-
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott v. Sandford was one of the first major landmark cases regarding civil rights for African Americans. Dred Scott and his wife sued for their freedom and declared that they were free as they resided in a place where slavery was prohibited. In the court's ruling, the court declared that enslaved people of the United States were not citizens and therefore were not guaranteed protection under the Constitution and the court. The ruling also led to the start of the Civil War. -
13th Amendment
Passed by Congress on January 1st, 1865 and officially ratified on December 6th of the same year, the 13th Amendment officially banned slavery as well as involuntary servitude. Through this, all slaves were officially freed in states that still allowed slavery. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is known as one of the Reconstruction Amendments and helped to further ratify equal protection and rights under the Constitution. With it, the Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, and the citizenship were defined helping to nullify cases such as Dred Scott v. Sandford and serve as a major basis decision for major future cases and helped to expand rights towards all citizens regardless of their identity. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was the last Reconstruction Amendment to be added and it helped to expand voting rights to minority citizens, specifically African Americans at the time. With it, it prohibits both the federal government and states from denying a citizen's right to vote regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". It was a big step in regards to voting rights for African Americans but laws in states were then later created as a "by pass" to limit African American voters. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Adolph Plessy was took a vacant seat in a whites-only train car and refused to leave, where he was then arrested and jailed. Taking it to the Supreme Court, Plessy argued that his constitutional rights were violated and the Supreme Court decided against him. They declared separate-but-equal constitutional and through this decision, it allowed for segregation and Jim Crow laws in the south to exist for the next couple decades until the Civil Rights Movement occurred. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were essentially fees that were paid for the right to vote. Poll Taxes were used for a long time but they started to rise during the Reconstruction Era to prohibit African Americans from voting after the 15th Amendment was passed. Because of this, many African Americans and other impoverished citizens were disfranchised but grandfather clauses were created to ensure non-African American voters were bypassed. Eventually, poll taxes were banned with the 24th Amendment. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment marked a large milestone in the Women's Suffrage Movement. With it, it stated that the right to vote shall not be denied regardless of sex which legally guaranteed women the right to vote. -
White Primaries
White Primaries were elections held in southern states that only allowed white voters. They started during the Reconstruction Era in response to the Reconstruction Amendments and the banning of slavery to prohibit African American voters and to further deny their rights. Eventually, Texas passed a law in 1923 that prevented black voters from participating in elections and it was eventually overturned in Smith v. Allwright where the court ruled against Texas' primary system. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education served as landmark case and helped to overturn the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson and its "separate-but-equal" ruling. African Americans were denied admittance to public schools based on laws that allowed public education to be segregated by race and they argued that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. In their decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the children and declared that separate but equal is unconstitutional. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action was first initiated by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson and it was an effort to improve opportunities for African Americans, women, and other minority groups following the dismantling of segregation and discrimination with the Civil Rights Act. Overall, it helped to fight against the long-standing discrimination against minorities and women. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Since Reconstruction, many states used things such as poll taxes to keep African Americans citizens and other minority groups disenfranchised and enforced segregation and violence through things such as Jim Crow laws. Eventually, Civil Rights gained movement with the Civil Rights Movement and with President Kennedy's proposal, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped put an end to segregation and discrimination regardless of one's race, color, sex, religion, or natural origin. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes being a requirement to vote in federal elections. During the time of the Civil Rights Movement, several states contained poll taxes that were created in the South after Reconstruction to help further institute segregation. In order to help remove segregation and finally move forward regarding Civil Rights, the 24th Amendment was passed and eventually ratified which helped to further expand voting rights to African-Americans and other minority groups. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson soon afterwards. This act aimed to overcome barriers set in place at state and local levels that prevented African Americans and other minority groups from voting. Things such as literacy tests and poll taxes were still used to limit civil rights and with the Voting Rights Act, it banned the use of literacy tests and allowed federal oversight of voter registration. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed serves as a landmark case/decision and was the first time that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited different treatment amongst men and women. In the case, Sally and Cecil Reed fought over their adopted son's estate after his death and according to the Idaho Probate Code which preferred males over females, Cecil received the estate. In an unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional and declared that it violated Equal Protection. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed by the National Women's political party in 1923 and it was to provide for the legal equality of sexes and prohibit discrimination based on sex. With the revival of feminism with the Suffrage movement in the 1960s, the act was supposed to be passed but support under it crumbled. Conservative backlash against feminism crumbled the support for the act and it failed to reach the ratification requirement by the deadline set by Congress. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents v. Bakke was another landmark case that declared a university's admission criteria using solely race as a definitive and exclusive basis for admission violated the Equal Protection Clause and Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bakke was a white man who was denied admission due to the school's racial quota system and the Court declared that while race could be open for consideration for admission, having a quota system that excludes people because of their race is unconstitutional. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was another landmark case that at the time, limited the rights of homosexuality. Michael Hardwick was observed by a police officer engaging in consensual homosexual sodomy in his home with another adult. He was charged with violating a Georgia law, Hardwick challenged this and it was eventually taken to the Supreme Court. There, the court ruled in a 5-4 majority opinion that there were no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy and they could be outlawed by states. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that guarantees equal rights and opportunities to those with disabilities. With it, it prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities and grants civil rights protection to them similar to those provided with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act was further ratified on January 1srt, 2009 where changes were made to the definition of "disability". -
Motor Voter Act
The National Voter Registration Act (also known as the Motor Votor Act), was a law passed by Congress in 1993 that enhanced voting opportunities and rights for every American Citizen. Under it, it required states to add voter registration and made it easier for Americans to vote and maintain their registration. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas was another landmark case that overturned the ruling of Bowers v. Hardwick. Houston Police saw John Lawrence and another man engage in private consensual sex after entering his apartment following a weapons disturbance. Being charged with violating Texas law, it was taken to the Supreme Court where, in a 6-3 decision, they ruled that the Texas law violated the Due Process Clause. With this decision, it made homosexuality legal in the United States. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell v. Hodges was a recent landmark civil rights case regarding gay rights and marriage. In the case, the court ruled in a 5-4 majority opinion that same-sex marriage is protected under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and that same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional.