaries
White Primaries were primary elections held in the southern United States in were only white voters were allowed to participate. It was established by the Democratic party in South Carolina and it later spread to other states like Florida and Georgia. It was a method to stop minority people from voting. It later eneded in 1908. -
Plessy v Ferguson
In 1892, Homer Plessy, a non-white, was arrested for refusing to leave his seat in a whites-only train car. He petitioned against his arrest, claiming that the New Orleans law enabling racial segregation violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was not unconstitutional, as people of different races were allowed services that were "separate but equal". This ruling allowed for the continuation of the Jim Crow south until the 1950's. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote in 1920. The right was known as women's suffrage. The Constitution prohibited states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens on the basis of sex. The battle to end suffrage started in 1848 and when it finally reached the public eye the government final granted the right in 1920. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It was aimed to get rid of the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of property, employment, etc. was introduced to congress by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. It states that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” -
Brown v Board of Education
In 1951, the daughter of Oliver Brown, an African American, was denied attendance at an all white elementary school, but instead was to be bussed to a school further from their home. With the NAACP, Brown sued, arguing that racial segregation in schools violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The SC decided in favor of Brown, overturning "separate but equal". The case was the first to prohibit segregation in any area and began the process to ban segregation in all areas, -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment prohibits Congress and the states from having the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. Poll taxes were set in place so that African Americans wouldn't have the ability to vote and nor would poorer people have the right to vote. After it was ratified only 5 states kept their poll taxes until the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional in 1966 and so the poll tax was abolished. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights of 1964 ended segregation and it helped ban discrimination of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Proposed by John F. Kennedy and signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. It helped end segregation in jobs, schools, and also voting rights. This movement was a big step in creating equality throughout the United States. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created to enforce the rights guaranteed by the 15th and 14th Amendment. Congress had to amend the Act five times in order to help protect it better. And later the right to vote was secured for African-Americans. -
Reed v Reed
Under Idaho Code regarding estate administration, Cecil Reed was given authority to manage his and his ex-wife's deceased son's estate over his ex-wife, Sally Reed, on the basis that preference in estate management must be given to any male. Sally Reed sued, the case reaching the SC, where they unanimously decided Idaho's code was unconstitutional. For the first time, the Court stated that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
In both 1973 and 1974, Allan Bakke was rejected from UC Davis Medical School, despite having qualifications above many of those admitted. The school also had reserved 16 of 100 spots for students of minorities. He sued on the basis that he had been rejected solely based on his race. The SC ruled on the decision that racial quotas like those at UC Davis were unconstitutional, in violation of Civil Rights Act (1964), but for the first time, ruled that affirmative action was constitutional. -
Bowers v Hardwick
In, 1986 Michael Hardwick was found having homosexual sex in his home by an officer with a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested for violating Georgia's anti-sodomy law. Hardwick sued stating that the law violated his Fourth Amendment right to privacy. The Supreme Court upheld Georgia's law, stating that individuals did not have the right to partake in homosexual sodomy, as it did not relate to the family and would "cast aside millennia of moral teaching." The decision was overturned in 2003. -
Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were made as a fixed sum on every liable individual. It was also defined as a tax on every adult that was without reference to income or resources. Poll Taxes were a major source of government funding among the colonies that helped form the government. Various privileges of citizenship mincluding voter registration or issuance of driving licenses and resident hunting and fishing licenses, were conditioned on payment of poll taxes to encourage the collection of this tax revenue. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
An act signed in to law in 1990 by George H. W. Bush that extended similar protections to those of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to Americans with disability. It prohibits discrimination due to an individual's disability. It also stated that public facilities must be made reasonably accessible to those with disabilities and employers must honor reasonable requests by those with disabilities to improve their ability to perform their job. -
Affirmative Action (2003-present)
The SC first ruled on the issue of affirmative action in Grutter v Bollinger (2003), ruling University of Michigan's admission process, which includes minority status, is constitutional- so long as race is not the sole factor. In 2014, the SC ruled that a ban on affirmative action by Michigan is constitutional. The Court's 2003 ruling has widely protected affirmative action across the US, and even after 2014, states like Michigan find other ways to incorporate diversity into schools. -
Lawrence v Texas
Police in Texas arrested John Lawrence, after finding him having private consensual sex with another man, on charges against a Texas law banning sexual activity between members of the same-sex. In 2003, the SC ruled that Texas' law violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which also invalidated other states' anti-sodomy laws. Exposure of the case furthered the push for rights for gay Americans, eventually leading to Obergefell v Hodges in 2015. -
Obergefell v Hodges
After circuit courts ruled differently as to whether state bans on same-sex marriage were constitutional, the SC ruled that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment protected individuals' right to marry as states couldn't deprive one of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Also, states must legally regard marriages performed out of state, under the Equal Protection clause. This legalized gay marriage nationwide and furthered societal acceptance of LGBT people in the US.
