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Dred Scott v. Sanford
In the Pre-Civil Ware era, the Dred Scott decision ruled that slaves are property and not citizens and therefore have no right to file a lawsuit. -
13th Amendment
This Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except in cases of punishment for a crime, mainly as a response to the end of the Civil War, and the victory of the Union. -
14th Amendment
This Amendment states that all persons born in the US are citizens, and the governments do not have the power to take away life, liberty, and property, and they must be privy to equal protection under the law. -
15th Amendment
This Amendment simply says the right to vote cannot be denied by the federal or state governments on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Poll Taxes
A part of the Jim Crow laws, enacted in the Southern states to prevent blacks from voting. Taxes were places on everyone who wanted to vote, and if someone couldn't pay the fine, they weren't allowed to vote. -
White Primaries
A law that let only white citizens vote in the initial elections in a state, and took away the right to vote, and disenfranchised minority voters. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Separate but equal accommodations do not violate the Equal Protection Clause. Allows for separate facilities and accommodations so long as they are "equal" for each race. -
19th Amendment
Stated the right to vote could not be denied or abridged on the basis of sex -
Brown v. Board of Education
Separate but equal educational facilities are inherently unequal violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
President Kennedy issues an an executive order. He calls for "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." Kennedy calls for equal opportunity and treatment in the work force. -
24th Amendment
The rights of the citizens to vote in any government election cannot be abridged by the federal or state governments due to failure or inability to pay a poll tax or any other tax -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Civil Rights Act of 1965
Outlawed more discriminatory voting practices, such as the literacy tests in the South, helped to guarantee the 15th Amendment -
Reed v. Reed
Rules that preference cannot be given to either sex. In this case it was specifically applied to the administration of estates. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This Amendment was never passed, but called for legal equality of the sexes, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Ruled that Universities' use of racial quotas for admissions are Unconstitutional, but also states that some Affirmative Action programs are Constitutional. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Upholds sodomy laws, prohibiting homosexuals from engaging in sexual actions. This is later overturned by Lawrence v. Texas. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and more. It essentially made all buildings handicap accessible as well. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Supreme Court overturns anti-sodomy laws. Homosexuals are allowed to engage in sexual actions with consent again. Overturns Bowers v. Hardwick.
