African-Americans
Beginning with slavery, African-Americans have been denied civil rights in the United States. In the 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Supreme Court declared that slaves were property, and that all African-Americans, free or slave, were not citizens, and therefore had no right to sue in court.

After the Civil War, freedmen seemed to obtain rights with the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. However, after Reconstruction ended in 1876, these rights were quickly rescinded until the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was legal as long as the separate facilities were equal.

In the 1954 case of Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court overturned the Plessy case by declaring that segregated facilities were inherently unequal, and ordered the integration of the nation's public schools. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of a Montgomery, Alabama, public bus for a white rider. This attracted the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott, eventually resulting in the end of such racist policies. These events sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement that allowed African-Americans to exercise their civil rights, and inspired other groups to do the same.

Members of the Civil Rights Movement used a variety of methods to get results. These included practicing non-violence and passive resistance (sit-ins, boycotts, freedom rides, etc.) as encouraged by Dr. King. However, other leaders such as Malcom X demanded that civil rights needed to be achieved, "by any means necessary," including using acts of violence if need be.

Overall, the struggle was successful, and the government began to grant civil rights to African-Americans.

This successful civil rights reform inspired other groups to follow similar tactics in order to achieve similar results.

Hispanic-Americans
Hispanic-Americans have struggled to obtain civil rights in two key areas: labor protection, political representation, and desegregation.

Cesar Chavez helped to organize mostly Hispanic migrant farm workers using non-violent methods into the United Farm Workers union which later merged with the AFL-CIO. This attention to the plight of migrant farmers has led to safer working conditions and more stringent government regulations.

Ignacio Lopez established the Unity League of California in order to promote political candidates who would represent Hispanic interests. The Unity League also sought and achieved integration of public schools in California.

Native Americans
Beginning in colonial times, native tribes were dislocated and pushed West. The most classic example is that of the Trail of Tears in which the Cherokee Nation was forced from Georgia and resettled in the mid-West in the 1830s under extremely harsh conditions. American settlers continued pushing westward, resulting in the Indian Wars of the late 1800s, which resulted in the failed Dawes Act, an attempt at Americanizing natives, and the reservation system. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed which strengthened tribal land claims and tribal authority while providing practical educational opportunities for native groups.

In 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded as a response to the government's Termination Policy which was aimed at limiting or eliminating the financial assistance provided to native groups. AIM used militaristic action to focus attention on native problems in order to gain publicity.

Many native groups have since filed land claims in New York State, claiming that negotiates that resulted in the loss of native lands were unconstitutional because states do not have treaty-making powers with foreign nations.

Feminism
The Women's Movement was rekindled after women's suffrage was obtained in 1920. Betty Friedan wrote The Femine Mystique in 1963 which question the traditional domestic female role in the United States. Friedan also went on to establish the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1996 in order to obtain legislation guaranteeing equality for all women.

In the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, women were granted the right to have an abortion. This decision has proven controversial and has been hotly debated ever since.

Disabled Americans
The rights of disabled Americans were first championed by Dorthea Dix in the early 1800s. She helped provide institutions for the disabled who were being mistreated across the nation. However, problems with institutionalizing disabled American including abuse and neglect soon became the norm.

Today, many schools mainstream students with disabilities so that they take classes with other students their own age.

Affirmative Action
Many of these groups were guaranteed equality through Affirmative Action, which is a label used to describe the many methods used to guarantee that women, minorities, and the disabled have equal opportunities in education and employment.

The landmark case of University of California Board of Regents v. Bakke found that while affirmative action was constitutional, race could not be the only criteria used to allow applicants to attend a university. So while race could be a criteria for selection, it could not be the only criteria.

Rights of the Accused
In the 1960s under the Warren Court, the Supreme Court handed down decisions that vastly expanded the rights of the accused in the United States.