User:Mdb2003

U.S. laws[edit]

Thirteenth Amendment[edit]

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed on January 31, 1865 with the intention to abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in all states, except as punishment for a crime. As a result, many people, particularly in the South, abused the poorly written amendment. To further explain, an article from the Gettysburg College, states, "Many in Congress believed that slavery was detrimental to white laborers in the South because slaves were seen as a long term investment, and white laborers were unable to make advancements because slavery was less expensive in the long run." (Jones, 2016) In elaboration, the thirteenth amendment was only set to abolish slavery legally, yet it was not until the late 1900's for the government to abolish convict lease programs, which allowed for a subtle form of slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment[edit]

The Fourteenth Amendment allowed citizenship to those who were born in the United States, including non-white individuals. It also stops any other state to pass their law which will violate this amendment. It prohibits states from opposing any person's "life, liberty or property, without law coming forward on the individual" or to "deny to any person within its authority the equal protection of the laws."

Fifteenth Amendment[edit]

The fifteenth Amendment made it illegal for any state to deny people the right to vote regardless of their race, ethnicity, or any previous servitude.

Supreme Court Cases

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark decision issued by the supreme court that ruled the act of segregation to be constitutional as long as it was separate but equal. "The decision also recognized and justified the power of individual states to enforce their state segregation laws. As a result, the decision has had implications for such issues as the definition of blackness, the acknowledgment of gradients of whiteness, the significance of citizenship, and the interpretation of the state’s regulatory role in the separation of races in public space."

Brown v. Board of Education (1952) was a supreme court decision following Plessy V. Ferguson that decided that separation cannot be equal, therefore, segregation was unconstitutional.

loving v. Virginia (1967) was a supreme court decision that allowed people of any race to get married.

Civil Rights Act of 1964[edit]

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was set in place as consequence to the civil rights movement. Civil rights movement began in the enlightenment of equality despite, gender, race, or ethnicity. This movement particularly focused on the injustice for African Americans and the right to vote.

Jim Crow laws[edit]

Main article: Jim Crow laws

In the Southern States, a law enforced the separation of blacks and whites from public facilities such as employment, housing, education, politics, military service, sports, and business. In other words, a separate but equal rank was given to the African Americans, yet there were almost no provisions made that allowed for the oversight of the "equality" of the facilities; also, the legislation did not come into conflict with any other laws concerning citizenship or equality under the law.