Civil Rights by Alexander Shen (CH)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

230251_15 — 2024-03-05 20:16:00 UTC

The Supreme Court ruled that separation of children based on race in school was unconstitutional. It overruled the "separate but equal" principle established in Plessy v. Ferguson, which the court claimed violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

De Facto Segregation

230251_15 — 2024-03-05 20:19:37 UTC

Despite Brown v. Board of Education ruling that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, schools continued to segregate. Legally, schools weren't allowed to continue segregation, but it still happened in actuality.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

230251_15 — 2024-03-05 20:23:55 UTC

The act prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or national origin in employment and public places. The act attempted to end Jim Crow laws that were upheld by Plessy v. Ferguson.

19th Amendment (1920)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 06:50:10 UTC

The amendment granted suffrage to women. It stated that the right to vote shall not be denied based on sex.

De jure Segregation

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 07:17:23 UTC

Segregation based on laws that was allowed due to Plessy v. Ferguson under the doctrine of separate but equal. This differs from de facto (in practice) as de jure means in law.

Central High (1957)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 08:04:56 UTC

After Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in public schools, nine African-American students attempted to enter Central High School, but they were barred from entering by the Arkansas National Guard and a mob. On September 24, 1957, Eisenhower ordered a division of the US Army to Central High to get the students into the school. Eisenhower stated that "Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of the courts".

Roe v. Wade (1973)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 08:05:29 UTC

Jane Roe, a fictional name to protect the plaintiff, challenged a Texas law making abortion illegal. Roe claimed that the state laws were violating her right of personal privacy, which were protected by the 14th Amendments. The court ruled that the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause included the right to privacy which protects the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The Due Process clause protected against state interference in the right to privacy.

Affirmative Action

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 17:40:59 UTC

In 1961, JFK signed Executive Order 10925, which required government contractors to take "affirmative action" to achieve non-discrimination in employment. In 1965, Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, which required contractors to take affirmative action to promote and expand the equal opportunity for minorities. Affirmative Action are procedures designed to eliminate discrimination and remedy prior and prevent future discrimination.

14th Amendment (1868)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 17:45:51 UTC

The 14th Amendment provided all citizens with the "equal protection under the laws" and included the Due Process Clause, which stated that states could not take away rights and liberties without due process of the law. The amendment served as the foundation for future fights for civil rights.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 17:50:35 UTC

Dred Scott was a slave who in Illinois and the Louisiana Territory, which were both free states. After returning to Missouri, a slave state, Scott believed that his residence in a free state made him free. The court ruled that slaves were not citizens, but property and as such could not sue in court. Moving to a free state did not make Scott free and any law that would make a slave free without their owner was unconstitutional.

Bakke v. Regents (1978)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 17:58:48 UTC

Bakke claimed that he wasn't accepted to medical school due to the university's affirmative action program, which reserved 16 out of 100 seats for minorities. Bakke believed that he was excluded based on race. Four justices believed that the racial quota violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Justice Powell believed that racial quotas violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The remaining justices, joined by Powell, believed that race could be a criteria in admissions. The decision allowed for race to be a factor in admissions, but racial quotas were not allowed.

15th Amendment (1870)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 18:01:35 UTC

The 15th Amendment granted suffrage to people of color and former slaves. It stated that the right to vote could not be denied based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 19:09:17 UTC

Louisiana's Separate Car Act required separate railway cars African Americans and whites. Plessy, who was African American, sat in a whites only car. The Supreme Court ruled that the act was constitutional and that the 14th Amendment was upheld as separate treatment did not mean inferior treatment of African Americans. This case established the "Separate but Equal" doctrine.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 19:16:58 UTC

The act prohibited racial discrimination in voting by preventing qualifications or practices that deny the right to vote based on race. For instance, it outlaws literacy tests that disproportionately affected African Americans and other minorities. The act sought to enforce the voting rights that were protected by the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Jim Crow Laws

230251_15 — 2024-03-06 22:03:08 UTC

Southern states passed statues and laws that separated whites from African Americans. These laws attempted to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, education, and other opportunities.

Enforcement Act of 1871

230251_15 — 2024-03-07 05:19:24 UTC

The act was used to empower the federal government, through the military, against organizations that want to violate the rights of other citizens. It specifically was enacted to target the KKK and other white supremacist organizations, but it could also dismantle other organizations that used violence.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

230251_15 — 2024-03-07 05:59:24 UTC

The law created a right to a minimum wage and also prohibits "oppressive" child labor for children under 16 (some industries were exempt). Today, 130 million Americans are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

230251_15 — 2024-03-07 06:10:53 UTC

This act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to try to abolish wage gap based on sex. Employers cannot pay a women less than a man for jobs that require the same skill, responsibility and effort.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

230251_15 — 2024-03-07 06:34:10 UTC

Same-sex couples sued their states to challenge the constitutionality of their state's ban on same-sex marriage. The court ruled that same-sex marriage is protected by 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. The decision overturned Baker v. Nelson and required all 50 states to recognize same-sex marriages.

13th Amendment (1865)

230251_15 — 2024-03-07 06:47:50 UTC

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery throughout every state. It outlawed the practice of involuntary or coerced servitude.