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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Also known as the Dred Scott decision, this court case decided that Americans of African decent, free or enslaved, were not American citizens and could not sue in the federal court. -
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery and indentured servitude except if it was punishment for a crime. This was one of the first of the three slave amendments. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves after the Civil War. The amendment defined national citizenship and also forbid states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons. -
15th Amendment
Allows all men of any color to vote. This amendment sparked uprisings within the south as black men were trying to vote. This lead to discrimination among blacks via reading tests and fear through the KKK. -
White Primaries
Political primaries that only allowed white men to vote excluding blacks from 1890s-1960's. This discriminated against the blacks to create an only white voting base to push the Democrat's agenda. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Allowed segregation as in "separate but equal" which meant that blacks were shunned from mainly everything until the 1960's. -
Nineteenth Amendment
Outlawed the prohibition of woman voting. This allowed all citizens of the United Sates to be able to vote. -
Equal Rights Amendment
A proposed amendment that grants equal rights on all issues regarding different sexes. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Overruled Plessy v. Ferguson allowing blacks and whites in intermix and mingle among one another in result outlawing segregation, -
Affirmative Action
Giving special treatment to minorities to try to give a "fair" chance and make up for mistreatment in ways such as admission and employment but results in less qualified people. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax was a fixed price that was needed to be payed to vote which helped develop a sense of discrimination among literacy and financial qualifications that disfavored blacks. This was overturned with the 24th amendment so everyone was able to vote. -
24th Amendment
This amendment prohibits any poll tax in elections for federal officials. Before this amendment citizens in some states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibits unequal treatment among voting, schools, employment based on race, color, religion, and sex. This was the heart of the civil rights movement where legislation protected against discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Legislation that outlawed discrimination in order to protect the 14th and 15th amendment. This removed literacy tests that were meant to discriminate against blacks. -
Reed v. Reed
Made discrimination among sexes unconstitutional according to the 14th amendment and demanded that both people should have the same price no matter the gender. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Denied admission to the school while allowing 16 minorities that had inferior grades compared to Bakke. They ruled affirmative action was in a way discrimination against people with better merit. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Outlawed homosexual sodomy after police walked in on a homosexual couple performing such an act. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
Outlaws discrimination against people with disabilities in areas such as employment, accessibility, and treatment. This forced employers to give accommodations to people with disabilities. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Outlawed the previous sodomy laws for homosexuals to grant freedom in consenting adults within privacy.
