-
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, moved to Illinois where slavery was prohibited. He went to court to argue that because he lived in Illinois he was now a free man, even though his master held that he was still a slave since he was descended from slaves. The Supreme Court ruled that since Scott was a black person, he was not an American citizen and was unable to be heard in federal court, widening the gap between the Northern and Southern states and fueling the fire for the imminent Civil War. -
13th Amendment
The thirteenth amendment was passed after the end of the Civil War when President Lincoln added it to the Republican Party agenda for the upcoming election. This amendment abolished slavery and expanded the civil rights of African Americans. The significance of this event is that, even though Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in rebellious Confederate states, it formally ended all slavery in the United States. -
14th Amendment
The fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United states, granting citizenship to the formerly enslaved African Americans. This amendment also declared that both state and federal governments must guarantee due process and equal protection of the law to all citizens. The significance of this event was that it expanded the rights of African Americans to that of white citizens, and it allowed the Bill of Rights to be expanded to the state governments. -
15th Amendment
The fifteenth amendment granted the right to vote to United States citizens that are African American men. However, in order to combat this new amendment, state governments created literacy tests that were rigged against the African Americans, and grandfather clauses stating that if your grandfather couldn't vote then neither should you. The significance of this event and its repercussions is that although they could vote now, African Americans were still being discriminated against. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The supreme court case of Plessy v. Furguson established the "separate but equal" actions of the states to be constitutional, affirming segregation. The case was based off of segregated train cars, where the one for white people was obviously nicer than that of black people. However, SCOTUS ruled that as long as the conditions are equal, the states are within their rights to segregate people based on race. The significance of this is that it made segregation legal and constitutional. -
19th Amendment
The nineteenth amendment granted women of any race the right to vote. This change was brought upon by years of protests, including marches, rallies, lectures, and civil disobedience. However, many women of color were still unable to vote due to state literacy tests and grandfather clauses that unofficially restricted voters due to race. The significance of this event is that it was a great milestone on the journey of women's rights and equality in the United States. -
Voter ID Laws
Voter ID Laws are laws passed from the 1950s to the present by states that prohibit voters from voting if they do not register or show proof of identity in some way. These are strongly debated laws, with proponents arguing that they stop voter fraud and protect the integrity of elections, and opponents arguing that they are used to obtain demographic data and suppress voters based on race. The significance of these laws is that they may be limiting the voting rights of citizens based on race. -
Brown v. Board of Education
In the supreme court decision Brown v. Board of Education, the supreme court ruled that separating children in public schools due to race was unconstitutional. This overturned the previous principle of "separate but equal" that was set by the case Plessy v. Ferguson, and had a positive impact on the expanding Civil Rights Movement at the time. The significance of this case is that it marked the start of abolishing racial segregation, starting in the schools. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is a policy that was implemented in the 1960s that created equal opportunities in the workforce and in education by ending discrimination due to race, gender, or other types of demographics. This policy helped remove discrimination for African Americans and was a big help in the Civil Rights Movement. The significance of affirmative action is that it officially stopped legal segregation and discrimination in workplaces and educational spaces. -
24th Amendment
The twenty fourth amendment states that the state and federal governments are not allowed to make voting ability conditional on paying a poll tax or another tax. This made it harder to take away the right to vote for citizens depending on wealth or economic status. The impact of this amendment is that it increases voting rights and creates the start of more equality for all people in voting rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin in hiring, promoting, or firing. This was a huge step forward in the civil rights movement, and promoted equality in the workforce. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a significant event because it made discrimination illegal in the workforce, effectively pushing for racial and gender equality. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting and elections. This was able to bypass literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and other methods of indirect discrimination that states had created to stop black people from being able to vote. The significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is that it was effective in creating voting equality and allowed black people to vote for the first time without requirements and obstacles. -
Equal Rights Amendment
-
Equal Rights Amendment
-
Title IX
-
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
-
Bowers v. Hardwick
-
Americans with Disabilities Act
-
Shelby County v. Holder
-
Obergefell v. Hodges