Timeline of Expanding Constitutional Liberties

1. Timeline of ExpandingConstitutional Liberties for African Americanssteps toward (and away from) racial equality Select a time period to explore significant events: The Civil Rights Movement 1954-1968 Reconstruction 1863-1877 1792-1865 Kentucky Statehood through the Civil War More Recent Events 1877-1954 The Jim Crow Era

2. 1792-1865 Kentucky Statehood through the Civil War Slaves and free blacks fought in the Civil War 1861-1865 Select an event to explore: Berea College founded as fully integrated 1855 Kentucky’s 1st Constitution protected slavery 1792 1790 Ratification of the U. S. Constitution and slavery compromises 1850 Kentucky’s 3rd Constitution strengthened slavery protections 1857 Dred Scott v Sanford decision excludes African Americans from citizenship Return to the Main Timeline

3. 1790 The U. S. Constitution was ratified, with several compromises regarding slavery: Congress was prohibited from ending the Atlantic slave trade before 1808; free states were forbidden to grant freedom to fugitive slaves who crossed their borders; and slaves—who had no legal rights as persons—were each counted as three-fifths of a person in the census, thereby increasing the South’s representation in Congress. Other matters regarding slavery were left up to the individual states. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline National Archives

4. 1792 Kentucky became the first state to protect slavery in its first Constitution. Article IX, which states that the Legislature cannot pass laws to emancipate slaves without the consent of their owners, was the most debated topic at the constitutional convention. Return to this Time Period Library of Congress Return to the Main Timeline

5. 1850 Protections for slavery were increased in the 1850 Kentucky Constitution.  Return to this Time Period Kentucky Historical Society Return to the Main Timeline

6. 1855 Abolitionist Reverend John Fee founded Berea College in 1855, as the only non-segregated, co-educational college in the South. This photo shows Berea’s students in 1899. Library of Congress Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

7. 1857 The U. S. Supreme Court, in Dred Scott v Sanford, ruled that African Americans—slave or free—were not citizens of the United States, and therefore, were not entitled to rights under the Constitution. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

8. 1861-1865 The Civil War—At the start of the war, there were more than 225,000 slaves in Kentucky. More than 23,000 Kentucky men of African descent joined the Union Army as United States Colored Troops. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

9. 1863-1877 Reconstruction The 14th Amendment reinforced equal protection of the laws 1868 Select an event to explore: United States v Reese challenged the 15th Amendment 1873-1876 Louisville streetcar protests and lawsuit 1870-1871 The 13th Amendment abolished slavery 1865 1870 The 15th Amendment granted voting rights 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves 1866 The Civil Rights Act provided equal protection of the laws 1875 A new Civil Rights Act expanded rights 1868-1871 Blyew v United States challenged the Civil Rights Act Return to the Main Timeline

10. 1863 With the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in the states in rebellion with the United States. The measure did not affect slaves in Kentucky, since the Commonwealth remained loyal to the Union. Return to this Time Period Library of Congress Return to the Main Timeline

11. 1865 Slavery was abolished in all states by the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Library of Congress Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

12. 1866 The federal Civil Rights Act conferred citizenship upon black males born in America and extended to them the rights “to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property.” U.S. Capitol Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

13. 1868 The Fourteenth Amendment provided constitutional reinforcement of the Civil Rights Act, granting citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

14. 1868-1871 In one of the first full cases to challenge the Civil Rights Act, Blyew v United States, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal protections under the Act didn’t apply to the black members of a Kentucky family who witnessed the ax murders of four relatives by two white men. The case was returned to Kentucky courts, where it was illegal for a black witness to testify against a white person. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

15. 1870-1871 Robert Fox led a non-violent protest on an all-white Louisville streetcar in 1870, and then sued the railroad for arresting him. The U. S. District Court ruled in Fox’s favor, saying the railway’s refusal to serve blacks violated the 14th Amendment and common-law provisions. As a result of this ruling and the ongoing protests organized by Quinn Chapel AME Church, Louisville did not enact Jim Crow ordinances for streetcars—a landmark victory in the South, 85 years before Rosa Parks. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

16. 1870 The Fifteenth Amendment declared that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged…on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

17. 1873-1876 A Kentucky case was the first to test voting rights under the 15th Amendment. In United States v Reese, the U. S. Supreme Court considered whether it was unconstitutional for a Lexington election inspector to refuse to allow African American William Garner to pay his poll tax and vote. The Court ruled that the 15th Amendment “does not confer the right of suffrage upon any one,” and that Congress had not yet provided the appropriate legislation to enforce the law. As a result, many state and local governments began to implement poll taxes, literacy tests, and other methods to suppress the black vote. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

18. 1875 In an effort to guarantee African Americans’ rights under the 14th Amendment—including equality in public accommodations and transportation and the right to serve on juries—Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

19. 1877-1954 The Jim Crow Era Kentucky’s separate coach law was upheld 1900 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that courts cannot enforce restrictive covenants 1948 Select an event to explore: Court case opened the door to legalized segregation 1883 The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s Day Law 1908 1904 The Day Law segregated Kentucky schools 1950 Kentucky’s Day Law was amended to allow voluntary integration of colleges 1880 Two court cases addressed blacks on juries 1896 Plessy v Ferguson established “separate but equal” 1916-1917 Louisville’s residential segregation ordinance ruled unconstitutional Return to the Main Timeline

