-
White Primaries (Jim Crow Era)
White Primaries- 1890s (Jim Crow Era)
White primaries were primary elections in the southern states in which any non-white voter was prohibited from voting. This was one of the four ways the states kept African Americans from voting. White primaries were in place until the case of Smith vs. Allwright in 1944, which deemed them unconstitutional. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott v. Sandford- March 6, 1857 The Dred Scott decision was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. This case surrounded Mr. Scott, who was a free man who sued for his freedom. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that since he was a black man he was not a citizen of the United States and had no standing to sue in the federal courts -
13th Amendment-
13th Amendment- January 31st, 1865 The 13th Amendment abolished all slavery, and all involuntary servitude. This meant that slavery could not be practiced in the United States, except for punishment purposes (jail/ prison). -
14th Amendment-
14th Amendment- June 13th, 1866 The fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to African-American citizens. In addition, the amendment also had the Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, and it dealt with some post-Civil War issues. -
15th Amendment
15th Amendment- February 26, 1869 Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This law was intended to grant black the rights to vote, however, it lead to southerners creating secondary methods of keeping the blacks from voting. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson-
Plessy vs. Ferguson- 1896
The landmark case was the one in which the Supreme Court’s decision on racial segregation in public facilities stated that it was constructional under the doctrine “separate but equal.” This standard doctrine remained constitutional until 1954 in the court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. -
Nineteenth Amendment
Nineteenth Amendment- August 18th, 1920
The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. Women had finally earned their right to suffrage. -
Equal Rights Amendment-
Equal Rights Amendment- 1923
The Equal Rights Amendment was designed to guarantee equal rights to women. It was introduced to Congress for the first time in 1923, but by the time it passed both houses of Congress and went to the state legislatures for ratification, almost 50 years had passed. In 1972, the ERA failed to be adopted by not receiving the proper number of ratifications (38 out of 50 states). -
Poll Taxes- 1937
Poll Taxes- 1937
Poll taxes were used as a way to keep African Americans from voting. They were deemed constitutional in a court case (Breedlove vs. Suttles) in 1937 and remained in place until 1964, when the 24th amendment abolished and deemed poll taxes unconstitutional. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education- 1954
The landmark court case in which the Supreme Court ruled that creating separate public schools for white and black students was unconstitutional. This decision over ruled that made in Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896. -
24th Amendment
24th Amendment- September 14, 1962 The 24th amendment outlawed the practice of poll taxes in the United States. The law does not specifically ban poll taxes, however, it bans the practice of not allowing someone to vote due to non-payment -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964- July 2nt, 1964 Law passed in 1964 that bans the discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It was one of the largest and most sweeping laws passed in the United States. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination of skin color and the right to vote. This law forbid any discrimination from taking place, and it created government organizations to supervise the practices. It also made it so that southern states that were highly involved in the race movement had to obtain federal approval before changing their voting procedures. -
Affirmitive Action
affirmative action is a process of equal opportunity employment measures that is required in some juristiticion. The measures are designed to fix previous racism inequality in certain areas. The easures are suppose to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin" -
Reed v. Reed
Reed v. Reed (1971)
A Supreme Court case that brought awareness to gender discrimination. The Court ruled that any “arbitrary” gender-based classification violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. It was the first documented case that declared any law unconstitutional on the basis of gender discrimination and served as a benchmark for gender discrimination cases. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
•Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
A Supreme Court decision made in 1978 in which student Allan Bakke, a white male, was rejected from the Davis program at the University of California for two straight years in a row. After learning his scores were significantly higher than the average scores required to get into Davis, Bakke sued UC-Davis, claiming that it had denied him equal protection of the laws by discriminating against him because of his race. The Court ordered Bakk -
Bowers v. Hardwick
• Bowers v. Hardwick
A Supreme Court case in which Georgia police caught Michael Hardwick and a male companion engaged in oral sex. The two men were arrested and charged with violating the Georgia Sodomy Statute, which forbade oral and anal sex. Hardwick sued the state of Georgia claiming the Statute unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not protect the right of gay adults to engage in private, consensual sodomy. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Americans with Disabilities Act- 1990
The ADA prohibited any form of discrimination for those with disabilities. Disability is defined by the ADA as "...a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." -
Lawrence v. Texas
• Lawrence v. Texas
John Lawrence and Tyron Gardner were arrested in Lawrence’s Houston home when caught engaging in sexual activities by police. They were charged with violating Texas’ “Homosexual Conduct” law, which made homosexual anal and oral sex illegal. The men sued. The Supreme Court declared the law to be unconstitutional and established that homosexuals share the same fundamental liberty right to private sexual intimacy as heterosexuals have. -
Texas v. Fisher
The ruling in Texas v. Fisher was a recent Supreme Court case in the United States. The case was heard and decided on a 7-2. The case reaffirmed the university's means of admission and affirmitive action,