|
July 4, 1776
|
Declaration of
Independence
|
|
1781
|
"Mumbet" wins her freedom in court |
|
1783
|
Massachusetts
becomes first independent state to abolish slavery |
|
September 17, 1787
|
Constitutional Convention finishes its work |
|
1788
|
US Constitution ratified on understanding that a Bill of Rights would be added |
|
December 15, 1791
|
Bill of Rights added to the US Constitution |
|
1798
|
Alien and Sedition Acts undermine First Amendment and permit president to deport "suspicious" immigrants |
|
1803
|
Marbury v.
Madison
establishes judicial review |
|
1808
|
Halt to slave trade under Constitution |
|
1820
|
Missouri Compromise sets down rules for extension of slavery in western territory |
|
1829
|
David Walker's Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World galvanizes opposition to slavery, alarms South |
|
1830
|
Slavery at an end in all Northern states
|
|
1831
|
First issue of the Liberator, as abolition movement grows |
|
|
Beginning of the Trail of Tears |
|
1833
|
Barron v.
Baltimore
establishes that the Bill of Rights applies only to the actions of the federal government, not to the states |
|
1836
|
Congress undermines First Amendment by barring anti-slavery petitions (the "gag rule") |
|
1837
|
National Female Anti-Slavery Convention formed |
|
1844
|
Congress repeals the "gag rule" |
|
1845
|
"Manifest Destiny" invoked to justify western expansion |
|
1848
|
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War; US gets a million square miles of territory |
|
|
Seneca Falls Convention initiates American women's movement |
|
1849
|
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery |
|
1850
|
Fugitive Slave Act provides for the return to slavery of any Black person, no matter how long he or she had been free |
|
1854
|
Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals Missouri Compromise |
|
1857
|
Dred Scott v. Sandford – Supreme Court rules that Black people had never possessed legal standing in US courts and "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect" |
|
1861
|
Civil War |
|
1865
|
Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery |
|
|
Southern states pass Black Codes that re-establish slavery in all but name |
|
1866
|
Ku Klux Klan founded in
Tennessee
|
|
|
Civil Rights Act gives citizenship to all persons born in the
US
with the exception of Native Americans |
|
1867
|
Reconstruction Act speeds transformation of the South |
|
1868
|
Fourteenth Amendment declares states cannot deny "any person" of the "equal protection of the laws" or deprive persons of "life, liberty or property without due process of law" |
|
1870
|
Fifteenth Amendment prohibits states from restricting the voting rights of men; women are left out |
|
1873
|
Supreme Court begins to roll back Fourteenth Amendment |
|
1874
|
In Minor v. Happersett the Supreme Court says that suffrage is not necessarily a part of citizenship and women can be deprived of the vote |
|
1877
|
Reconstruction ended by deal over a disputed presidential election |
|
1879
|
Supreme Court rules that Native Americans are to be considered "persons" under
US
law |
|
1882
|
Chinese Exclusion Act puts a halt to Chinese immigration |
|
1890
|
Wounded Knee
massacre brings Indian Wars to an end; symbol of Native American dispossession |
|
|
National American Woman Suffrage Association unites women's suffrage movement |
|
1891
|
Ida B. Wells launches anti-lynching crusade |
|
1896
|
In Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court sanctions "Jim Crow" segregation |
|
1901
|
President McKinley is assassinated; anarchists and political radicals targeted |
|
1916
|
First edition of Madison Grant's Passing of the Great Race |
|
1917
|
As first Red Scare intensifies, Congress passes Espionage Act to punish disloyal utterances or attempts to obstruct military recruitment |
|
1918
|
Congress passes Sedition Act with stiff penalties for language that could "cause contempt" towards the government, the Constitution or flag |
|
1920
|
"Palmer Raids" launched on homes, meeting places, pool halls and other public places; as many as 10,000 suspected "radicals" rounded up |
|
|
Women finally get right to vote when Nineteenth Amendment ratified |
|
1924
|
Native Americans become US citizens |
|
1925
|
In Gitlow v.
