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13th Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery in America. The African Americans finally thought they were free, unfortunatly the new amendment said nothing about the previous slaves being equal. They now had a taste of freedom and were now determined to be totally free and equal sparking the Civil Rights Movement. -
14th Amendment
This amendment is one of the reconstruction amendments; addressing citizenship rights and equal protectin of laws in response to the issues telated to the newly freed slaves after the Civil War. The south did not agree with this amendment and found every possible wat to go around it. Still African Americans were not equal continuing the movement. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment states that the state government cannot deny a citizen the right to vote based on citizens race or previous condidtion of servitutde. African Americans could now vote (women could not), however, the southern states established poll taxes and literacy tests to getaround this amendment; it was almost impossible for and African American to meet the requirements of the new conditions. -
Jim Crow Laws
These were racial segregation laws that were ised from 1876 to 1965 at the local level in the U.S. They were implied laws of "seperation but equal" such as public schools, bathrooms, water fountains, ect. These unofficial laws show that even though African Americans are no longer slaves they are still beneath white Americans. -
Poll Taxes
From about 1890 to 1908, poll taxes were most significantly used by southern states to circumvent African Americans' right to vote. Because many "unwanted" voters were poor, they could not pay the tax; therefore, their opinions were not heard, dispite being citizens. This practice fell out of favor in the mid twentieth century, but was not officially illegal untill the radification of the Twenty-fourth Amendment. -
Literacy Tests
In the late nineteenth century, many southern states required a citizen to pass a literacy test before he could vote. Along with poll taxes and intimidation,the main purpose of literary tests was to prevent African Americans from votiong. However, many poor, uneducated white citizens could not pass the tests either, so the Grandfather Clause was introduced as a loophole enabling them to vote. This clause was voted unconstitutional in 1915, but the tests were not forced to end until the 1960s. -
Plessy versus Ferguson
The case of Plessy versus Ferguson is famous for establishing the "separate, but equal" phrase. It upheld the legality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities. -
19th Amendment
This amendment is significant in that it gave women the right to vote. In the 1920s womens' roles in society had begun to change. The women working more, and having fewer children gave dramatic rise to the womens' suffrage movement, for which this amendment was a mojor victory. -
Korematsu v. United States
On October 11, 1944, the Supreme Court looked over a case concerning the Executive Order 9066 that ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during WW2 regardless of citizenship. On December 18, 1944 the court sided with the government saying that the order was constitutional. -
Sweatt versus Painter
In Sweatt versus Painter, it was ruled that a black man must be admitted to the University of Texas' law school due to the Equal Protection Clasue of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision is significant, because in doing so, the court recognized the differences between the segregated faacilities/schools, and undid the Plessy versus Ferguson decision. This case was a major civil rights landmark as courts began to take steps in the right direction. -
Brown versus Board of Education
One of the most significant court cases in history, in Brown versus Board of Education, it was decided that the segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. "Separate, but equal" was ruled illegal due to the conclusion that separate facilities are naturally, always unequal. This conclusion was based significantly upon psychological study and resulted in the forced integration of public schools. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This event was a political and social protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit in Montgomery, Alabama. The protest went from Dec. 1, 1955 (when Rosa Parks was arrested) to Dec. 20, 1956 (when the ruling of the Browler vs. Gayle took affect) This was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement, -
Ruby Bridges
This was the first day of the court-ordered integratd schools. Ruby Bridges was the first child to be integrated at William Frantz Elementary. She had to have U.S. Marshals escourt her to and from school everyday due to parents yelling and threatening her for going to their childrens white school. Most of the teachers refused to teach her and many of the white kids were taken out of the school.She was a kick-start to integrated schooling. -
Affirmative Action
Case dealing with favoring members of a disadvantaged group who suffered from discrimination. Was said to be an outcome of the Civil Rights era because people felt bad for what happened. Gave a lot of opportunities to minority students. -
24th Amendment
This amendment prohibits both congress and states from holding a poll tax to vote in a federal election. There would now be a ban on poll taxes giving African Americans more of a chance to exercise their rights. This also helped poor white Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act outlawed disgriminationagainst race, color, religion, sex, or nationality. This act had a major impact because it also included women within the act, though discreatly. There had to be powers set in place to enforce the act. It started out weak but grew in strenth as time went on. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Considered by some to be the most far-reaching piece of civil rights legislature in United States history, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned racial discrimination with regardes to voting. This resulted in the enfranchisement of many minorities, and directly led to legislative and governmental bodies becoming more racially diverse. Its main goal was to overcome legal barriers at state levels that prevented African Americans from voting as allowed under the Fifteenth Amendment. -
Loving v. Virginia
This case involved Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other.The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Lovings' convictions in a unanimous decision that the law forbidding both white and black persons from marrying persons of another race was unconstitutional. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis Upon the Death of MLK
Robert Kennedy, the U.S. Senator from New York, had originally planned to campaign in Indianapolis; however, he learned that Martain Luther King Jr. was shot and killed that day. Instead of rescheduling his campaign he continued to the rally in Indianapolis unconcerned for his safty. The people of Indianapolis were expecting a campaign speech, but were surprised to hear Kennedy offer brief remarks for peace. Later riots spread over hundreds of cities, but remained peaceful in Indianapolis. -
Reed vs. Reed
Sally and Cecil Reed, a married couple in Idaho, began a quarrel as to who should be appointed as administrator of the estate of their deceased son. Idaho code stated that "males must be preffered over females," making Cecil the appointed administrator. Sally sued and went to the Supreme Court. On November 22, 1971, the Supreme court ruled that under the "Equal Protection Clause" of the 14th amendment, "Differential treatment based on sex is prohibited." -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment establishes the equality of women. Although it was never officially added to the constitution, the states ratified it, guaranting the protection of womens' rights besides voting, as mentioned in the constitution. This was a significant victory of the women's rights movement. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
On October 12, 1978, the Supreme Court decided to uphold Affirmative Action, allowing ethnicity to be another factor in college admissions policies. On June 28, 1978 the court ruled that the quota of spots set aside for miniority students in the University of California was unacceptable. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
On March 31, 1986, the Supreme Court argued if homosexual sex was a legal right or an "infamous crime against nature." On June 30, 1986, the court ruled that there is a right to privacy under the "Due Process Law" of the 14th amendment, but it does not protect this act of conduct. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits disability discrimination. This wide ranging act also requires businesses to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with a disability, as well as public places to provide accommodation. The definition of a "disability" is often debatable because it is broad in nature, and can be either mental or physical problem. -
Lawrence v. Texas
John Lawrence was seen engaging in sexual conduct with another man in his apartment. Right to privacy was a key focus in this case. On March 26, 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court argued the case of whether same- sex sexual activity should be legal or not. OnJune 26, 2003, the court decided same-sex sexual activity should be legal in every U.S. state and territory and that it was a part of liberty protected under the 14th amendment. This outcome was celebrated by gay rights advocates. -
Fisher v. Texas
On October 10, 2012 the United States Supreme Court argued the legality of the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Austin, Texas.decision, On June 24, 2013, the court decided that the university may use race as part of the admissions program in place of where they cannot achieve diversity. -
Indiana's Gay Rights Court Battle
The U.S. Supreme Court had to decide whether gay marriage should be legal in all 50 states. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago decided on a stay on September 4 saying that Indiana and Wisconsin's gay marriage bans were unconstitutional.
