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13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery. This amendment was passed at the end of the civil war, which also declared any slave at the time to be forever free. The amendment greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the united states, which included former slaves. It also forbids state to deny any person life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. This amendment allowed the federal courts to apply their ruling over the states. It greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment granted African American men the right to vote. Many people stopped African Americans from voting through poll taxes and literacy tests. Most African American men, in the south, were not allowed to vote till 1965. -
Jim Crow
Jim Crow was a time that began in the 1890's, which affected the daily life of minorities. It affected things like schools, parks, restrooms, and transportation by segregating people, because of their race. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson allowed it separate but equal to be acceptable. -
Poll Taxes
The poll tax was used in the south as a way to get around the 14th amendment. It would deny the opportunity to vote to many blacks as they could not afford to pay the tax. It started to fall out of favor gradually till the middle of the 20th century. The 24th amendment made all poll taxes illegal. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The case of Plessy v. Feruson arose when Homer Plessy refused to sit in a black only train car. This technically broke a Louisiana state law. The case was taken to the supreme court and the final ruling was that separate but equal was allowed. The courts explanation for the ruling was that it did not conflict with the 13th and 14th amendments. -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. Women have been fighting for the right to vote as early as the 1800's. Few states had supported women voting. The shift in favor of women's suffrage happened when President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment. -
Korematsu v United States
During World War II, the president and congress gave the military authority to exclude citizens of Japanese ancestry from areas that could be potentially vulnerable to espionage. Korematsu believed the president was over stretching his war time powers by restricting the rights of Japanese Americans. The court sided with the United States saying that the actions were justified during circumstances of emergency. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Texas law school denied the admission to Herman Sweatt solely on the basis if his race. Texas did try to offer a separate law school for blacks only. Thurgood Marshall, took the case to the supreme court, which helped stop separate but equal. It later helped set the precedent for Brown v. Board of education. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The case of Brown v. Board of education overturned the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson. It found that separate but equal is not constitutional. It was a unanimous decision when overturned. This ruling helped end all segregated areas in public facilities. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott began four days after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.The Boycott was a protest where African Americans did not ride city buses to protest segregated seating. The supreme court eventually ordered Montgomery to integrate. Many say this was the first large scale protest against segregation. -
DeJure Segregatio
De Facto segregation happened during the 1960's. It is a term that happens when segregation was not supported by law but would continue anyway. This could occur unintentionally. Many conditions like natural conditions and financial classes would keep the races apart. -
Literacy Test
Literacy tests were given to test voters eligibility in order to vote. These tests were given to mainly discredit minorities. Like the poll taxes, the literacy test was a way to intimidate non-whites from voting. Whites were able to avoid taking the literacy test by other means, such as the grandfather clause. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action policies are efforts created to give opportunities to groups who have excluded groups in American society.Affirmative Actions are also implemented in institutions of employment or education. The result of this was the increased employment and educational opportunities for African Americans and Latinos. -
JFK Address to the Nation on Civil Rights
JFK delivered a speech to the nation on civil rights. In his speech he explained the economic, moral, and educational dimensions of racism.His proposed ideas would soon later become the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. Many opposed the idea of giving this speech, because they believed that a civil rights bill would be unlikely to pass. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment states that it is the right of the citizens of the united states to vote in any election, and shall not be denied by any failure to pay a tax. It also says that congress has the power to enforce this rule. This amendment played a huge role in allowing all African Americans the ability to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The civil rights act of 1964 was first proposed by John F. Kennedy. The Act ended segregation in public places, and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was eventually signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. Also, additional legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965,brought equality to African Americans -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. Congress had determined that previous federal anti-discrimination laws were not sufficient to overcome the resistance by the state governments. The Act's goal was to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from voting. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Kennedy was in Indianapolis campaigning for his presidential nomination when MLK was killed. He decided to continue to give a speech in the heart of Indianapolis, despite fears of riots and concerns for his safety. Kennedy was able to be sincere and share a message that resonated with a predominately black audience. Many considered this to one of the greatest public addresses of the modern area. -
Reed v. Reed
The case is over who shall receive the estate of a deceased child when the parents are divorced. In the case of Reed v. Reed the case fell on the side of the father. The reason this case was so big is because the law violated the equal protection clause, which banned any discrimination against women. -
Title IX
Title IX basically does not allow any discrimination based on sex in any educational program that receives federal funds. Also under Title IX, schools are legally required to respond and fix hostile educational environments. Failure to do anything under title IX will result in a lack of federal funding. -
Equal Right Amendment
The equal right amendment says equality rights under law shall not be denied based the united states on account of sex.It fell three states short of being ratified. It is currently being introduced into the legislature of many other states in the hope to ratify it. -
Reagents of the University of California v. Bakke
Bakke was a white applicant to the university of California. He sued the school saying they denied him admissions on racial grounds, and violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendments. When Bakke was compared to the minorities that were admitted his credential were better and the only distinguishable factor was his race. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick sued challenging the constitutionality of a Georgia law that criminalized consensual sodomy. The question of privacy is what was up to debate in this class. In this case it was whether they have the right to commit in homosexual acts in their privacy. -
American Disabilities Act
The American Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that does not allow discrimination against individual with a handicap in public life. This comes into affect in places like schools, transportation, and all public and private places that is open to the public. This is supposed to give rights similar to that based on race or sex. -
Lawernce v. Texas
After responding to a disturbance call, the Houston police entered a private apartment and found two adult men engaging in a private consensual sexual act. They were arrested under Texas state law forbidding two people of the same sex to consent in such sexual acts. The supreme court ruled that they are allowed to engage in private conduct under the due process clause. -
obergefell v. Hodges
Same sex couples sued their states challenging the constitutionality of the ban of same sex marriages or refusal to recognize same sex marriages. The plaintiffs argued that the states violated the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the 14th amendment. The supreme court said that it is a fundamental liberty to marry as one, and it should be the same as opposite sex couples. -
Fisher v. Texas
The university of Texas created a policy that would admit all high school seniors that are in the top ten percent of their class. After noticing the undergraduate admissions did not align with the state make up, they decided to make race a factor in their admission decision. They are questioning whether the equal protection clause permits the consideration of race in admissions.
