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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This was the court case that deemed Americans of African descent non-citizens of the United States, therefor they could not sue in court. Scott, arguing that living in a free territory provided him freedom, but former owners argued that Africans have no citizenship values in the US, and that he was not free, and as a result, could not sue in court because of his lack of citizenship. He lost 7-2 in the Supreme Court. Scott was then considered property under the 5th Amendment. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment is one of the Civil War Amendments that abolished slavery, but involuntary servitude and slavery could still be used as punishment. It was proposed by Abraham Lincoln and pushed along the ending of the Civil War. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was one of the reconstruction amendments. It addressed equal rights for freed slaves following the Civil War. It specifically mentioned that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness could not be deprived of any citizen without due process of law, therefor making it unconstitutional for any state to support such laws that prohibit access to any of these basic American values. -
15th Amendment
This Civil War amendment made sure that citizens could not be discriminated against by race, color, or previous status of servitude. This means that blacks had the right to vote without discrimination. Voting was still difficult though because of poll taxes and literacy tests. -
Poll Taxes
The poll tax was put in to make voting for blacks and poor whites difficult. Everyone had to pay the tax if they wanted to vote, so therefor it was difficult for blacks, who were busy trying to survive, to vote for representatives they wanted in office. This lasted until 1910, primarily in the southern states following the civil war. -
White Primaries
The White Primaries were primary voting events where African Americans were excluded, and only white people could vote. The disenfranchisement of black voters and other minorities in Southern States was put to a stop in 1908 with reference to the Equal Protection Clause. However, discrimination towards African Americans in politics continued up until the civil rights movement in later 20th century. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The supreme court decision Plessy v. Ferguson referred to segregation. The Court said that segregation was acceptable, as long as they were equal facilities. The facilities were never equal, though. The schools were not as good and did not get as much funding, and the public transportation made blacks sit in the back of the bus. This case would uphold segregation laws until Brown v. Board of Education. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment finally allowed women to vote. After decades of fighting for women's suffrage, in 1920 all American women were granted the right to vote along side men. Women had growing power in government, and now a bigger say in the American government and politics. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case was probably one of the most important aspects of the civil rights movement, and declared that the 'separate but equal' facilities were not equal at all. This allowed the integration of African Americans in schools, and put an end to Jim Crow laws. The case was supported with the 14th amendment of the equal protection clause, and so the Plessy v. Ferguson case was determined to be unconstitutional. Blacks and whites then could attend the same schools. -
Affirmative Action
Kennedy made affirmative action an executive order that established equal employment opportunity commission. The essence of the order is that companies should go out of their way to make sure that employment applicants were not treated any differently in regards to race/color. As a result, colleges became more diverse, and blacks had more of an opportunity when it came to the workplace. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment outlaws a poll tax completely as a prerequisite for voting in elections of senators, presidents, or other federal officials. After the amendment was passed, a larger number of voters represented the minority communities, and the elections were more fair to all Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act outlaws any discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The act was a huge stepping stone to creating a more equal life for all Americans, and it recognized that every human being should have the same opportunity. President Johnson made the most important act since reconstruction era but deciding it illegal to discriminate anywhere. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
In Southern states, ways to keep African Americans from voting still existed in literacy tests were still in practice. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 specifically put a stop to any way of excluding someone from voting based on color or race. After the act was passed, blacks had more power locally and nationally, and could finally vote without being harassed or scrutinized. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed and Reed, a divorced couple, fought over the rights of their dead son's estate. In Idaho, the law was that the estate should always go to the man, but Sally Reed argued that it was unconstitutional, and that it violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Eventually, the court ruled that it was unconstitutional, and so a test that inquires the knowledge of business was the new way to determine which spouse gets the estate. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment aimed to end discrimination amongst gender. The amendment says that rights cannot be denied because of sex. Unfortunately, the number of states needed to add the amendment to the constitution was not met, so it was never officially added. Women continued to fight for equal rights through rallies, organizations, and other political groups. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Under the Equal Protection Clause, California's use of racial quota in their medical school did not meet the standards outlined by the Supreme Court to reduce racial segregation. The case was fought in court because white people were not allowed 16 of the 100 available spots at the medical school specifically of their race. How is this not racist by definition? Racial quotas were deemed unconstitutional, but affirmative action programs were okay as long as they exist solely to promote diversity. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers lost the case where he advocated for sodomy because there is no mention in the constitution that protects those rights. States could create and enforce laws that make such acts illegal, so gay sexuality could be outlawed by states. The decision was later overturned in 2003, but for decades, sodomy was still considered against the law in many states. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services. Reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities were now necessary in public life, therefor expanding opportunities for more Americans that were previously discriminated against for their condition of disability. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This was the case that overturned the Bowers v. Harding decision, and declared that sodomy could not be regulated by the states, and was protected by the federal government. The right to privacy was mainly argued against the previous law, and enforcement of laws against sodomy were deemed unconstitutional. It started with two men breaking the "homosexual conduct" law, and they were put in jail for it. The case was fought against in court, and eventually created more rights for homosexuals.
