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Dred Scott v. Sandford
This Supreme Court case was significant because it ruled parts of the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and established that if a slave moved to a free state, they weren't free and must be returned to their owners under the 5th Amendment. Slaves were deemed property, not people, and they could not be American citizens nor sue in federal court. -
13th Amendment
This amendment was significant because it marked the end of slavery in the United States by abolishing it and freeing over 100,000 slaves throughout the country. -
14th Amendment
This amendment is significant because it establishes that every individual born in the United States, including those who were formally enslaved, is a citizen of the United States of America. It also establishes that all citizens were guaranteed equal protection under the laws. It has been used in many Supreme Court cases regarding gender, sexual orientation, and race. -
15th Amendment
This amendment is significant because it established that the right to vote couldn't be diminished by someone's race, color, or if they were once a slave. African American men were now able to vote, and it was unconstitutional to stop them from voting. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court case is significant because it justified segregation as long as it was "separate but equal". It explained that the 14th Amendment was not being violated by state-imposed segregation since it didn't imply that African Americans were inferior. -
Nineteenth Amendment
This amendment is significant because it gave women the right to vote. It took years and years of protesting and advocating for women's rights, and every U.S. citizen was finally Ble to vote. -
White Primaries
White primaries were primary elections in the Southern United States where only white citizens were allowed to vote. The end of white primaries was significant because it violated the 15th Amendment, which allowed African Americans to vote, and subsequent acts also helped to protect their right to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court case was significant because it canceled out Plessy v. Ferguson by declaring that separate but equal educational facilities for African Americans were inherently unequal. Those children were negatively impacted by segregation. Schools began to be integrated after this. -
24th Amendment
This amendment is significant because it outlawed the use of poll taxes in elections, which had the potential for discriminating between races and wealth classes. African Americans were particularly at a disadvantage because they often were more impoverished than white men and couldn't afford the poll tax, which means they couldn't vote. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were taxes issued to citizens of the United States with no regard to an individual's income, and it was often connected to their right to vote. Poll taxes being ruled unconstitutional was significant because it allowed individuals who previously couldn't afford to pay the poll tax to vote in elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act is significant because it prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion, nationality, or race. It was an important result of the civil rights movement during that time period. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act is significant because it outlawed the use of literacy tests and poll taxes to keep nonwhite citizens from voting in elections. It protected the right to vote, which is held by United States citizens under the 15th Amendment. -
Affirmative Action
The significance of affirmative action is that it strives to create equality in the workplace, fair opportunities for those seeking employment, and better representation of minority groups. -
Reed v. Reed
This Supreme Court Case is significant because it reinforced the Equal Protection Clause in saying that the Idaho Probate Code, which preferred males to females, was unconstitutional. It was unlawful for Cecil Reed to be automatically made administrator of his deceased adopted son over his ex-wife, Sally Reed just because he was male and she was female. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This Supreme Court case is significant because it allowed race to be one of the factors considered in college admissions, which was upholding affirmative action. The judges disagreed on whether the University of California went too far in its efforts to not exclude minorities. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This Supreme Court case is significant because it established that homosexual practices weren't protected anywhere in the Constitution, and if two people were caught in the act, they would be punished according to the law. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act is significant because it prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, and it is specifically referring to public accommodations, employment, access to state/local government programs and services, and transportation. These are several fields where people with disabilities had been left to fend for themselves. -
Motor Voter Act
This act is significant because it allows citizens to register to vote when they are getting their driver's license, through the mail, and at state offices that help the disabled or poor. This makes it much easier for people to register to vote, and its purpose was to help increase voter participation. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This Supreme Court is significant because it canceled out Bowers v. Hardwick by ruling that under the Due Process Clause, citizens had the right to privacy in their own homes and the government didn't have any right to intrude into the private/personal life of individuals. This protected homosexuals who previously had to fear being caught making love in their own homes. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
This Supreme Court case is significant because it establishes that under the Due Process Clause, same-sex couples have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples do. It is unconstitutional for courts to not recognize the marriage of same-sex couples across state lines. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment is significant because it hopefully will make it illegal to discriminate based on gender. In other words, constitutional rights may not be denied on account of sex. It took 50 years to pass this amendment and was only passed a few months ago, so its effects on the nation aren't particularly significant yet.
