Civil Rights Timeline

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857

This case decided that the US Constitution did not extend American citizenship to African Americans meaning that they did not receive the rights that others were allowed from the Constitution.

13th Amendment

Jan 31, 1865

This amendment states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This was the abolishment of slavery and involuntary servitude.

14th Amendment

Jul 9, 1868

This amendment stated that anyone born in the United States was deemed a United States citizen, no matter your race.

15th Amendment

Feb 3, 1870

This amendment granted African American men the right to vote.

Plessy v. Ferguson

May 18, 1896

This ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate US Constitution as long as the facilities assigned to each race were of equal quality. The case essentially formed the idea of "separate but equal."

19th Amendment

Aug 18, 1920

This amendment established the right of United States citizens to vote regardless of sex.

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

This case decision ruled that US state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional.

24th Amendment

Jan 23, 1964

This amendment prevents the federal and state governments from taxing voters during federal elections.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Jul 2, 1964

This law prevents discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Aug 6, 1965

This outlawed ways of preventing African Americans from voting such as literacy tests. This was mainly for the southern states.

Equal Rights Amendment

Mar 22, 1972

This constitutional amendment essentially guaranteed legal gender equality between males and females. This included matters such as divorce, property, employment, and other matters.

Title IX

Jun 23, 1972

This law prohibits any sex-based discrimination in schools that receive any type of federal funding from the government.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

1978

This case upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy.

Bowers v. Hardwick

Jun 30, 1983

This case supported the constitutionality of criminalizing oral and anal sexual acts in private between consenting adults.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Jul 26, 1990

This law prohibits the discrimination based on disability.

Shelby Counter v. Holder

Jun 25, 2013

This case outlawed Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act which contains the coverage formula that determines which jurisdictions are subject to pre clearance based on their histories of racial discrimination while voting.

Obergefell v. Hodges

Jun 26, 2015

This case made it so that states must license and recognize same-sex marriages.

Voter ID Laws

2020

These series of laws make it more difficult for specific demographics of people to vote due to lack of items such as forms of identification.

Affirmative Action

2023

These laws ensure that contractors of federal agencies to not take into account race, gender, etc. when selecting or hiring new members.