civil rights and EPC

Equal Protection Clause

Part of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons within their jurisdiction.

Grandfather Clause

A legal device used to limit African-American suffrage by exempting individuals from literacy tests or poll taxes if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local statutes that legalized racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans.

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that occurs without direct government involvement, often due to social factors or private actions.

De Jure Segregation

Segregation established by law, particularly through legislative actions that dictate separation.

Redlining

The practice of denying or limiting financial services to certain neighborhoods, often based on racial or ethnic composition.

Civil Disobedience

The refusal to obey certain laws as a means of peaceful protest against policies or legislation considered unjust.

Title IX

A federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs or activities receiving federal funding.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Brown v. Board of Education

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.

Obergefell v. Hodges

The 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, affirming that states must recognize valid marriages performed in other states.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard

A 2023 Supreme Court case assessing whether Harvard's admissions process discriminated against Asian Americans, violating the Equal Protection Clause.

Affirmative Action

Policies that aim to improve opportunities for historically marginalized groups, often in education and employment.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A landmark federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places and employment.

Literacy Tests

Tests administered to prospective voters, often designed to disenfranchise African Americans and other minorities.

Poll Taxes

Fees required to be paid in order to vote, used to disenfranchise poor African Americans and whites.

14th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and guaranteeing all citizens equal protection under the law.

19th Amendment

The amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

The 1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens and had no standing to sue in federal court.

Reed v. Reed

A 1971 Supreme Court case that ruled Idaho's probate code, which preferred males over females in estate administration, violated the Equal Protection Clause.

Korematsu v. United States

A 1944 Supreme Court case that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as a wartime necessity.