-
Dred Scott was a slave who was from Missouri, eventually he lived in Illinois which was a free state. Upon returning to Missouri, Scott filed suit in court claiming that he was a free man. Scott ended up losing the case. According to the court, anyone with ancestors who were enslaved could not be an American citizen and therefore did not have the right to sue in federal court.
-
The 13th Amendment states that slavery shall not exist in any form in the United States. It formally abolished slavery, the only exception was for punishment in which the person had been duly convicted.
-
The 14th Amendment states that any person born in the United States is a natural born citizen. They are granted all privileges which other citizens have whether or not their family is originally from the United States. No state may deny these privileges/rights or deprive a person of life, liberty, and property.
-
The 15th Amendment states that no state shall deny the right to vote from any United States citizen. They may not deny this right base on a citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that state-mandated segregation laws was constitutional as long as the segregated areas were of the same quality.
-
A poll tax was a tax which was every individual citizen had to pay. Poll taxes were a significant source of funding for the United States government.
-
The White Primary was a way that Southern States attempted to prevent black/minority votes. The Democratic Party made rules to exclude them from party membership.
-
The 19th Amendment prohibits any state from denying the right to vote to U.S. citizens based on their sex. This amendment helped to guarantee women the right to vote.
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that laws which allowed racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional, regardless of the quality of of those segregated schools. It ended the segregation in schools and went against the idea of "Separate but Equal" from the Plessy v. Ferguson case.
-
The 24th Amendment states that no state shall deprive a citizen of their right to vote in any primary/presidential election on the basis of failure to pay poll taxes or other taxes.
-
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and included the decision to ban discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, nationality, etc.
-
Affirmative action refers to the policies in government, schools, etc. which aim to include groups of minorities who may have been discriminated against in the past. A person's sex, religion, race, etc. will be considered in this case to increase their opportunities.
-
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting. It was aimed to break the barriers that had been preventing African American citizens from voting.
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that there shall not be discrimination between sexes when it comes to deciding the administrator of an estate.
-
The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed to guarantee the idea that all United States citizens should have equal rights. This means that a citizen's rights should not be taken away on the basis of sex. This would change the dynamic between women and men in the workplace, in family matters, etc.
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which supported school's use of affirmative action which helps to accept more applicants who are minorities. However, it was also decided that a school's use of "racial quotas" was unconstitutional.
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the constitution does not support/uphold the right of gay citizens to engage in private/consensual sexual activities.
-
The Americans with Disabilities act is aimed to stop discrimination against those with disabilities. This includes discrimination in employment, public places, etc.
-
Decision made the United States Supreme Court which ruled that United States laws which prohibited private homosexual activities are unconstitutional. The court decided that a Texas law which criminalized the act of sexual intercourse/activity between two people of the same sex was unconstitutional.
-
Decision made by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the right to marry should be guaranteed to same-sex couples. State bans or laws against same-sex marriage were considered unconstitutional in accordance to the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th amendment.
