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Dred Scott v. Sanford
7-2 Supreme Court decision which said that slaves or black people with a slave heritage are not United States citizens. Dred Scott was a former slave and wished to be granted rights in the more accepting north but was still denied. -
13th Amendment
Outlawed all slavery or indentured servitude in the United States. Black codes, racism, and oppression still very much existed even after the passing after the thirteenth amendment. -
14th Amendment
Anybody that is born in the United States is a US citizen. Enforces equal protection to all. Has allowed for the selective incorporation of amendments to have states recognize the Bill of Rights. -
15th Amendment
Voters cannot be denied the right to vote based on race. Was the third and last of the reconstruction amendments. -
White Primaries
Excluded black people from being able to vote. Was just another form of racial barriers that prevented the black community from expressing their voice. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Established the idea of separate but equal schools. Blacks and whites attend separate schools that are supposed to be the exact same. However the schools were not the same. -
19th Amendment
Cannot deny the right to vote based on sex. Was instituted in response to the Women's Right movement and the Seneca Falls Convention. -
Brown v. The Board of Education
This court ended the segregation of schools as it was deemed that schools divided by race can not be "separate but equal" . Students were brought past protesters with the 101st airborne division. -
Affirmative Action
Instituted by John F Kennedy in Executive Order 10925. Affirmative action is the readjustment of scores and averages from the unfairly disproportional education system that doesn't favor the minority groups. Allows for wider acceptance of minorities into colleges. -
24th Amendment
Poll taxes were another form of preventing the black community from expressing their voice. By having the black community in the more impoverished class, there were many who couldn't afford this tax. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Ended the separate but equal standard for restaurants, hotels, and other institutions. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Struck down all preventative legal barriers that halted the black community from voting. This struck down the literacy test limiting factor that unfairly required the black community to be incredibly versed to be able to vote. -
Regents of the University of Califronia v. Bakke
After one student was denied entry to the University of California, losing his spot to a lesser preforming minority students, Bakke sued. The lawsuit was not upheld as the affirmative action was in the univeristy's control. -
Reed v. Reed
Ruled that Idaho cannot continue its sexual preference for men over women in courts or property distribution. -
Equal Rights Act
Suggested amendment that officially declared overall equality between all individuals. Did not pass. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Case decided whether or not Georgia had the right to pass its sodomy law. The rights of the State was upheld with a tight 5-4 outcome. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
Cannot discriminate based on someone's disability. Amended in 2008. This is commonly used to enforce that public buildings are required to have an accessible ramp. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Court case struck down the rights of states to issue sodomy laws like Georgia that were established in the Bowers v. Hardwick case. Voted in favor of deconstructing the laws 6-3.
