Civil Rights Timeline

Dred Scott v Sandford

Mar 6, 1857

Ruled that the Constitution did not extend American citizenship to slaves. Scott was a slave, and his owners had taken him from Missouri, a slave state, to Illinois, a free state. Scott went back to Missouri and stated he was a freed man since he had moved to a free state. He was put in trial, which ruled he wasn't free.

13th Amendment

Dec 6, 1865

Formally abolished and outlawed slavery in the United States. Although Lincoln had already passed the Emancipation, it was not made a full law in the Constitution. Therefore, an amendment was established to make slavery completely illegal.

14th Amendment

Jul 9, 1868

States that no law can be made to interfere with the rights and privileges of US citizens. It also contains the Due Process clause, which means that life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness cannot be taken without due process. It also contains the Equal Protection clause.

15th Amendment

Feb 3, 1870

This amendment ruled that voting rights were given to men of all races and they couldn't be taken on account of race, color, or any servitude. This was added to the Constitution around the time the 13th and 14th amendments did, which all affected civil rights, racial justice, and citizenship.

Plessy v Ferguson

May 18, 1896

Ruled that segregation was allowed if the segregated areas were equal. Contains the Separate but Equal clause. Taken to court because a black man rode in a white train car.

19th Amendment

Aug 18, 1920

Stated that voting rights couldn't be taken away due to sex. This amendment gave women the right to vote. This amendment was added after many state governments gave women the right to vote in state elections, and the federal government gave that right to women for national governments.

Brown v Board of Education

May 17, 1954

Stated that laws segregating public schools were unconstitutional. This was because a family wanted their black children to go to a white school because it was closer to their home and had better quality education. They thought it was unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Jul 2, 1964

This amendment prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion and national origin. This resulted from a large civil rights movement which demanded that rights be made equal for everyone. This would later be passed and officially made a part of the Constitution.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Aug 6, 1965

This act was made by President Lyndon B. Johnson to combat any voting discrimination at the state level. He wanted voting to be not discriminated for anyone based on race.

Reed v Reed

Nov 22, 1971

This was a court case which stated that an Idaho law was unconstitutional for preferring males to females. The Reeds were a separated married couple who were in a dispute over who got to take the estate of their dead son. Sally Reed thought it was unfair and unconstitutional for her husband Cecil to be favored by the state. It was declared unconstitutional by the Equal Protection clause in the 14th amendment.

Equal Rights Amendment

Mar 22, 1972

The ERA is an amendment that was proposed in 1971, but has not been adopted in the 52 years since its proposal. Through the emergence of several large-scale protests and movements, the ERA has made several comebacks, but still hasn't been properly incorporated into the Constitution.

Regents of the University of California v Bakke

Jun 28, 1978

This case was concerned with the constitutionality of prioritizing minorities and whether it reduced the educational opportunities of white students. The justices all had different opinions, so they went with a plurality decision. Six justices agreed to strike down the program prioritizing minority students.

Bowers v Hardwick

Jun 30, 1986

This case would later be overturned by Lawrence v Texas. This case concerned sodomy and whether state laws against sodomy concerned same-sex sex. It ruled 5-4 in favor of the sodomy laws.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Jul 26, 1990

Prohibits any discrimination on the basis of disability. Many infrastructure changes resulted from this act, such as the installation of wheelchair ramps and elevators in many public buildings. This also resulted in nondiscriminatory treatment towards citizens with disabilities looking for jobs or schooling.

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

Jan 1, 1995

Also known as the Motor Voter Act. Requires state governments to have simple voter registration when applying for or renewing a driver's license. This resulted from some further racial discrimination for people trying to register as voters. This law also only applies to national governments and some states are against utilizing the same thing for state or local elections.

Lawrence v Texas

Jun 26, 2003

Stated that laws against sodomy were unconstitutional. This case started because a same-sex couple stated that the anti-sodomy laws offended them, even though they couldn't procreate. The Supreme Court stated it was fine to engage in sodomy and states couldn't make laws against it.

Obergefell v Hodges

Jun 26, 2015

This case stated that same-sex marriage was constitutional and made it legal nationwide. This case was supported by the 14th amendment, which included the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. These clauses made the Supreme Court rule that same-sex marriage was constitutional.