Civil Rights Timeline

By mayabjerke

  • Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Ruled that slaves and their children whether free or not could not be American citizens and therefore had no right to sue in a federal court. Ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional.

  • 13th Amendment

    Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.

  • 14th Amendment

    Granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." This included former slaves recently freed.

  • 15th Amendment

    Granted African American men the right to vote.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    "Separate but equal" provision of public accommodations was found to be constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.

  • 19th Amendment

    Granted women the right to vote

  • White Primaries

    A method used to disenfranchise minority voters. Restricted voting to those whose grandfathers had voted before 1867. Outlawed in 1944

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Determined that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional.

  • Affirmative Action

    The practice of favoring individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously

  • 24th Amendment

    Prohibits conditioning the right to vote in federal elections. Made poll taxes illegal

  • Civil Rights Act

    Outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

  • Poll Taxes

    Requirement to pay a fee to vote. Prohibited by the 24th Amendment in 1964.

  • Voting Rights Act

    Overcame legal barriers at state and local levels that prevented African Americans the right to vote.

  • Reed v. Reed

    Equal Protection case that ruled that the administrators of estates can't be named in a way that discriminates between the sexes

  • Equal Rights Amendment

    Provides legal equality of the sexes and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

  • Regions of the University of California v. Bakke

    Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial quotas in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but affirmative action is constitutional.

  • Bowers v. Hardwick

    The constitution does not protect the right of gay adults to engage in private, consensual sodomy.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    Prohibits discrimination based on disability.

  • Lawrence v. Texas

    State laws banning homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional as a violation to the right of privacy

  • Obergefell v. Hodges

    Requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages.