key terms acts

Civil Rights Act of 1957

First civil rights law since Reconstruction

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Banned segregation in public places and job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Interstate Highway Act

Funded national highway system

National Security Act

Created Department of Defense, CIA, and National Security Council during early Cold War

Taft-Hartley Act

Limited power of labor unions and allowed right-to-work laws

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowered voting age from 21 to 18 due to Vietnam War

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Banned literacy tests and protected minority voting rights with federal enforcement

War Powers Act

Limits president’s military power

Baker v. Carr

Established “one person, one vote” and allowed courts to rule on redistricting

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California

Allowed affirmative action but banned strict racial quotas

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Declared school segregation unconstitutional and ended “separate but equal”

Engel v. Vitale

Banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools

Escobedo v. Illinois

Gave suspects the right to a lawyer during police questioning

Furman v. Georgia

Temporarily stopped the death penalty due to unfair application

Gideon v. Wainwright

Guaranteed free lawyers for defendants who cannot afford one

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S.

Upheld Civil Rights Act and banned discrimination in businesses

Miranda v. Arizona

Required police to inform suspects of their rights (“Miranda rights”)

Roe v. Wade

Legalized abortion nationwide (later overturned but important historically)