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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott v. Sandford was a landmark case for the rights of African Americans and ex-slaves. Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, but resided in the free state of Illinois. He and his wife sued for their freedom in a St. Louis court system on April 6, 1846, as they believed they should be free because of the state they resided in. After 10 years of appeals and different hearings, it was finally brought to the Supreme Court, where it was ruled in favor of Sandford, ruling Scott as not a citizen. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment is apart of the 3 antislavery amendments added to the Constitution. This amendment specifically prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude (unless as punishment) in the United States. This applied to all states, no matter if they were previously free or slave states -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment was a part of the 3 new amendments added to the Constitution in favor of ex-slaves and African Americans. This amendment made it so that all persons "born or naturalized" in the United States, are citizens of the country and the state they reside in. It also kept the states from making/enforcing any laws that infringe upon the rights of citizens. This amendment was used multiple times to integrate other amendments, such as the 2nd and 6th. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment was the final of the 3 amendments passed in favor of the rights of ex-slaves and African Americans. This amendment prohibited the federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." While this did technically give blacks the right to vote, many states still found loopholes to keep them from voting, such as literacy tests -
Plessy v. Ferguson
In 1892, one Homer Plessy, a man who was 1/8th black, agreed with the Comite des Citizens of New Orleans to challenge Louisiana's "Separate Car Act", an act passed to segregate train cars.After sitting in the "whites only" car, he was asked to leave, but refused. In the Supreme Court trial, it was eventually decided that Louisiana could enforce this segregation, coining the phrase "separate but equal." -
19th Amendment
Similarly to the 15th amendment, the 19th secured a right to vote, instead this time for women citizens. Specifically, it prohibited states from denying the right to vote based on sex. This was largely enacted based on the women's suffrage movement that had been going on for a while before the amendments eventual passing -
Equal Rights Amendment
This is a proposed amendment of the United States Constitution, first proposed in 1923. It enacted to completely irradiate discrimination that was based on gender/sex. The ERA was opposed by many groups and people. It has been ratified by the required amount of states but hasn't been put into the constitution -
Brown v. Board of Education
This is considered by many as one of the, if not the most important cases for the civil rights of African Americans in the United States. This case related to the segregation of schools in Topeka, Kansas. Due to it's violation of the 14th amendment, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of desegregating schools. Along with this, it put and end to "separate but equal" idea created by the Plessy v. Ferguson case. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action was a set of procedure first introduced via executive order by president John F. Kennedy that acted to eliminate all forms of discrimination in job and position applications. It has been a part of the government since JFK's introduction of it, and has acted to aid minorities since. -
24th Amendment
This was an amendment created in 1964 to prevent the denial or abridgment of a persons ability to vote. This was done by banning the controversial "Poll Tax." Specifically, the amendment prohibited federal or state government from imposing taxes to citizens during times of election. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act was a major step forward for civil rights, outlawing the discrimination of person's rights based on sex, race, color, or national origin. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson, this law banned the segregation in schools, public accommodations, employment discrimination, and voter registration requirements. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Similar to the civil rights act signed the year prior, this was a major piece of legislation signed by Lyndon Johnson to help aid in the rights of African Americans and other minorities. This banned the antivoting practices that prevented minorities in the south from voting. Examples of these practices include poll taxes, literacy tests, and a variety of others. -
Title IX
This was a major civil rights legislation created to help fight sex-based discrimination, more specifically in schools. This title prohibited the discrimination based on sex and gender in federally funded schools. This mainly is used in its relation to women's sports in schools, as an equal amount of opportunity must be available in schools funded by the federal government. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a 35 year old white man who had applied to the University of California's medical school twice, but was rejected both times due to the 16 spots they left open for qualified minority students. When reviewing Bakke's GPA and other test scores, his exceeded all of the minority students chosen for the 16 spots in the two years he was denied. In the end, no majority decision was reached, with four justices believing the racial quota violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
One Michael Bowers was seen having consensual sex with another man by a Georgia police officer in the bedroom of his own home. Bowers was then charged for violating a pre-existing Georgia statute that made sodomy illegal. After this case was heard by the Supreme Court, it was decided that there was no part of the Constitution that protected acts of sodomy, therefore meaning the statute wasn't unconstitutional and states could outlaw said practices -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This was a civil rights act signed in 1990, that prohibited the discrimination against U.S citizens with disabilities. This act protected several areas, such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to local and state government programs. This lead to the country becoming a lot more accessible to people with disabilities both physically and career-wise. -
Shelby County v. Holder
This case related to the Voting Act of 1965, as the Shelby county of Alabama deemed that section 5 and 4b were unconstitutional due to their prohibiting of certain districts from changing laws without gaining official authorization. It was determined by the Supreme Court that it was in fact unconstitutional with a 5-4 majority. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Multiple different same-sex couples from the states of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee sued their own state agencies, as they deemed their denial of the same sex marriage in the jurisdiction of areas that allowed them violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment. It was determined that marriage is one of the rights protected by the 14th amendment, and that same-sex marriages were included in this as well. -
Voter ID Laws
Voter Identification laws are laws created that require each American citizen to provide legal documentation of their citizenship before they are able to register, receive a ballot, or actually vote. This became a large concern of some people, as during recent elections, there were scandals relating to people using ID fraud to give one candidate more votes