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Dredd Scott v Sanford
Dredd Scott v Sanford was a case in which a slave living in Missouri was taken to Illinois by his master. Missouri was a slave state but Illinois was a free state. When Scott's master brought him back to Missouri Scott sued claiming that his brief residency in Illinois made him a free man. Scott lost the case and it was ruled that he was "property" and that any law depriving his master of his "property" was unconstitutional. -
13th ammendment
This amendment was one of three amendments crated as a result of the Union victory in the civil war. This amendment banned slavery, and involuntary servitude except for punishment of a crime. -
14th Amendment
This one one of the three amendments that resulted from the civil war. What it did was grants all African American's and former slaves citizens of the United States. -
15th Amendment is Ratified
The final of the three amendments that resulted from the civil war. What it did was ban states from denying people the right to vote based on religion, ethnicity, or economic status. -
Plessy v Ferguson
A man who was one eighth black named Homer Plessy who lived in New Orleans challenged Louisiana law by riding in a whites only train car. He was arrested and he sued the train company. The case went all the way to the supreme court and it was ruled that racial segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were "separate but equal". -
19th Amendment
The 19th amendment granted women the right to vote, and made it so that government facilities could never discriminate on the basis of sex. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
A black student named Oliver Brown who lived in Topeka Kansas sued his board of education because the schools were separate but not equal. The case went all the way to the supreme court and it was ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. -
Cilvil Rights Act
This law forbade discrimination form any service on the basis of sex, religion, race, or country of origin. -
24th Amendment is Passed
The 25th amendment prohibits states from issuing poll taxes to voters. What poll taxes are, are taxes that one must pay in order to vote. -
Voting Rights Act
This law made it possible for everyone to vote regardless of race and banned literacy tests, and poll taxes which had previously kept black people from voting. -
Affirmative Action
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed affirmative action into place. What affirmative action is, is legislation put in place to benefit marginalized groups. an example of affirmative action includes colleges becoming more likely to accept someone if they are from a minority race. -
Title ix is passed
Title ix is a federal law that was passed which ensures that male, female, transgender, and non binary staff and students are not discriminated against on the basis of race. The law also protects against sexual harassment. -
Regents of the university of California v. Bakke
An 35 year old white man named Allan Bakke had twice applied to the University of California Medical School and was rejected both times because the school had established admission quotas surrounding race. Bakke sued the university and the case went all the way to the supreme court. Bakke won the case. The verdict was that Universities could factor race into their admissions processes but they could not establish official quotas. Ex: universities can't require 16 black students per 100 students. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
A man named Michael Hardwick was observed engaging in consensual sodomy with another adult male by a Georgia police officer in the bedroom of his apartment. At the time there was a law in Georgia banning the practice of sodomy. The case went all the way to the supreme court and it was ruled that there was no constitutional protection against sodomy and the Georgia law was upheld. -
Americans with Disabilities Act is passed
The Americans with disabilities act protected against discrimination against the disabled. In particular it required that all public spaces include special accommodations which include but are not limited to wheelchair ramps, handicapped parking spots and special spaces on buses and trains for wheelchairs. -
Voter ID laws
A voter ID law is a law requiring voters to present identification when they show up to polls before they can vote. Voter ID laws were required in Indiana by the supreme court on April, 2nd 2008. -
Shelby County v Holder
The state of Alabama wanted to get rid of part of the voting rights act. The part that they wanted to get rid of was a part that required the state to get permission from the national government to change their voting laws. The court ruled in favor of Alabama which gave the state more jurisdiction over their laws regarding voting. -
Obergefell v Hodges
Groups of same sex couples who lived in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee challenged their states ban on same sex marriage. The big question was whether or not the fourteenth amendment included same sex marriages. The case went all the way to the supreme court and the court ruled that same sex marriages were protected by the fourteenth amendment and that states could not ban same sex marriage. -
Equal Rights Amendment
In 2020 the ERA passed all requirements for ratification. It has not been ratified yet but what it will do is end all discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and religion. -
Affirmitive action ends
Affirmative action ended because the supreme court rules that it violated the equal protection clause.