Civil Rights: Dred Scott v. Sandford

• Civil rights are fundamental rights that ensure equal treatment and protection under the law for all citizens, preventing discrimination based on race, religion, gender, etc. and guaranteeing equal access to opportunities and resources.
• Civil Rights Movements fought for the rights of minorities who experienced discrimination.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

• Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom in 1857 after living in a free territory.
• The Supreme Court ruled against Scott, stating that as a slave, he was not a citizen and had no right to sue.
• Chief Justice Roger declared individuals of African ancestry were not intended to be included as citizens in the Constitution.
• The Dred Scott decision pushed the nation closer to the Civil War by solidifying the pro-slavery stance of the South.

Amendments After the Civil War

• Amendments were created after the Civil War to protect newly freed slaves.
• The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the entire United States and granted Congress the power to enforce this.
• The Emancipation Proclamation only ended slavery in the Confederacy.
• The 14th Amendment ensured the Bill of Rights applied to all U.S. citizens, regardless of race and allowed the federal government to challenge states violating citizens' rights based on race.
• The 14th Amendment overturned the Dred Scott decision by declaring everyone born in the U.S. (including Black men and former slaves) citizens.
• The 15th Amendment secured voting rights for Black men, making it illegal to deny them the right to vote based on race or previous servitude.

Black/Slave Codes

• Southern state legislatures created Black/slave codes to suppress the newly freed slave population.
• These codes promoted the separation of “white Americans” and freed “black” Americans (Freedmen).
• Vagrancy laws made it illegal for Black people to be unemployed or without a fixed residence.
• Freedmen were prohibited from carrying firearms.
• Interracial marriage was prohibited.
• Restrictions were placed on property and business ownership for African Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
• Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave a whites-only railroad car in Louisiana.
• The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional if facilities were equal.
• Plessy v. Ferguson established the legal precedent for segregation for over half a century.

Jim Crow Laws

• Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, mainly in the South.
• These laws segregated public facilities like schools, parks, transportation, and restaurants.
• African Americans were often forced to use separate, inferior facilities.
• Literacy tests were used to prevent African Americans from voting by administering difficult tests.
• Grandfather clauses allowed individuals to vote if their grandfathers were eligible before the Civil War, exempting white voters from new requirements.
• Poll taxes were fees required to vote, preventing many African Americans and poor white voters from exercising their right to vote.

19th Amendment

• The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920, granting women the right to vote.
• Women formed the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to advocate for voting rights.
• Wyoming had granted women the right to vote in 1869, and by 1912, at least half of the states allowed women to vote.

Brown v. Board of Education

• In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in education was unequal and illegal.
• Linda Brown had to travel a mile to a black school despite living one block from a white school.
• Brown v. Board of Education overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, making segregation in schools illegal.

More Supreme Court Cases

• In 1946, Mendez v. Westminster, a federal court ruled that segregation of Mexican-American students in California's public schools was unconstitutional.
• In Loving v. Virginia (1967), the Supreme Court struck down state laws banning interracial marriage, ruling them a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Loving v. Virginia involved Mildred and Richard Loving, who were sentenced for marrying in Washington D.C. and returning to Virginia, which had anti-miscegenation laws.