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Dred Scot vs. Sanford
Dred Scot vs. Sanford was the case of a slave male who tried to sue his former owner to gain rights to become free. He lost the case due to being perceived to be a piece of "property" and not a person. He lost the case but set a massive precedent. -
13th Amendment
This amendment is imperative to the timeline because it abolished slavery and indentured servitude and simultaneously officially put an end to the Civil War. -
14th Amendment
This amendment states that those who were born in the US are automatically American citizens and will automatically retain the rights an American has. Thise rights are protected and under no legal circumstances can those be stripped. -
15th Amendment
This amendment gave suffrage rights to African American men only. Meaning that any voting discrimination based off of race or previous servitude is deemed unconstitutional. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Plessy vs. Ferguson was a court case that involved an African American man riding in a whites only train car and proceeded to claim that he was allowed to ride due to the Equal Protection Clause. The court ruled against his favor because the law was technically "seperate but equal" which put a huge wrench in the goal for equality. -
19th Amendment
This amendment effectively gave women the right to vote and put a ban on any suffrage discrimination on the basis of sex and/or gender. -
Board of Education vs. Brown
Brown vs. Board of Education is a 1950's case which confronted the fact African American children did not have access to better/white schools. Brown argued that "seperate but equal" was unconstitutional and that schooling should be something that allows integration. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown in a 9-0 vote. This was a huge step for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Civil Rights of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a law that banned any discrimination based on race, sex, or religion. It declared segregation to be prohibited and gave the marginalized groups in the United States an official chance to truly live up the idea of an American Dream. -
Affirmative Action
The first time major affirmative action was shown was in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson used executive order to prohibit employment discrimination against any marginalized groups. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination as well as sex based discrimination when it comes to voting. Colored men and women were both allowed to vote. Lyndon B. Johnson signed off on the law. -
Title IX
Title IX is a title signed off by former President Richard Nixon. This is to prevent any sex based discrimiantion from education or any other government financially funded program. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This proposed amendment was meant to prohibit inherent sex discrimination. Women were officially given full rights and could no longer receive any discrimination for anything for sex alone. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
This Court Case was about a college admitting students in due to rave and the Court determining that was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the 14th Amendment. No one can be neglected or praised. Solely basing race as an exclusive reason to get admitted is unconstitutional. -
Bowers vs. Hardwick
This case was about Georgia criminalizing sodomy and certain sexual acts between both homosexual and heterosexual relationships. The Court maintained that those acts were illegal and was a huge step back for relationships. This ruling was overturned about 2 decades later. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities act of 1990 is a civil rights law that prevents any discrimination based on any mental or physical disabilities that one may have. Meaning jobs are not allowed to refuse to hire someone solely based on the fact they are disabled. -
Voter ID Laws
Voter ID Laws that require the voters to show some form of identification before being permitted to actually place a vote. The first voter ID law cane in the 50's and gradually by the time the 21st century came about almost every state had incorporated Voter ID laws. -
Shelby County vs. Holder
This court case was calling out Shelby County was trying to add random laws when it comes to voting without it being approved by Congress. -
Obergefell vs. Hodges
Obergefell vs. Hodges is a huge case in 2015 that guaranteed that same sex marriages were legal. Upon looking at the 14th amendment it was concluded that states trying to ban any same sex marriages is in fact acting against the Constitution.