New York
Supreme Court rules for first time that the First Amendment applies to the states
|
|
|
Scopes trial raises profile of First Amendment and free exchange of ideas |
|
1927
|
Worldwide protests erupt when Sacco and Vanzetti are executed |
|
1935
|
Jehovah's Witness students first challenge flag salute in school |
|
1940
|
Congress passes the Smith Act; makes it a crime to advocate the overthrow of the government |
|
1942
|
Executive Order provides for removal and internment of Japanese-Americans |
|
1943
|
Supreme Court overturns Gobitis and rules for the first time that the Bill of Rights applies to students in schools; they have the right to refuse to salute the flag |
|
1944
|
Supreme Court in Korematsu upholds internment based on evidence from the government which later turns out to be falsified |
|
1947
|
Second Red Scare gets underway when President Truman orders loyalty of federal employees be investigated |
|
1948
|
Jackie Robinson integrates major leagues |
|
1950s
|
McCarthy hearings broadcast on television |
|
1954
|
In unanimous Brown v. Board of Education decision, Supreme Court overturns 1896 Plessy opinion and rules "separate but equal" is unconstitutional |
|
1955
|
Emmett Till's murder in Money,
Mississippi
catalyses protests |
|
|
Montgomery
bus boycott begins; a year later it is successful in ending segregation on buses |
|
1960
|
Sit-in movement launched by students |
|
1963
|
Birmingham
"Children's Crusade" confronts segregation in the city known as "Bombingham" because of Klan terror |
|
|
In Gideon v. Wainwright the Supreme Court rules everyone has a right to a lawyer when tried for a crime in a state court |
|
1964
|
Three civil rights workers murdered during Mississippi Freedom Summer |
|
|
Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race |
|
1965
|
Selma
,
Alabama
marches lead to passage of Voting Rights Act |
|
|
Supreme Court upholds fundamental right to privacy in case involving birth control |
|
1966
|
In Miranda v. Arizona the Supreme Court rules that someone being held in police custody must be informed of his or her rights |
|
1967
|
Supreme Court rules in In re Gault that minors also have due process protections |
|
1969
|
Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines School District upholds the free expression rights of students and everyone else |
|
1970
|
Government spying on anti-war protestors first made public |
|
1971
|
Watergate scandal begins |
|
1973
|
In Roe v. Wade Supreme Court rules that protection of privacy extends to a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy |
|
1975
|
Congressional Church Committee reports on huge extent of government spying on domestic groups and individuals |
|
1978
|
Congress passes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to restrain warrantless domestic spying by the government
|
|
1985
|
Supreme Court begins rollback of civil rights gains; rollback continues through the 80s
|
|
|
Supreme Court in TLO ruling defines when students can be searched in public schools
|
|
1988
|
In Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court gives schools greater censorship powers |
|
1994
|
Jury convicts Klansman for murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, 31 years after he was gunned down; other civil rights cases re-opened and convictions obtained throughout the 90s and early 21st century |
|
1995
|
In Vernonia v. Acton, the Supreme Court narrows students' Fourth Amendment rights |
|
1999
|
Columbine killings lead to crackdown on student rights in the name of safety
|
|
2001
|
USA PATRIOT Act is passed in the wake of September 11th attacks |
|
|
Military Order establishes "military commissions" to try "war on terror" captives |
|
2002
|
Guantanamo
detention camp established for "enemy combatants"
|
|
2004
|
Supreme Court rules in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that "a state of war is not a blank check for the President" |
|
2005
|
New York Times reveals existence of warrantless spying on Americans by the National Security Agency
|
|
2006
|
USA PATRIOT Act reauthorized |
|
|
Supreme Court rules in Hamdan v. Rusmfeld that military commissions violate international law and are illegal |
