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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Scott fled Missouri for ten years and lived in Illinois and the Louisianna territory, which both has slavery outlawed. He returned to Missouri and went to court, claiming that he couldn't be considered a slave anymore. However, his former master argued against him and used Article III. The Supreme Court decided 7-2 that the Missouri Compromise would not be upheld and a man that fled to a free state did not earn his freedom. -
13th Amendment
This Amendment made slavery and forced servitude illegal, except for when someone is put in prison. The Amendment was proposed in January 1865 and passed in December 1865. -
14th Amendment
It first granted citizenship to anyone born in the US. States can't make and enforce laws that violate the rights of citizens. It also prevents anyone that has committed treason from holding certain offices.
Proposed in June 1866, passed July 1868 -
15th Amendment
This Amendment guaranteed that States couldn't make laws preventing someone's ability to vote based on race, however, it still gave States the power to make laws about voting. That eventually led to non-race based preventative laws to stop black people from voting.
Proposed: 1868, Passed: February 1870 -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy was 1/8 black and sat in the whites-only train car, he was arrested for it. He challenged the arrest at the Supreme Court, claiming that it violated the 14th Amendment by being separated based on race. However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ferguson, starting that separate treatment doesn't mean unequal treatment. This case was extremely important in the history of Civil Rights because it established the "separate but equal" ideology. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment made it illegal to prevent someone from voting based on their sex. This was a major victory for the feminist and Civil Rights movements. The Amendment was initially proposed in 1878 and not ratified until 1920. -
Voter ID Laws
From my research, there doesn't seem to be a specific point where voter IDs became important to the Civil Rights movement, they have been an issue for a long time. Voter ID Laws were introduced in the 1950s and basically forced voters to present identification before casting their vote. This disproportionately affected African Americans, who were less likely to have legal identification easily available. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Black students in multiple states were denied entry to public schools based on their race. Brown's stance viewed segregation as a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protections Clause, and lower courts upheld the "separate but equal" ideology. The Supreme Court unanimously voted in favor of Brown. They agreed that the separate but equal ideology was inherently against the 14th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is providing opportunities for discriminated groups. This comes from Johnson's presidency, where he issued an executive order that prevented anyone from discriminating based on sex, race, nationality, or religion. This was issued during the height of the Civil Rights movement and was a major victory in providing opportunities for everyone. -
24th Amendment
This Amendment was established during the Johnson presidency, and it outlawed the ability for States to use taxation or money to prevent someone from voting. This abolished poll taxes, which opened up voting to poor people. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This was an act that said no one could be discriminated based on nationality, race, gender, or religion. It was extremely important to the Civil Rights movement as it made equality legal and inequality illegal. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law outlawed voting practices that prevented someone from voting, such as the grandfather clause or literacy tests. This was another major victory for the Civil Rights movement because it provided an equal voice for minorities in the south who were still unable to vote. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This Amendment made men and women legally equal. It was initially proposed in 1923, but by 1972 it had 37 of the 38 required States needed to ratify the Amendment. Congress has since moved for the 7 year time limit to be eliminated, and in 2020 the Amendment got the support of the final state it needed, Virginia, however I don't think it's been actually ratified yet. Through my research I discovered that a lot of scholars just view it as an Amendment even though it's technically not one yet. -
Title IX
Title IX prevents discrimination based on sex in public education programs or federally funded activities. The most well known effect of Title IX was forcing schools to provide equal opportunity between the genders in sports. According to some news outlets, Biden has recently encouraged the meaning of the law to change to mean gender identity, which would include members of the LGBT community. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke, a white man, applied to medical school twice and had exceptional qualifications. He was rejected both times because the school was reserving spots for minority students for inclusiveness. Bakke argued that it was illegal to deny him entry to the school based on his race. The Supreme Court decision was 8-1 in favor of Bakke, their conclusion was that it wasn't okay for race to be the only factor to consider. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was seen having sex with a man in his own home, but was arrested for it in the state of Georgia. He appealed to the Supreme Court, and the case's main question was: does the Constitution give homosexuals the right to consensual sex? The Court ruled against Hardwick 5-4, and observed that the Constitution didn't guarantee sodomy for homosexuals, so therefore States could outlaw it. However, this decision was later overturned in Lawrence v. Texas. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
This act prevents discrimination based on disabilities. For example, this means that a disabled person couldn't be fired for their disability, and companies must make the workplace accessible. -
Shelby County v. Holder
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prevented States from prohibiting voters based on race as a response to the centuries long discrimination. Changes made to the voting process had to work through a district attorney, and Shelby County filed a lawsuit claiming that the outdated restrictions put upon changes were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled a 5-4 decision in favor of Shelby County, agreeing that the outline was unconstitutional. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Groups of same-sex couples sued the states that prevented them from getting a marriage license, and cited the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights acts to support their beliefs. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided in favor of Obergefell and declared that a state ban on same-sex marriages was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause. This case was another major victory for Civil Rights activists and for the LGBT community.