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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This case determined whether descendants of enslaved African-American had citizenship status and should therefore be granted all the rights guaranteed to American citizens. SCOTUS decided that Dred Scott was not a free man and that slaves were not individuals nor citizens, they were property. This decision hindered the advancement of the civil rights of African-Americans for decades. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified during the Lincoln administration, guaranteeing that slavery would be outlawed in the United States under all circumstances except as punishment for a crime. This guaranteed freedom for enslaved African-Americans in the South. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment was passed during the Lincoln administration and guaranteed citizenship and all related civil and legal rights to enslaved people who had been emancipated following the Civil War. It particularly advanced the civil rights of African-Americans in American society. -
15th Amendment
This amendment very clearly states that the right to vote cannot be denied to a citizen on account of their race, skin color, or whether they were previously enslaved or not. Though this gave all African-American male citizens the legal right to vote alongside their white counterparts, many states found ways to limit this right by creating caveats like literacy tests and the grandfather clause. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This case upheld state segregation laws like Louisiana's Separate Car Act which required white people and people of color to ride in separate train cars. SCOTUS reasoned that as long as these separate conditions were equal, the act of segregation itself did not violate the Constitution. However, this ruling stalled the advancement of civil rights for people of color because these separate facilities were never really equal so people of color were still treated as inferior in public society. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were a fee that a citizen had to pay to vote in an election. They often disproportionately affected African-Americans and prevented them from voting. -
White Primaries
White primaries are fairly self-explanatory; they were primaries hosted for white citizens only, as a means of decreasing African-American voting rates. These were especially common during Jim Crowe era where states were each passing their own laws to discourage African-American voter turnout. -
19th Amendment
This amendment guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of sex. It is widely regarded as the first major piece of legislation that advanced the civil rights of women in the United States. (Though it is important to note that in effect, this amendment granted suffrage to mostly white women and women of color had to continue to advocate for themselves to receive the right to vote.) -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment is an amendment that would explicitly state that the equality of rights cannot be influenced on the basis of sex, essentially a legal guarantee of equality among the sexes. However, this amendment has failed to pass on multiple occasions. First introduced in 1923, then again in 1972, the amendment just missed the requirement of being ratified by the states. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case was a representation of many arising cases about the nature of segregation in schools and how African-Americans are refused entry into specific schools. In a unanimous decision, SCOTUS decided that "separate but equal" facilities were inherently unequal which violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This case overturned the historic Plessy v. Ferguson ruling and allowed for the integration of white and African-American citizens. -
24th Amendment
This amendment outlawed poll taxes as a voting requirement. In many Southern states, poll taxes disproportionately affected African-Americans and kept them from voting. Getting rid of poll taxes furthered their civil rights as it allowed them to combat the de facto voter suppression. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act explicitly prohibits segregation in public places and employment discrimination on the basis of race, skin color, sex, religion, or national origin. It was perhaps the most comprehensive legislation that contributed to the advancement of civil rights for multiple groups like people of color, women, and religious minorities. This act also started a domino effect of many laws being challenged for violating this act and many discriminatory state laws were overturned. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was used to specifically target and combat the voter suppression practices of many Southern states. It banned the use of literacy tests, allowed for federal supervision in areas where less than 50% of the non-white population was registered to vote, among other measures. It increased the voter turnout of people of color as they no longer had to jump through so many hoops to vote. -
Reed v. Reed
Prior to this case, preference was automatically given to men when discussing matters of inheritance. In a unanimous decision, SCOTUS determined that such a preference was discriminatory against women and that such a preference should be determined on a case-by-case basis, looking at the merits of each candidate. This decision was also used as a foundation with which to overturn many laws, as well as pass new legislation, to protect men and women from gender discrimination. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
In this decision, SCOTUS determined that using racial quotas as a consideration for academic admissions was a violation of the 14th amendments, however, considering race as part of an applicant's entire application was permissible. It increased the white population's support for equality initiatives while keeping affirmative action which grew in popularity quickly through the next decade -
Bowers v. Hardwick
For this case, SCOTUS determined that there was no constitutional protection for two members of the same sex to engage in sexual intercourse and states had the right to outlaw it. This set a precedent that made it difficult for the LGBTQ+ community to gain advancements in civil rights for individuals and relationships in the community. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is a practice meant to encourage institutions to consider racial disparities in particular fields and take those factors into consideration for admission decisions or employment. The concept began being implemented on a large scale in the 1970s and gained a lot of popularity among minority communities but faced criticism from white citizens. Starting in the 1990s, states began banning race-based affirmative action, with a total of 9 states banning it so far. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
This act prevents the discrimination of people with disabilities in aspects of life like public accommodations, transportation, or employment, to name a few. It allowed disabled people to have an easier time navigating society and is meant to guarantee that they have the same opportunities for success as non-disabled people. -
Motor Voter Act
Commonly referred to as the Motor Voter Act, the National Voter Registration Act allows citizens to register to vote when they obtain a driver's license. It also allows requires that states provide a mail-in registration option. These efforts are meant to increase the number of citizens who vote because the less barriers there are to voting, the more people can do it. It expands the civil right of voting to more people who would not have been able to vote had those barriers been in place. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This case was very similar in terms of circumstance to Bowers v. Hardwick. However, for this case, SCOTUS ruled that the Texas statute that criminalized intercourse between two people of the same sex violated the Due Process Clause and that a state could not regulate the private life of a citizen in that fashion. This decision overturned the precedent set by Bowers v. Hardwick. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This case considered whether same-sex couples had the same right to marry as opposite sex couples. In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS majority opinion determined that the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment guarantees all citizens fundamental rights of life, one of which is the right to marry, and this right applies to same-sex couples as well. This ruling was revolutionary for the LGBTQ+ community and opened the door for more legislation that furthered the rights they had in society.