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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott sued in order to obtain his freedom when he returned to a slave state, after living in a free state for a period of time. He lost the battle for his freedom when Chief Justice Roger Taney proclaimed that colored people, free or enslaved, were not US citizens and therefore could not pursue a case in court. Taney reasoned that the 5th amendment justified this decision as well as slave owner rights since slaves were considered legal property. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished the practice of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation was a precursor to this amendment as it was the first to abolish slavery but in revolting states only. Lincoln knew that it had to be solidified and the nation had to fully realize the freedom of all with a formal amendment. The 13th did just this. States that had ceded were required to ratify it in order to be readmitted to the union. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to everyone either born or naturalized in the US. All citizens were provided with "equal protection under the laws" and it authorized the government to punish any states that were responsible for abridging their citizens' right to vote. Ratification of the 14th was required from states that had ceded from the union in order to reenter. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibits denying someone the right to vote based on race, color, or if they had been a slave in the past. This effectively gave black men the right to vote, however it would be challenged by numerous discriminatory practices as the decade proceeded. The Amendment would not be fully enforced until almost 100 years later, with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes required voters to pay a fee as a prerequisite to vote. This was used in the south following the reconstruction period of the Civil War. It was used to disenfranchise poverty stricken black people as well as other minority groups. Poll taxes were used until the passage of the 24th Amendment which finally prohibited their use at the federal level. In Harper v. Virginia State Board of Electors in1966, their prohibition was extended to the state and local level. -
White Primaries
Elections held in the south that exclusively catered to white voters. This was done for the purpose of disenfranchising black as well as minority voters. These were designed and implemented by the democratic party in an effort to weaken the republican voter base. This allowed them to dominate subsequent elections following the Civil War and reconstruction period. The NAACP and the ACLU were among the organizations that filed lawsuits against states that held white supremacies in the early 1900s. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld Jim Crow Laws by implementing the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case came to be when Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race, sat in a whites only railroad car. After refusing to leave he was arrested, and he sued citing that his arrest violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The court denied Plessy's lawsuit, saying that the 14th was only applicable in civil and political circumstances, rather than social ones. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, and it prohibited denying the right to vote based upon sex. It was a key milestone in the womens' suffrage movement, which was first started and led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony following the famous Seneca Falls Convention. It was submitted to the states for ratification in 1919 and it became an amendment the following year. -
Brown v. Board of Education
In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court declared that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. In this case, Chief Justice Earl Warren declared that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place." The court determined that the plaintiffs and other black people effected by this doctrine were being denied equal protection under the 14th Amendment. This paved the way for Jim crow Laws to be overturned, and similar legislation to be passed. -
Affirmative Action
Practices within a government or organization that seek to include groups of people based on their gender, sex, race, etc. in areas that they were previously banned from or discriminated against in the past. This is done to create an accurate workforce that reflects the demographics a given market is trying to reach. John F. Kennedy first invoked the term on March 6, 1961 in his Executive Order No. 10925, which urged gov. contractors to not hire based on race to achieve non-discrimination. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolished the use of poll taxes as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections. This was a method of discrimination that was used to disenfranchise poor black voters. Poll taxes were later prohibited at the state level (as opposed to only the federal level) in 1966 when the Supreme Court used the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment in Harper v. Virginia Board of Electors. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, etc. In recent times, many have interpreted the law to mean that it protects rights pertaining to sexual orientation as well, which paved the way for gay marriage to be legalized in 2015. The Civil Rights Act was first proposed by John F. Kennedy, and following his assassination Lyndon B. Johnson finished the push through the legislature that allowed it to become law. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited the many discriminatory voting practices that had been in place in the south following the end of the Civil War. It enforced the 15th Amendment as it outlawed practices such as literacy tests that had before been responsible from disenfranchising many uneducated and poor black people. By the end of 1965 of quarter of a million new black voters had registered. -
Reed v. Reed
In Reed v. Reed, the Supreme Court struck down an Idaho state law that required the father be appointed administrator of a young person's estate over the mother. The court held that this violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, and it was effectively struck down. Reed is significant because it provided a basis upon which to analyze future sex based discrimination, -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA would guarantee that Constitutional Rights would apply to all citizens regardless of sex (the only Constitutional Right guaranteed for all is the right to vote so far). Both houses of Congress passed the Amendment and it was submitted to the states March 3, 1972. Unfortunately, the amendment only received 35 of the needed 38 votes for ratification within the time limit allotted, which is why the Amendment has not been added to the Constitution despite receiving the last vote in 2020. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, The Supreme Court decided that the university's use of racial quotas for admission purposes was unconstitutional. They deemed that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This changed the way that schools would go about recruiting and enrolling racial minorities. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was charged with committing sodomy in his home and he brought it to court in order to challenge the constitutionality of his so called crime. The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not protect the rights of gay adults to engage in such acts. The Court also decided that "the right to engage in homosexual sodomy" was not a fundamental right itself. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in regards to employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to state and federal programs. President George H. W. Bush signed it into law. Since its passage, one of the most noticeable effects of the ADA is an increase in access to public spaces (parking, ramps, etc.) -
Lawrence v. Texas
In Lawrence v. Texas, The Supreme Court decided that the Texas law prohibiting two people of the same sex to pursue an intimate relationship was unconstitutional. They reasoned that it stood in the way of the people's pursuit of liberty as well as the fundamental right of due process. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court determined that the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Due Process requires states to legally recognize and allow same-sex marriage. It was realized that the right to marry is fundamental, and that homosexual couples should be allowed to perform the same practices that any given heterosexual couple would be able to. Prior to Obergefell, same-sex marriage was only allowed in 36 states, Washington DC, and Guam.
