Monticello | Quest for Equality: Timeline

A timeline of the ongoing effort to fulfill the Declaration’s promise of equality — from the Bill of Rights and Dred Scott through the Civil Rights Act, the ADA, and Obergefell v. Hodges.

1776

John Trumbull’s painting of the Committee of Five presenting the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress. — The Declaration of Independence signed

1791

Handwritten 1789 congressional resolution on parchment proposing the amendments that became the Bill of Rights. — The Bill of Rights is incorporated into the United States Constitution

1803

Antique hand-colored map of the United States, ca. 1820, showing state and territory boundaries and an engraved eagle emblem. — Louisiana Purchase: The United States doubled in size overnight, yet the indigenous peoples living on that land were not considered American citizens

1848

Black-and-white photograph of a large group of women in early-1900s dress and sashes reading "The Suffragist," posed on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. — Seneca Falls Convention - First Convention for Women's Rights

1857

Black-and-white portrait photograph of Dred Scott, an older man with short dark hair, wearing a jacket and tie. — The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott Decision: Persons of African descent cannot be and were never intended to be citizens under the US Constitution.

1861-1865

Collage of three portraits of men in Civil War-era military uniforms, one painted and two photographic. — American Civil War

1865-1869

Print out of Civil War Amendments - 13th, 14th and 15th — Constitutional Amendments 13-15 ratified, abolishing slavery, defining citizenship, and prohibiting denial of vote based on race

1870s -1920s

Black-and-white photograph of Frederick Madison Roberts in a suit seated at a desk with an open book and papers, in a legislative chamber. — Many states pass "Jim Crow" laws to circumvent the 14th and 15th Amendments amidst growing activism in the Suffragist and Equal Rights Movements

1896

Black-and-white photograph of a "Colored Waiting Room" sign above a bus terminal, with a man standing near a Carolina Coach Company bus. — Plessy vs. Ferguson: U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 14th Amendment allows states to pass "separate but equal" laws enforcing racial segregation and inequality

1905-1909

Black-and-white portrait photograph of William Monroe Trotter, a man with a gray mustache wearing a suit and tie. — Niagra Movement, co-founded by William Monroe Trotter, and NAACP form to combat racism and segregation

1919

Suffragists in college sashes hold a banner reading “Mr. President How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty.” — Constitutional Amendment 19 ratified, granting women the right to vote

1924

Native Americans granted full citizenship

1943

Large crowd of Asian American demonstrators with banners in Chinese and English, one reading “All Minorities Unite!” — Magnuson Act allows Chinese immigrants to become naturalized citizens

1948

African American soldiers crowd the decks and gangway of a troop ship on their return from World War I. — President Truman orders integration of U.S Armed Forces

1954

Mother and daughter on the Supreme Court steps with a newspaper headline: “High Court Bans Segregation in Public Schools.” — Brown vs. The Board of Education: U.S. Supreme Court overturns "separate but equal" laws and requires integration "with all deliberate speed"

Black-and-white photograph of five Mexican American men in suits standing in front of an American flag. — Hernadez vs. Texas: U.S. Supreme Court rules the 14th Amendment applies to Latin Americans

1955

Black-and-white photograph of Rosa Parks seated at a window on a Montgomery city bus, with a white man seated behind her. — Rosa Parks arrested for sitting in the "whites only" section of a Montgomery, Alabama city bus

1964-1965

Black-and-white photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. shaking hands with a man believed to be President Lyndon B. Johnson, surrounded by onlookers. — Congress passes the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts

1967

Black-and-white photograph of Mildred and Richard Loving seated side by side on a couch in their home. — Loving vs. Virginia: U.S. Supreme Court rules 14th Amendment requires states to allow and recognize interracial marriage

1972

Collage of University of Virginia athletes in soccer and field hockey, including a men’s team celebrating a 2019 ACC title. — Title IX bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programs

1990

President George H. W. Bush signs the ADA at an outdoor desk, flanked by disability rights advocates, two using wheelchairs. — President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans With Disabilities Act prohibiting discrimination against the disabled

2015

Color photograph of the front facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building, with its columned portico and pediment sculpture against a blue sky. — Obergefell vs. Hodges U.S. Supreme Court rules the 14th Amendment requires states to allow and recognize same-sex marriage

The Ongoing Quest for Equality