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First Women's Rights Convention
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The American Civil War
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Fourteenth Amendment makes African Americans full citizens
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The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees the right to vote for non-whites
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Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws are passed creating a "separate-but-equal" America, preventing African Americans from using the same schools, drinking fountains, etc. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The immigration of all Chinese laborers is restricted for 10 years and all Chinese people must carry identification cards. This act was extended in 1892, for another 10 years. -
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The Jones Act
Puerto Ricans are granted full citizenship, allowing them to travel freely to the continental United States; however, because Puerto Rico is not a state, citizens are only represented in Congress by a delegate with only limited powers and are unrepresented in the Senate. -
Ozawa v. United States
The Supreme Court denies Japanese residents the right to citizenship, because they are "ineligible," like the Chinese. Furthermore, any woman who marries a Japanese or Chinese man shall cease to be a citizen of the United States. -
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
Congress passes the Indian Citizenship Act, granting American citizenship to Native Americans; however, many Indian nations, decline citizenship in favor of retaining sovereign nationhood. -
The Society for Human Rights
The Society for Human Rights becomes America's earliest known gay rights organization. -
LULAC is Founded
The League of United Latin American CItizens (LULAC) is founded to fight discrimination.(LULAC website) -
JACL is Founded
The Japanese American Citizenship League (JACL) is founded to fight the continued discrimination against Japanese people in the United States. -
400,000 Mexicans Deported
400,000 Mexicans are accused of stealing jobs from Americans and deported -
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WWII
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Japanese "Relocation Camps"
Roughly 110,000 Japanese Americans are placed in barbed-wire encircled camps; guards are ordered to shoot anyone seeking to leave. -
Asian Exclusion Acts Repealed
Congress rewards China for becoming an ally against Germany and Japan, by repealing all Asian Exclusion Acts and establishes an annual quota of 105 Chinese emigrants every year. -
Brown v. Board of Education
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Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
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Twenty-Fourth Amendment Ratified
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment ends the poll tax. -
NOW is Founded
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded to fight politically for full equality between the sexes. -
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Roe v. Wade
Roe V. Wade strikes down most states' restrictive abortion laws, expanding the right to legal abortion for women all throughout the United States. -
AMA Advocates for Gay Rights
The American Medical Association calls for the the repeal of all state laws barring homosexual acts between consenting adults -
First Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights March
More than 100,000 people march on Washington in support of gay and lesbian rights. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Congress passes the Americans With Disabilities Act, banning job discrimination against people with disabilities and requiring buildings, businesses, and public transportation to be accessible. -
DADT Inacted
The military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, regarding gays and lesbians, is adopted. -
Civil Unions in Vermont
Vermont becomes the first state to legally recognize civil unions between gay or lesbian couples. -
Laws Banning Same-Sex Activity Ruled "Unconstitutional"
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Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage is legalized for the first time in Massachusetts. -
President Barack Obama
Barack Obama is elected the first African-American President of the United States. -
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act
President Obama signs the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, allowing victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. -
Arizona SB 1070
Arizona passes the toughest anti-illegal immigration bill in the country, making it illegal for immigrants to not carry documentation at all times and giving the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. -
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Cases Against Same-Sex Marriage
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear appeals of rulings in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin that allowed same-sex marriage, paving the way for same-sex marriages in five states and bringing the number of states that have same-sex marriage to 31!
