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Civil Rights
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Dred Scott v. Sanford
The Supreme Court ruled that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories. This invalidated the Missouri Compromise (which allowed Missouri to become a slave state as long as northern territories remained free of slavery). Scott v. Sanford was a bold decision that supported slavery and lead to the Civil War. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified after the Union won the Civil War, and forbade slavery and involuntary servitude. The Civil War amendments introduced the era of reconstruction and resegregation. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is one of the three Civil War amendments. The 14th Amendment forbids the states from denying to anyone "equal protection of the laws." This amendment is the only place in which the idea of equality appears in the Constitution. It was enough force to begin ensuring equal rights for all Americans. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment guarantees African Americans the right to vote; however, it took a full century for this amendment to be effective. -
Plessy v. Ferfuson
In this case the Supreme Court upheld the law saying that segregation in public facilities was not unconstitutional as long as the separate facilities were "substantially equal." This case provided a Constitutionl justification for segregation and implied the concept of "separate but equal". -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment guarantees women the right to vote. Advocates of women's suffrage were disappointed when they were excluded from the protections accorded to newly freed slave; however, with the passing of the 19th Amendment, women could also vote. -
White Primaries
A white primary wss a device that permitted politcal parties in the heavily Democratic South to exclude African Americans from voting in primary elections. This let them vote only when it mattered least. White primaries are one way that states in the south prevented African Americans from voting. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were small taxes levied on the right to vote that often fell due at a time of yer when poor sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. These taxes were one way that most southern states denied African Americans the right to vote. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court case stating that states laws establishing separate schools for black and white students is unconstitutional. This decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson case. This was a unanimous decision. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is the policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture. In this time period is was used to help colored and disabled citizens. This was proposed by President JFK -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment prohibited poll taxes in any federal election. The 24th Amendment is one example of how the barriers between African Americans and voting started to fall. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 mde racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination. It is a landmark piece of Civil Rights legislation in United States history. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Many African Americans were registered to vote, and the number of African American elected officals also increased. -
Reed v. Reed
This was an equal protection case where the U.S. Supreme Court decided that administrators of estates cannot discriminate toward different sexes. Weather this be in the work force or in daily aspects of life, it was seen unconstitutional to discriminate by gender. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Student was denied a spot in a California Medical School because they had a quota for other ethnicities to be entered into their school. Although his gpa was superior, he was not admitted due to the quota. Upholding affirmative action, but getting rid of the quota. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This was an amendment introduced to the Constitution to provide equal rights to women. This was introduced to Congress for the first time in 1923. In 1972 it passed both houses and received 35 of the necessary 38 ratifications from the states, 5 states later rescinded their ratifications. The amendment later died in the ratification stage. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This was a Supreme Court decision that upheld, in a 5-4 decision, the Georgia state law criminalizing oral and anal sex. It was seen at this point in time that sodomy was a crime that effected the rights and safety of the people. This was later overturned in 2003. -
Americans with Disability Act
This is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination towards people with disabilities. It also requires employers to accommodate for their handicapped employees. With this law being put into place it helped to work towards equal job opportunities for everyone. -
Lawrence v. Texas
This was a Supreme Court case that struck down the sodomy laws in the state of Texas, and by default, 13 other states. Claiming that it was in their 14th amendment rights to live as they please in the privacy of their own homes.
