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Dred Scott v. Sandford
Scott lived in a free state for 10 years, but was not considered free since he was a black. The SCOTUS stated that Black people couldn't be citizens of the US, since either their ancestors were slaves or they were at some point. Since Scott wasn't technically considered an American citizen, he was not allowed to be arguing in the federal court. -
Thirteenth Amendment
In simple terms, the 13th amendment abolished slavery. It prohibited involuntary servitude, unless as service for a crime. It was created under Lincoln after the end of the Civil War. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The fourteenth amendment has been important for the incorporation (due process) of amendments to the states. It gives equal rights and civil liberties to all U.S. citizens. Additionally, the right to due process and equal protection are guaranteed. -
Fifteenth Amendment
The fifteenth amendment allowed men of color to vote. It states race, color, or if they were a slave before emancipation cannot prohibit them the right to vote. Southern states began "Jim Crow Laws" in order to stop people of color from voting, such as enforcing literacy tests. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana had a separate car act, which had separate transport for whites and blacks. The argument was with the 13th and 14th amendment, which protects African American rights. However, SCOTUS sided with LA, creating the "separate but equal" precedent. This was in the conceding opinion: "separate treatment did not imply the inferiority". -
Nineteenth Amendment
The nineteenth amendment granted women to right to vote! This is the result of 70 years of protesting and struggle for equality. Before this amendment, only American men were allowed to vote. It changed voting demographics, as millions more were allowed to vote, with a differing gender perspective on topics. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The case was caused by segregating of public schools, the separate "but equal" treatment of white and black children. Brown v. Board of Education argued against the decision Plessy v. Ferguson which created the precedent for separate but equal. The main reasoning in the case was the violation of the 14th amendment, which protects equal rights. SCOTUS ruled in favor of Brown, and the separate but equal doctrine was struck down, as segregation had an effect on the well being of black students. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action is the government's promise to equal opportunity for all citizens, and to strengthen efforts of equality. It has been mentioned in several Executive Orders and has the primary goal of preventing discrimination from occurring in workplaces, educational facilites, and in society as a whole. It is a term that is brought up in strengthening equality for race, gender, and sexuality. -
Twenty-fourth Amendment
The twenty-fourth amendment prohibits state and federal governments from imposing taxes during federal elections. It is a result of trying to work around the 15th amendment in prohibiting non-white people, who were typically poorer, from voting. Congress passed the amendment to reenforce the idea of the equality based voting amendments -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This gave protection to job hiring, promoting, and firing for ALL races. It was meant to strengthen desegregation regulations, especially that regarded voting and education. The 1963 march on Washington, and MLK jr. "I have a dream" speech helped influence the Civil Rights Act to be passed by Congress. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act got rid of tactics southern states used to get limit Black voters, such as literacy tests. It serves to remove raced-based restrictions on voting, in order to make elections more equal for the U.S. citizens representation. The act increased protection of voters and the results of it were shown immediately, as 250k new Black voters were registered. -
Title IX
Title X went along with civil rights and sex equality as it prohibits discrimination of federal assistance based on gender or sexuality. It is enforced throughout institutions that receive federal assistance. The institutions it applies to most commonly are schools and educational activites. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
The University of California designated certain spots to minorities to makeup for the unfair past treatment. Bakke was rejected from the school's Medical School even though he had higher marks. Bakke won the case, and the UoC admitted Bakke, due to their violation of the 14th amendment. Any decision based on race violated the Civil Rights Act. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
Hardwick and another male were having sexual relations. Georgia prohibited sodomy, so Hardwick was charged with a crime. After the court of appeals deemed the state law unconstitutional, the SCOTUS ruled the law as not violating of the constitution. This is due to there being no direct statement, and the SC not wanting to overreach their interpretation. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibited based on disability. This is at the state and local level, amongst all areas of employment. A disability is considered a mental or physical impairment. Employment, transportation, and education could not be prohibited by a disability. This impacted millions of Americans. It was caused by parents wanted justice for their children in equal education and treatment. -
Voter ID Laws
Voter ID Laws are state decided laws on if an ID is required to vote. The controversy with these laws are that it prohibits lower class citizens from voting, as they are less likely to have an ID. People for them feel secure with the laws and that they help to prevent the fraud from occurring. It is important to note that there is little ID fraud for elections. It is typically more conservative states that have stricter ID Laws. -
Shelby County v. Holder
The Voting Rights was seen as no longer relevant, so attention was brought to if it was constitutional or not. The SCOTUS agreed that section 4 (b) of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. This struck down the following section, which was about voting jurisdictions, as well. This decision disabled the VRA power and the precedents the act had created. It allowed voting restrictions to be enacted again. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex couples in many states were not allowed to get married. They believe this violated their 14th amendment, which guaranteed Equal Rights and Due Process. The SCOTUS agreed that the 14th amendment protects citizens rights to civil liberties and that marriage for homosexuals should allowed like it is for heterosexuals. This case was huge for guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry in the U.S. -
Equal Rights Amendment (28th)
The Equal Rights Amendment helped protect women in society against discrimination/gender inequality. It was proposed in 1923, but not passed in congress until 1972. The Amendment didn't receive the states it needed for ratification, even with 2/3 Congressional support. This was due to the Roe v. Wade case, which argued for a woman's right to an abortion. Some states were afraid ratifying the ERA would strengthen access to abortions. 50 years later (2020) it was ratified.