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Dred Scott v Sandford
This decision reiterated that African Americans did not have the same rights as Whites and were considered property, not citizens. It was also a huge step toward the Civil War. -
13th Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery and was the first major steps towards African American equality. -
Affirmative Action
This concept is based on “compensating” members of a group that was previously disadvantaged by giving them special attention. It is a method to balance current and prior discrimination. -
14th Amendment
This amendment marked the first attempt to make the United States a society where everybody could truly be considered equal with equal protection and justice. -
15th Amendment
This amendment banned race-based voting qualifications, allowing African Americans to have a voice in their government. -
Poll Taxes
These taxes were setup for the primary purpose of preventing African Americans from voting – at which they were fairly successful – in response to the Fifteenth Amendment. -
White Primaries
White primaries allowed political parties in the south to exclude African Americans from voting in primary elections. They were a way around the Fifteenth Amendment. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This decision created the concept of “separate but equal,” which meant that there could be segregation as long as the facilities were of an equal caliber. The decision was also used as precedent for the next fifty years. -
19th Amendment
This amendment gave women the right to vote, a large step in the women’s rights movement. -
Brown v Board of Education
This decision overturned the concept of “separate but equal” by declaring segregated schools unequal and unconstitutional, a major stepping stone to a desegregated society. -
24th Amendment
This amendment abolished taxes that were setup to hinder African Americans from voting, relieving one of the burdens that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act guarantees equal voting rights; bans discrimination by trade unions, schools, and employers involved in interstate commerce or business with the federal government; calls for desegregation of public schools; and assures nondiscrimination in distributing funds under federally assisted programs. It is one of the most important pieces of legislation related to civil rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act abolished the hindrances that had been set forth to prevent African Americans from voting. It ultimately achieved what the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments set out to do, allow African Americans (and those of other races) to vote. -
Reed v Reed
This decision was a win for women’s rights advocates, as it ruled gender discrimination in the circumstances of estate administration unconstitutional, allowing women the equal opportunity to be the administrator of an estate. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment was a stab at officially getting women equal rights as men under the law, the ultimate goal of the women’s rights movement. -
Regents of the University of California v Bakke
This decision held that admission based solely on race is unconstitutional, but race may play a role in the admittance decision. This prevents people from being declined admissions just because of their race. -
Bowers v Hardwick
This decision was a defeat for gay men and lesbians as it allowed for the continuation of discrimination against them and an “invasion of their privacy.” -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This act prohibits disability-based discrimination and provides the disabled with more “reasonable accommodations,” allowing the disabled to experience more equality. -
Lawrence v Texas
This decision reversed the Bowers v. Hardwick decision, recognizing that privacy rights and due process protections are available to all citizens, even homosexuals.
