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13th Amendment
Congress ratifies the 13th amendment which abolishes slavery. It also provides "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
14th Amendment
The Amendment grants citizenship to persons born or naturalized in the United States. This does include slaves who were born under slave owners. It also also provided equal protection of the law for all US citizens. The Amendment was originally rejected by many southern states but three fourths voted for the Amendment. It is also known as the Reconstruction Amendment. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gives African American men the right to vote by stating the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This was the reason for literacy tests and poll taxes. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were the result of the Plessy v. Ferguson case that established "Separate but equal." These laws made African Americans basically unequal and the white man superior. The laws were ended 58 years later by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Literacy Tests
Literacy Tests were created for African Americans and some white men so that they could not be able to vote in political elections. They were adopted by many states until banned in 1970. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
After Plessy attempted to sit on a white train he was arrested and then went to court saying this violated his 13th and 14th amendment rights. The verdict was that the states can constitutionally enact legislation requiring people of different races to use “separate but equal” segregated facilities. Ferguson wins. -
19th Amendment
This Amendment granted the women the right to vote. It was a struggle to gain recognition for women. Some oponents heckeled, jailed and sometimes abused the women. It took protests, marches, lectures and practiced disobediance. This Amendment changed the voting for all Americans. -
Equal Rights Amendment
ERA was written by Alice Paul, a women's suffragist leader and founder of the National Woman's Party who thought the amendment would strengthen women's rights. After recieving 35 of the 38 votes needed to be placed in the constituion, the amendment has been struggling for ratification for more than 70 years. -
Korematsu v. United States
Fred Korematsu is forced from his home to an internement camp, and eventually sues because it violates his 5th amendment rights. The court ruled that the Government’s use of Japanese internment
camps during World War II was Constitutional. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Heman Marion Sweatt, an african american, applied for admission to a University. State law restricted access of university to blacks, and Sweatt's application was automatically rejected because of his race. When he asked the state courts to order his admission, the university attempted to provide separate but equal facilities for black law students. They went to court and the court decided that under the Equal Protection Cause allowed him to be admitted. The law demanded the University admit him -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Court’s unanimous decision overturned provisions of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which ruled for “separate but equal” public facilities, including public schools in the United States. Declaring that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” This allowed African American students the ability to attend white public schools. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This event is when African Americans refused to ride the city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. They refused to ride because they wanted to protest segregated seating that was occuring during that time. It is regarded as the first large scale protest demonstration against segregation. Rosa Parks was for the most part the spark that started the boycott. It ended on December 20, 1956 -
Affirmative Ation
Affirmative action is a policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a society. There are progams that are put in place meant to break down barriers, both visible and invisible, to level the playing field. They are not meant to guarentee equal rights but be fairly representated in the work force. -
24th Amendment
Before the Amendment, many citizens were not able to vote because they did not have enough money to pay. They had to pay a poll tax to vote. This Amendment allowed citizens to not have to pay a fee to vote in a national election. This Amendment prohibited the poll tax in elections for federal officials. -
Poll Taxes
A poll tax is a tax put on every adult without the reference of income or resources. The poll taxes on voting was made illegal in the 24th Amendment. Many of the poll taxes were a way for the government to make a revenue for the country. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This Act was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. It prohibited the discrimination in public areas, provided the integration of public schools for all races, and made employment discrimination for all illegal. The Act was the strongest protector and enforcer for civil rights during that time. The Act was hard to pass, but eventually was able to. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act enforced the 15th amendment and was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Robert Kennedy was supposed to be visiting a poor town in Indianapolis to give his presidential campaign, but he was quickly advised that he had to be the one to tell the crowd the death of MLK. The speech was ranked one of the greatest in American history. -
Reed v. Reed
This case was in Idaho. The Idaho Probate Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing people of estates. The "reeds" were both divorced and the courts apointed Mr. Reed custody. Mrs. Reed appealed it and the Courts sided with Mrs. Reed since they labeled the ruling unconstitutional becuase of discrimination. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke was rejected twice to the University of California Medical School soley on his race. Although his GPA and test scores greatly exceeded his competition, he was never granted acceptance. The court ruled that the school must admit Bakke and invalidated the school's special admissions program. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
This case is about how the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not protect the right of gay adults to engage in sexual content.In Atlanta, the police arrived at the residence of Michael Hardwick to arrest him for not appearing in court on charges of public drinking.They found him with another man having oral sex and arrested them for violating the Georgia Sodomy Statuate. They ruled that the right for gays to engage in sodomy was not protected by the Constitution and georgia won. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This Act prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accomadation, communication, and other activities. It is also made illegal to retaliate against employers with disabilities. It is also illegal to file a discrimation charge. This act allowed people with disabilities to still live a normal life that was before not as normal because of discrimination. -
Lawrence v. Texas
When police showed up to the apartment of Lawrence from a reported weapons response, they found Lawrence and Texas engaged in sexual acts and were charged and convicted for “deviate sexual intercourse, namely anal sex, with a member of the same sex (man).” The court decided that a statute to prohibit sexual acts of the same sex as a violation of the Due Process Clause. -
Fisher v. Texas
Abigail Fisher was denied entry to the University of Texas. She accused the University of Texas of illegally discriminating against her because she was part of a group of applicants who were evaluated using criteria that gave extra consideration to black and Hispanic applicants. The decision will be made later in the spring of 2015. -
Indiana's Gay Rights Court Battle
This Act allowed same sex marraige to be prevalent throughout all of Indiana. At first the court decided that they were going to pass the bill but then a case was brought up that went against the bill and legistlatures passed that. Another case was brought to the courts to appeal the case that opposed it and the courts ruled in favor of pro-marraige.
