1776 => Declaration of Independence
1857 =>Dred Scott vs. Sanford (People of African descent and brought to the US as slaves, and their children could never be citizens of the United States)
1865 =>13th Amendment (abolished slaverly, but did not provide blacks with equality)
1866 => Civil Rights Act of 1866
1868 =>14th Amendment ("All persons born or naturalized in the US...are citizens...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person...the equal protection of the laws.")
1870 => The 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.
1875 =>Civil Rights Act of 1875
1883 => Civil Rights Cases
1896 => Plessy vs. Ferguson
1920 => 19th Amendment ("The rights of citizens...to vote shall not be denied or abridged...on account of sex.")
1954 =>Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
1963 => Equal Pay Act of 1963 (prohibits sex-based pay differentials on jobs)
1964 =>Civil Rights Act of 1964
1965 => Executive Order 11246 (affirmative action requirements of government contractors and subcontractors)
1967 => Loving vs. Virginia
1968 =>Architectural Barriers Act