Court Cases
The ruling gives judicial sanction to the doctrine of “separate but equal”
What is Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?
The Supreme Court invalidated a Texas law prohibiting abortion except to save a mother’s life
What is Roe v. Wade (1973)?
In Period 5, this party's main focus was states' rights, especially in regards to the issue of slavery.
What is the Democratic Party?
This war started because Polk wanted to buy the California and New Mexico territories and settle the Mexico-Texas border dispute.
What is the Mexican-American War?
This act organized two new territories in the land acquired through the Louisiana Purchase; the white residents of each territory would vote on whether to permit slavery when applying for statehood; repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision
What is Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
By a 6-3 vote, the court upheld the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans
What is Korematsu v. United States (1943)?
Party that sought to promote the idea of free land for free labor, emphasizing that new states admitted to the Union should be free from slavery.
What is the Free Soil Party?
John C. Frémont overthrew Mexican rule in this region that became known as the "Bear Flag Republic" (1846).
What is California?
Nickname given to this territory after fighting broke out between proslavery and antislavery groups.
What is "Bleeding Kansas"?
The Supreme Court ruled that Blacks, slave or free, were not citizens and were not entitled to sue in federal court; it also ruled that a slave’s residence in a free state or territory did not make him free upon his return to a slave state.
What is Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?
the court imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words, affirmative action was unfair if it led to reverse discrimination.
What is Bakke v. Board of Regents of the University of California (1978)?
Founded in 1854 by a coalition of former Whigs, Free Soilers, and abolitionists who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
What is the Republican Party?
Treaty that established the southern border of Texas (Rio Grande) and took possession of the territories of California and New Mexico (the Mexican Cession).
What is the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)?
This Senator from Massachusetts was attacked on the Senate floor when he gave a speech entitled "The Crime Against Kansas".
Who is Charles Sumner?
This decision greatly expanded the power of the Court by establishing its right to overturn acts of Congress (judicial review), a power not explicitly granted by the Constitution.
What is Marbury v. Madison (1803)?
The court ruled unanimously that the Espionage Act did not violate the 1st Amendment’s protection of free speech and free press; pamphlets encouraged resistance to the military draft; established the “clear and present danger” test
What is Schenck v. United States (1919)?
This secretive party's main platform issue was limiting the political power of foreign-born men.
What is the Know Nothing Party / American Party?
This proposal stated that an appropriations bill should be amended to forbid slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. It passed the House but failed twice in the Senate.
What is the Wilmot Proviso?
This man led a small band of followers, including his four sons and some formerly enslaved people, to attack the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. His impractical plan was to use guns from the arsenal to arm Virginia’s enslaved African Americans, whom he expected to rise up in revolt.
Who is John Brown?
This landmark case established that Congress could exercise "implied powers" beyond those explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, and that federal law prevails over conflicting state laws.
What is In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?
Ruled that the laws of Georgia had no force within the territorial boundaries of the Cherokee Nation.
What is Worcester v. Georgia (1832)?
Instead of Congress determining whether to allow slavery in a new western territory or state, Senator Lewis Cass (D-MI) suggested that the matter be determined by a vote of the people who settled a territory. This approach became known as this.
What is popular sovereignty (or squatter sovereignty)?
Compromise that CA was admitted as a free state; the slave trade was outlawed in D.C.; Fugitive Slave Act compelled citizens of free states to assist in capturing enslaved people; and the new territories of Utah and New Mexico would permit white residents to decide whether to allow slavery.
What is the Compromise of 1850?
The constitution of this country was like the U.S. Constitution, except that it placed limits on the government’s power to impose tariffs and restrict slavery.
What is the Confederate States of America?