Unit 10 Vocabulary

SS.7.C.3.7

13th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made slavery unconstitutional in the United States

14th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that defines citizenship, grants citizenship to former slaves and defines voters as males at least 21 year of age

15th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that makes it illegal for the federal or state governments to deny someone the right to vote based on their race

19th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote

24th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made poll taxes illegal as a requirement for voting

26th Amendment: an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that lowered the minimum voting age to 18

amendment: a change to a constitution (e.g., U.S. Constitution, Florida Constitution)

civil rights: the basic rights of citizens to be free from unequal treatment based on certain characteristics (e.g., race, gender, disability)

Civil Rights Act of 1964: federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin

Civil Rights Act of 1968: a federal law that prohibits discrimination related to the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex

discrimination: treating a person or group unfairly based on their race, religion, gender, disability, or other reasons

Equal Rights Amendment: a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing discrimination based on sex

literacy test: a written test used to decide whether or not someone was eligible to register vote

poll tax: a fee someone has to pay in order to vote

prohibit: to forbid or to not allow something

segregation: the separation of people, such as segregation based on race

states’ rights: a power or issue for individual states to determine

suffrage: the right to vote

Voting Rights Act of 1965: a federal law that banned race discrimination in voting practices by federal, state, and local governments


SS.7.C.3.6

civil disobedience: the refusal to obey certain laws as a form of political protest

economic freedom: the freedom to produce, trade, or use any goods or services in a way that is legal



SS.7.C.3.12

Brown v. Board of Education: U.S. Supreme Court case that determined that “separate but equal” segregation was not equal in public education

Equal Protection Clause: the section of the Fourteenth Amendment that says that states must apply the law equally and cannot discriminate against citizens or groups of citizens

legal precedent: a judicial decision that is used as an example in dealing with later, similar cases

Plessy v. Ferguson: U.S. Supreme Court case that determined that “separate but equal” segregation was not discrimination