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13th Amendment
The thirteenth amendment made slavery illegal as more than just a proclamation was needed to give the slaves their freedom. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment gives citizenship and civil rights to citizens, regardless of race or religion. It was designed to protect the rights of freed slavesby defining them as citizens. It gave these slaves, citizenship, due process in a court of law, and equal protection of the laws. -
15th Amendment
Gave males the right to vote, no matter what your race or religion was. Ratified on February 3, 1870. -
Jim Crow Laws
Ended in 1965. Mandated racial segregation in public facilities in southern states. Usually made African-Americans inferior to white people. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Segregated public facilities such as bathrooms, schools, restaurants. Created the doctrine "separate but equal." Facilities for blacks were usually worse than the white facilities. -
19th Amendment
Was ratified on August 18, 1920 =). Gave voting rights to women. -
Minersville School District vs. Gobitis & Barnette vs. West Virginia
MInersville School District vs. Gobitis: 1940
Barnette vs. West Virginia: 1943 The Gobitis children were expelled from school because they didn't salute the flag as it went against their religion. The Supreme Court said that the school district could do this in an 8-1 vote. The Barnette case overruled the Gobitis case in a 6-3 decision. The Jehovah's Witnesses needed another flag case, and they got one with the Barnette vs. West Virginia case. -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Undid Plessy vs. Ferguson. Desegregated public schools. Had minimal effect in the short-term. Was a unanimous decision. "Separate but equal" ended up being unequal. -
24th Amendment
Eliminated poll tazes. Poll taxes were meant to discourage African-Americans from voting, since most of them were poor. -
26th Amendment
Gave 18 year olds the right to vote. Most 18 year olds were in Vietnam at this time, but they couldn't choose the lawmakers who sent them to war. Also, after World War 2, our population increased by about 30 million in the 1950's. This was called the baby-boom. In the 1960's and the 1970's they were teens and pressured Congress into allowing them the right to vote.
