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13th Amendment
This amendment was put in place to formally abolish slavery unless it was as a punishment for crime. It was passed at the end of the Civil War before the Southern states ended up rejoining the Union. Lincoln decided to take more control on the situation and asked for the Republican Party to add it to their party agenda which was later a successful turnout. -
14th Amendment
The main purpose of the amendment was to give the former slaves citizenship as well as provide equal protection under the law for everyone. John A. Bigman originally intended to nationalize the Federal Bill of Rights and mend it into the states, but the Supreme Court for many years said that it did not extend the Bill of Rights to all of the states. Even though it was ratified, it there wasn't much success with it and it failed to protect many African Americans. -
15th Amendment
This amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. Many African Americans ended up holding office in Southern states thanks to this amendment. In order to uphold "White Supremacy", many tests were put in place in order to make it harder for African Americans to vote and hold office. -
Jim Crow
Legalized segregation between African Americans and whites. The name was derived from a popular entertainment charcter at the time. Many public places were segregated in the Southern states including trains, buses, benches, restaurants, etc. -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were implemented in order to keep African Americans and other poor citizens from participating in voting. People had to be taxed in order to cast their votes. This remained a serious problem all the way up until the 1960's during WWII. -
Literacy Tests
Tests imposed by the Southern governements to tests one's literacy levels in order to vote. They were intended to stunt African American voting abilities. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
There were laws in place that had segregated railway systems. Plessy was 7/8 white and 1/8 African American when he got a first class ticket in the Whites Only cabin of the train and was arrested for violating the current law. Plessy went to court and used the 13th and 14th amendment for his claims, only to lose the case in the court's eyes. -
19th Amendment
Guarentees that all women have the right to vote. Since the 19th century, women have been protesting and participating to gain their right to vote. Eventually they were given the right to vote and forever changed the electoral system. -
Korematsu vs. United States
Case regarding the constitutionality of forcing Japanese Americans into internment camps during WWII. The court decided that the public safety outweighed Korematsu's perosonal rights at the time. It had later been revealed that false evidence was given to the Supreme Courts when Korematsu tried to overturn the ruling. -
Sweatt vs. Painter
Sweatt was refused entry into the School of Law at the University of Texas based on racial grounds. He brought the case to court and it went all the way up to the Supreme Court. There it was ruled that a separate learning facility was not equal and that the college had to integrate African American students. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
A series of previous cases all put under the same name that argued whether or not there should be segregation in schools. The case was heard first and a decision couldn't be made at the time. One of the judges died before the rehearing and the new judge brought everyone together to agree that separation was unconstitutional in schools. They required all the schools to submit a claim on how they were going to "desegragate" schools. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The first largest demonstration of protest against segregation. Many people refused to ride buses in Montgomery. The movement began on the day of Rosa Parks' court hearing and lasted 381 days. Ultimately, it lead to integration on Montgomery buses. -
24th Amendment
This established an ending for the poll tax for all federal voting. Southern states used this to try and defer African Americans from being able to cast any votes, but also ended up turning away poor white voters as well. However, Congress decided that there needed to be a change and got rid of it. It took a course of 23 years to finally pass legislation. -
Civil RIghts Act of 1964
President Kennedy urged the nation to take action toward guarenteeing equality to every American regardless of race in a televised announcement. Afterwards, he pushed that Congress do the same thing. However, he was assassinated and couldn't see it out on his own, but the next president carried out his proposals after much hard work. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
All the violence that was erupting 1964, more attention was directed to voting rights for African Americans. The new act outlawed literacy tests. Because there was such a big change in the relationship between the fedral and state governments on voting issues, it was immediately challeneged in courts. Although, the average of African American voters increased dramatically. -
Robert Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis upon death of MLK
Robert Kennedy broke the news to a group of African Americans in Indianapolis that Martin Luther King had been assassinated. The gathering was originally planned to gain Democratic support for his next presidential campaign. He was advised not to speak after learning of the death, but decided to let everyone know that he was killed. -
Reed vs. Reed
This was the first case in the Supreme Court to claim discrimination against sex. The law said that there was "mandatory" preference to choose the male to take over a decesased relative's estate rather than the female. The case recognized sex discrimination as a violation to the constitution and ruled in favor of the female, marking a great advancement for the feminist movement. -
Equal Rights Amendment
This amendment was first introduced in 1923 for legal equity in sex-related voting rights. The sudden spur of feminism again encourgaed Congress to act on passing the law. It was originally denied at first but passed after coming back to Congress again. -
Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke
Bakke had tried to apply for college twice at the age of 35 and was rejected both times. His scores passed all of the minority's scores, but he wasn't allowed to enter because there were already reserved seating for minorities to integrate the university. It was decided that race can be a qualifier, so long as it is considered among other qualifiers. -
Bowers vs. Hardwick.
Case that was overturned by the Georgia Sodomy Law criminalized anal and oral sex in private between two consenting homosexual adults. It was claimed that allowing homosexual activities to go on was destroying a millineum of moral practicings. It was later revealed that Justice Lewis F. Powell regretted siding with the majority. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendment that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. This also required disability-friendly utilities in public places. It includes both mental and physical disabilities. -
Lawrence vs. Texas
This case over-turned the previous ruling on the Bowers vs. Hardwick case on sexual privacy. It also ended sodomy laws in 13 other states and territories for being unconstitutional. The previous ruling had violated the 14th amendment. This opened the doors for many more LGBTQ cases and interests for the future. -
Fisher vs. Texas
This is another case that dealt with racial choice in school admissions and affirmative action. The case went through many different courts all the way up to the Supreme Court. Even then, there was a failure to impose stricter options on making decisions. -
Bowling vs. Pence
Three lesbian woman filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana on gay marriage legalization. It was asked that same-sex couples had the same benefits as heterosexual married couples and would be recognized. It was claimed that it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples and gay marriage was legalized in Indiana. -
Affirmative Action
Idea of favoring groups that are discriminated against or disadvantaged. It's intended to give minorities equal chance at oppurtunities. It's often federally pushed and serves to compensate for the wrongdoing of the past.
