American Law | Civics: Links to History

Links to History: American Law

1775

1788 The U.S. Constitution is formally ratified.

1791 The Bill of Rights is ratified.

1800

1803 Marbury v. Madison is the first instance in which a law passed by Congress is declared unconstitutional. The decision greatly expands the power of the Supreme Court by establishing its right to overturn acts of Congress, a power not explicitly granted by the Constitution.

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  source: Corbis RF

1819 In McCulloch v. Maryland, the United States Supreme Court makes a landmark ruling, deciding that Congress has not only the powers granted by the Constitution, but also those powers necessary or helpful in carrying out its authority.

1825

1850

1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford is a highly controversial case that intensifies the national debate over slavery. The case involves Dred Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a free territory. Scott files a lawsuit claiming that because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney disagrees, ruling that African Americans are not citizens and therefore cannot sue in federal court.

1865 The Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery throughout the United States.

1874 In the Kalamazoo case, the Michigan Supreme Court decides that state tax money can be used to support public schools.

1875

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson is the infamous case that asserts that “equal but separate accommodations” for African Americans on railroad cars do not violate the “equal protection under the law” clause of the 14th Amendment.

1900

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  source: Corbis/Bettmann

1916 Congress passes the Keating-Owen Child Act, which prohibits interstate shipment of goods made by children.

1920

1950

1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka invalidates racial segregation in schools and leads to the unraveling of de jure segregation in all areas of public life. The Supreme Court invalidates the 1896 Plessy ruling, declaring “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” and contends that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

1963 The Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright guarantees a defendant's right to legal counsel.

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  source: Corbis/Bettmann

1964 Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting, education, employment, and access to public facilities.

1966 Miranda v. Arizona helps define the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. At the center of the case is Ernesto Miranda, who confessed to a crime during police questioning without knowing he had a right to have an attorney present. Based on his confession, Miranda is convicted. The Supreme Court overturns the conviction, ruling that criminal suspects must be warned of their rights before they are questioned by police.

1975

1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke imposes limitations on affirmative action to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities would not come at the expense of the rights of the majority.

2000

2002 Congress passes the USA Patriot Act, designed to increase the powers of law enforcement in the war on terrorism.

2003 In Grutter v. Bollinger, which addresses the University of Michigan Law School's admissions program, the Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in higher education. Race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students. At the same time, however, the Supreme Court rules in Gratz v. Bollinger that the more formulaic approach of the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions program, which uses a point system that rates students and awards additional points to minorities, has to be modified.

2025