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Dred Scott v. Sandford
After returning to Missouri after the freedom of slaves, Dred Scott filed suit in Missouri court, claiming that his residency in a slave-free state thereby also made him free and no longer a slave. The court ruled that he was not an American citizen and therefore could not sue in the first place, voting in favor of Sandford 7-2. By legally enacting him as a piece of property, the ruling was a major step in how American saw African Americans. -
13th Amendment
Abraham Lincoln passes the Amendment to the Constitution ruling that all slavery, involuntary servitude, or anything along those lines is thereby illegal. This abolished slavery in the US formally for the first time, mainly due to the increasing need of able-bodied soldiers to fight for the North in the Civil War. They didn't, at the time, have any other rights beyond general freedom, however. -
14th amendment
To put it simply, the 14th amendment gave the rights in the bill of rights to formerly enslaved people, thereby marking them real citizens.
"No state shall... deny to any person within it's jurisdiction the equal protection of the law."
In total, however, the equal protection clause now also applies to anybody, no matter race, gender, class, sexuality, or anything else. Everyone must be treated equal. -
Equal Rights Amendment
After the 15th amendment was passed, the right to vote was given to black men, but not women. This Equal Rights Amendment was brought up to prohibit voting discrimination based on sex as well later, but for the time being, the 15th amendment gave the right to vote to black men only. -
15th amendment
Gave African American MEN the right to vote, claiming that race-based bias was unconstitutional, but gender was fine. Women of any color still were unable to act legally in any way for the time being. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
"Separate but equal"
After being convicted of sitting in a white train car when being partially black, Plessy sued under the claim that racial separation based on race was unconstitutional.
The court ruling, however, said that public discriminations based on race were perfectly constitutional and not violating the 14th amendment because though they were separated from the white citizens, they were still treated equally. -
19th amendment
Make voting discrimination based on sex illegal. Formally gave the right to vote to women. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Based on things such as the Doll Test, and later trumping the Plessy decision, Brown V. Board of Education claimed that discrimination in schools was unconstitutional. It ended segregation in all school systems after much political conflict. -
24th amendment
The 24th amendment abolished enacting any voting tax originally put in place to make the impoverished unable to vote. This was a common wall put up to prevent African American or poor people from voting, however this made voting an equal and even process amongst all citizens regardless of class. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin. It stopped publicly funded discrimination in public places such as reasturants, schools, theaters, and anything else. Stopped all segregation in the US. -
Affirmative Action
Workplaces and schools now ask for racial identification when applying in order to justify historically underrepresented groups fairly. This was to balance out racial unevenness, giving more chances to minority groups in things they apply for.
(Currently being debated and removed from many schools) -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
After the Civil War, many electoral laws limited black voters in southern states. This act eliminated these things, making voting equal for everyone.
Things such as literacy test (which were often rigged against minorities) and other verifications to vote were removed. -
Title IX
One of the Education Amendments by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Title IX prohibits the discrimination of gender in schools. This caused equal treatment across the board for women, including womens sports teams and womens funding in classes. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke applied to the University of California, however was denied as a white man because UoC was preferring people of color to be admitted. He sued on the grounds that this was racial bias in school systems, and later won the case. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick was watched through the window of his home perform an act of consensual homosexual sodomy and then later convicted for it. The court claimed that the state had every right to outlaw sodomy, even in the privacy of his own home they could mandate it. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination based on any disabilities. This is in work and school places but also includes necessary public accommodation in stores, restaurants, and more. -
Voter ID Laws
These laws required any eligible citizens to bring some form of photo ID to identify yourself before coming into vote. This qualification makes voting once-per-person much easier to regulate, while confirming that those who are voting are eligible to in the first place. -
Shelby County v Holder
Edited a section of the constitution, claiming that since it was written over 40 years ago many of the needs and claims it made were outdated and very old. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Groups of homosexual couples sued the state of Michigan on the grounds that same sex couples should be allowed to marry under the constitution, it doesn't bar certain couples just because they're gay.
Argued the constitutionality of same-sex couples being barred from marrying in certain states.