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Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, but he sued saying that he has his freedom in a free territory where slavery is prohibited. The court said that slaves aren't citizens of the U.S. and therefore, they don't have any protection from the federal government. -
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring slaves from any states free. But that didn't workout because it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in a state of rebellion. Lincoln realized that he would have to an Amendment to guarantee the end of slavery. At the end of the civil war, the 13th Amendment was passed.
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The 14th Amendment states that all persons born in the U.S. or naturalized are subject to the jurisdiction and are citizens of the U.S. in any of the states. And no states can change this rule. -
The 15th Amendment states that every U.S. citizen have the right to vote and that right cannot be denied by the United States of any of the states due to color, race, or previous condition of servitude. -
In 1890 Louisiana had the Separate Car Act, requiring each race to use their assigned transportation. But it was challenged in 1892 when Plessy sat in a all whites car. In May 18, 1869 the court imposed that "Separate but Equal" is constitutional. It was said that this kept things equal for African Americans and Whites and that this didn't violate any of the Amendments.
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After an extensive amount of struggle and protests, the 19th Amendment finally granted women the right to vote. Many women fought for this right to be granted. They protested, they marched, wrote, and even practiced civil disobedience. -
In May 20, 1933, President Clinton signed a federal law advancing voting rights in the United States. It requires the government to simply voter registration processes for anyone who is eligible such as those who require public assistance. -
Primary elections were held in Southern States where only white voters were allowed to vote.
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This case was arised from many other cases that was similar to it, relating to segregation in schools. Because of this law, African American students were denied from attending certain schools because of racial segregation. They argued that this violated their Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
Congress passed a law prohibiting discrimination based on color, race, religion, sex, or national origin. -
In some states, citizens had to pay a fee to vote, called Poll Taxes. But on January, 23, 1964, the United States prohibited the use of Poll Taxes during elections. They ratified the 24th Amendment, applying this rule. -
The 24th Amendment states that the right of citizens to vote in any primary elections, such as President, Vice President, Senator or Representative voting cannot be denied by the United States or any of the states due not paying any tax or poll tax. -
This law was signed by president Lyndon Johnson, preventing discriminatory voting practices. After the Civil War, many southern states included literacy tests which discriminated against black people who couldn't read or write. So this Act of 1965 got rid of these prerequisite tests to get rid of discrimination when it came to voting. -
Affirmative Action is a policy that favors a particular group that might've been discriminated against before. It is aimed to increase educational and workplace opportunities for those who are underrepresented. -
Reed v. Reed gave more gender rights to women and men. Reed v. Reed also overturned an Idaho rule that gave fathers automatic precedence over mothers in administering a deceased child's estate. -
The Equal Rights Amendment is mean to end distinctions between men and women and also give rights to all U.S. citizens regardless of sex. But working women opposed this Amendment saying that they need protection in the working force while middle-class women supported this Amendment. -
In this case, the court ruled that university's using racial quotas in admission processes is unconstitutional. But using affirmative action to accept more minority groups is constitutional in some circumstance.
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Hardwick was seen by police while engaging in a sexual homosexual act with another adult. The court said that there is no constitutional protection for this situation because this right is not implicit nor rooted in the nation's history or traditions. -
To ensure equal rights to those with disabilities in public areas, the ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals in all areas including jobs, schools, transportation, and all other places that is open to the public. This act gives people with disabilities protection and civil rights. -
Taxes state law that banned sexual conduct between two consenting same-sex adults, saying that it was unconstitutional. When the police came to Lawrence's and Garner's home, they were engaged in a sexual act, they got arrested for violating Texas's law. The Supreme Court said that it was constitutional because it goes along with the constitution that every person has the right liberty and also the 14th Amendment.
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In some of the states, same-sex marriage was banned. But the court decided that same-sex couples had the same rights to marriage as opposite-sex couples according to the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
