Civil Rights: Early Interpretations of Equality

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and key legislation related to the understanding of civil rights in the United States.

Thirteenth Amendment

The 1865 amendment that officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

The 1868 amendment that extended citizenship to formerly enslaved people and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

The 1870 amendment that granted African American men the right to vote.

Nineteenth Amendment

The 1920 amendment that granted women the right to vote.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A constitutional agreement that counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enacted in the South to enforce racial segregation.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the separate but equal doctrine, allowing segregation.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racially segregated schools unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed discrimination in public accommodations and employment based on race, religion, national origin, or gender.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that aimed to eliminate various forms of voting discrimination against African Americans.

Poll Tax

A fee required to be paid before being eligible to vote, used to disenfranchise African American voters.

Literacy Tests

Tests that required voters to demonstrate reading and writing skills, often used to suppress African American voting.

Grandfather Clause

A law that exempted individuals from new voting requirements if their ancestors had been eligible to vote before a certain date.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; an organization aimed at fighting for civil rights for African Americans.

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that occurs as a result of societal norms and customs rather than enforced by law.

Emancipation Proclamation

The 1863 executive order by President Lincoln declaring the freedom of enslaved people in Confederate states.