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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri residing in the free state of Illinois returned to his hometown to file a lawsuit for his freedom. Scott claimed that his residence in a free state made him a free man. The supreme court ruled that Scott was not a free man even though he resided in a free state. They also ruled that African Americans (Free or enslaved) were not citizens of the United States. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment stated that no slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime shall be practiced in the United States. Though this amendment abolished slavery in the united states it did not end racial discrimination and it heightened tensions between races. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship and equal civil/legal rights to all people born and naturalized in the U.S including African Americans and enslaved people who had been emancipated after the American Civil War. -
15th amendment
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. This gave everyone but women the right to vote. -
White Primaries
Following Reconstruction, White political leaders in Texas and other southern states sought to take the vote from Black voters. White primaries where a way to suppress black voters as only white men were allowed to vote in these elections. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a court case in which Ferguson was arguing that his 13th and 14th amendment rights were being infringed upon as he had to ride in a different train car because of his race. The Supreme Court decision upheld that constitutionality of racial segregation was legal under the “separate but equal” doctrine. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The 19th 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 sex. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown vs Board of education was a compellation of cases regarding segregation in public schools. This case went to the supreme court where it was ruled that Separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization(like an educational institution) seeking to include particular groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, or nationality in areas in which they are underrepresented, such as education and employment. -
24th amendment
The 24th amendment to the constitution was in regards to many people having to pay a poll tax before voting in national elections. These taxes were not assigned to everyone and were aimed to suppress part of the United States population. The 24th amendment banned the implementaion of poll taxes. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark civil rights case in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. -
Poll taxes
A poll tax was a fee that citizens within some states had to pay in order to participate in national elections. This fee was seen as discriminatory as people (mainly poor African Americans) could not vote as they couldn't pay the fee. Poll taxes were finally made illegal in 1965 -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as well as other racially discriminative prerequisites to voting. -
Reed v. Reed
The Idaho Probate Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates. After the death of their adopted son, both Sally and Cecil Reed sought to be named the administrator of their son's estate. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the law's dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke went to the Supreme Court claiming that he was excluded from admission solely on the basis of race as he had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis and was rejected both times because of the affirmative action program. The supreme court ruled that the rigid use of racial quotas as employed at the school violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Michael Hardwick was observed by a Georgia police officer while engaging in the act of consensual homosexual sodomy with another adult in the bedroom of his home. After being charged with violating a Georgia statute that criminalized sodomy, Hardwick challenged the statute's constitutionality. The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not protect the right of gay adults to engage in private, consensual sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. This act also provided public accommodations for people with disabilities such as handicap parking and wheelchair ramps. -
Motor Voter Act
Commonly referred to as the Motor Voter Act, the National Voter Registration Act allows American citizens to register to vote when they are issued a driver’s license. Intended to boost the number of Americans who register, the law also requires states to create mail-in registration forms and to accept national registration forms created by the Federal Elections Commission. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another adult man, Tyron Garner, engaging in a private, consensual sexual act. Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse in violation of a Texas law. The Court held that the Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct violates the Due Process Clause. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Members of the gay community across the nation began to sue the states they resided in to challenge the constitutionality of those states' bans on same-sex marriage or refusal to recognize legal same-sex marriages that occurred in jurisdictions that provided for such marriages. The Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples.