20. 1880 The U. S. Supreme Court, in Strauder v West Virginia, ruled that it was unconstitutional to exclude blacks on juries due to their race. The Kentucky Court of Appeals, in Commonwealth v Johnson, ruled that the Kentucky statute that excluded citizens of African descent from grand and petit juries because of their race was unconstitutional. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

21. 1883 The U. S. Supreme Court decided that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional because the federal government lacked the power to prohibit discrimination by private individuals. This ruling opened the door to legalized segregation. Return to this Time Period Library of Congress Return to the Main Timeline

22. 1896 In Plessy v Ferguson, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities, under the doctrine of “separate but equal.” U. S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, a Kentuckian, was the lone dissenter. Click here to read from Justice Harlan’s dissent Return to this Time Period Library of Congress Return to the Main Timeline

23. Our Constitution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved. --U. S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, Plessy v. Ferguson dissenting opinion, 1896 Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

24. 1900 In Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company v Kentucky, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s separate coach law, requiring railway companies to furnish separate cars for white and black passengers. John McCutheon Cartoon Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

25. 1904 Kentucky enacted the Day Law, to end Berea College’s mission to fully integrate black and white students. The law prohibited students of color from attending the same school as white students and required that black schools be located at least 25 miles from whites-only schools. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

26. 1908 In Berea College v Kentucky, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s Day Law, allowing states to prohibit interracial instruction in private and public schools. U. S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, a Kentuckian, was the lone dissenter. Return to this Time Period Library of Congress Return to the Main Timeline

27. 1916-1917 In Buchanan v Warley, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Louisville’s residential segregation ordinance, prohibiting the sale of property to African Americans, violated the 14th Amendment. After this victory, more African Americans won their cases before the Supreme Court. As another consequence, blacks became increasingly able to move to places where they would have voting rights and greater political power. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

28. 1948 The U. S. Supreme Court, in Shelley v Kraemer, ruled that the courts cannot enforce restrictive covenants that bar people from occupying real estate based on their race. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

29. 1950 Kentucky’s Day Law was amended to allow voluntary integration at Kentucky colleges. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

30. 1954-1968 The Civil Rights Movement Kentucky passed a bill to enforce the Civil Rights Act 1966 The Voting Rights Act outlawed discrimination in voting 1965 Select an event to explore: Four Kentucky cities passed open housing laws 1967 Brown v Board ruled racial segregation of schools unconstitutional 1954 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination 1964 1957 The Civil Rights Act strengthened social justice statutes 1954 A Kentucky case expanded “separate is not equal” 1964 The 24th Amendment eliminated the poll tax 1967 Loving v Virginia ended race-based restrictions on marriage 1968 Kentucky passed the first statewide open housing law in the South Return to the Main Timeline

31. 1954 Federal rights to education were advanced when the U. S. Supreme Court ruled, in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, KS, that separate public schools for blacks and whites were “inherently unequal” and therefore unconstitutional. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

32. 1954 Immediately after the Brown v. Board decision, the U. S. Supreme Court decided to take another look at the Kentucky racial segregation case, Muir v Louisville Park Theatrical Association, a first step toward applying “separate is not equal” to recreation facilities, not just schools. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

33. 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created a commission to strengthen social justice statutes and protect voting rights. The act was the first federal civil rights legislation in eight decades. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

34. 1964 The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It protected voting rights and ended racial segregation in schools, workplaces, and public accommodations. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

35. 1964 The Twenty-Fourth Amendment was passed, eliminating the poll tax, which was often used to discourage blacks from voting. Library of Congress Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

36. 1965 The Voting Rights Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices, resulting in a dramatic increase in African American voters and elected officials.   Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

37. 1966 Kentucky Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed a state law to establish enforcement powers over the federal Civil Rights Act. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called it “the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a southern state.” Return to this Time Period The Kentucky Office of Public Information Return to the Main Timeline

38. 1967 The U. S. Supreme Court case, Loving v Virginia, ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.  Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

39. 1967 African American activists in Louisville organized a series of demonstrations and united to help elect a new Board of Aldermen. As a result of these community efforts, Louisville became the first major city in the South to pass an open housing law. Bardstown, Covington, and Lexington also passed local laws in advance of the state law. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

40. 1968 The Kentucky Fair Housing Act was the first statewide open housing law in the South, providing equal housing opportunities for all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin.  Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

41. More Recent Events Select an event to explore: Batson v Kentucky ruled that jurors cannot be excluded based on race alone 1986 1996 Language requiring school segregation was finally removed from Kentucky’s Constitution 1976 Kentucky finally ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments Return to the Main Timeline

42. 1976 Kentucky formally ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution. It had been the only state to reject all three amendments more than a century before. (The ex-Confederate states were required to approve them, in order to be readmitted to the Union; but since Kentucky had remained loyal to the Union, it was not required to do so.) Mae Street Kidd, an African American legislator elected in 1967, sponsored the bill. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

43. 1986 In Batson v Kentucky—a case that originated in Louisville—the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that excluding jurors based on race alone violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

44. 1996 Kentucky voters passed an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution to remove language requiring the state to maintain separate schools for "white" and "colored" children.   Return to this Time Period Return to the Main Timeline

45. Timeline of ExpandingConstitutional Liberties for African Americanssteps toward (and away from) racial equality Touch the Screen to Begin