African American Studies: Legal Milestones

President Lincoln's proclamation that freed some of the slaves in the South.

This amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery.

Ratified in 1868, this amendment to the United States Constitution granted citizenship to former slaves.

Passed in 1870, this was the amendment to the United States Constitution that granted voting rights to African Americans.

In 1948, President Truman issued this order that ended racial segregation in the United States military.

In 1896, the Supreme Court established the "separate but equal" practice in American schools by ruling that segregation was permissible as long as the education provided to whites and blacks was equal.

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

This act was passed in 1965.

Dred Scott, a slave, unsuccessfully sued to obtain his freedom in 1857.