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13th Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except for punishment for a crime. The Thirteenth amendment was added after the Civil War in order to start Reconstruction. -
14th Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was a follow up to the Thirteenth Amendment in order to help with Reconstruction. The Fourteenth Amendment stated that all citizens had equal rights and protection of the laws. -
15th Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment was also in order to help with Reconstruction after the Civil War. The Fifteenth Amendment granted blacks the right to vote by saying that no one could take away someones right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude. -
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Poll Taxes
Poll Taxes were taxes used in order to restrict blacks from voting in the south. Poll Taxes were a tax used, and the tax was a prerequisite to voting. Since a lot of southerners could not afford to pay the poll tax this proved to be ineffective. -
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Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were used mainly in the Southern States after the Civil War had ended and Reconstruction had taken place. Jim Crow laws were placed in order to keep blacks below whites. Jim Crow laws were a way to make sure that blacks were still very restricted even after slavery was abolished. -
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Literacy Tests
Literacy Tests were another strategy used by the South, after blacks were allowed to vote, in order to prevent them from voting. People were required to take a literacy test in order to vote, this also proved to be ineffective because the literacy rate was low in the south. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark case that decided the phrase "Seperate but Equal". The decision was a 7 to 1 choice that the phrase "Seperate but Equal" was constitutional. This case was important in showing the Racial Segregation during the time period. -
19th Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits any citizen of the United States from being denied the right to vote based on sex. The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920 and gave women the right to vote. The Nineteenth Amendment was proposed in 1878 and finally ratified in 1920. -
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. the United States argued whether or not forcing the Japanese (regardless of citizenship) in the United States into internment camps was constitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Government saying that exclusional order was constitutional. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Sweatt v. Painter was a case that fought against the "Seperate but Equal" phrase that came along due to the Plessy v. Ferguson case. This case showed that while the two schools in question were seperate they were not equal. This was also a major case in setting up the Brown v. Board of Education only a few years later. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a major landmark case in the United States deciding that seperating schools for black and white students was considered unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown 9-0 that seperating schools was unconstitutional. This case was a major break through in the problems with racial segregation. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest that started on December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus. People protested in order to desegregate the buses. The protest lasted about a year long and resulted in the decision that segregated buses were considered to be unconstitutional. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action refers to the equal opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required to adopt. These provisions were intended to make sure that there was no discrimination between race, sex, religion, or anything else for employment and schools. -
24th Amendment
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the use of a poll tax in order to vote in federal elections. Poll taxes used by the southern states in order to prevent blacks from voting could no longer be used due to the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark act that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended segregation in schools, in the work place, and in public areas. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark act that prohibited racism in the right to vote. The act in 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voter rights. This act was designed to enforce the fourteenth and fifteenth amendment in the United States Constitution. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Robert Kennedy gave a speech on the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in Indianapolis while campaigning for his presidential nomination from the democratic party. Kennedy's speech was important because he gave news to many that MLK had been shot dead. Although there was a chance of riots and protests Kennedy decided to go on and give his speech on MLK anyways. -
Reed v. Reed
Reed V. Reed was an equal protection case that determined that the administrators of estates could not be discriminated based on sex. Sally and Cecil Reed were fighting over there dead son's estates, they were told that a male must be preferred over a female. This case was taken to the supreme court due to the fact that it went against the fourteenth amendment. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment that gave equal rights to women. It was first introduced to congress in 1923, then finally passed congress in 1972. The Equal Rights Amendment was helpful in enforcing the Nineteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke was a landmark case to determine the affirmative action for college students. It allowed race to be one of the decision factors for colleges. The court also ruled that setting a minimum amount of minorities needed was not allowed. -
Same-Sex Marriage in Indiana
Indiana had originally restricted Same-sex marriage under statute in 1986. Since then the debate has gone back and fourth with many important cases. Some of these cases include, Baskin v. Bogan, Love v. Pence, and Bowling v. Pence. As of now, same-sex marriage is allowed within Indiana. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick was a case that determined the legality of homosexuality. The Supreme Court originally ruled 5-4 that a state could say that homosexuality was a crime. This was later over turned in 2003. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities act was passed on the 26th of July, 1990. The Americans with Disabilities act prohibited discrimination based on a disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act was equal in protection to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This also caused for accessibility for people with a disability in public places. -
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas was a landmark constitutional case within the United States that banned the criminalization of same-sex sexual activity. Lawrence v. Texas decided to make same-sex marriage legal in every single state. -
Fisher v. Texas
Fisher v. Texas was a Supreme Court case concerning the affirmative action of the University of Texas. The case ended with a 7-1 decision.
