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Chapter 16

Civil Rights Policymaking

American Government:

Policy & Politics, Eighth Edition

TANNAHILL

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In This Chapter We Will Cover:

• The constitutional basis of civil rights policymaking

• Civil rights issues and policies

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The Constitutional Basis of Civil Rights Policymaking

• Equal Protection Clause– The provision found in the Fourteenth

Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that declares that “No State shall….deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Civil Rights– The protection of the individual from

arbitrary or discriminatory acts by government or by other individuals based on an individual’s group status, such as race and gender.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Equality Before the Law– The Supreme Court has ruled that policy

distinctions among persons based on their race, ethnicity, and citizenship status are suspect classifications and declared that it will apply “strict judicial scrutiny” to any law that distinguishes among persons based on their race and ethnicity or citizenship.

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Status of Selected Groups Under the Equal

Protection Clause

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Suspect classifications are distinctions among persons that must be justified on the basis of a compelling government interest that cannot be achieved in a less restrictive fashion.

• Strict judicial scrutiny is the judicial decision rule holding that the Supreme Court will find a government policy unconstitutional unless the government can demonstrate a compelling interest justifying the action.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

– Racial Equality• Jim Crow laws were legal provisions requiring

the social segregation of African Americans in separate and generally unequal facilities.

– In Plessy v. Feguson (1896) the Supreme Court asserted the “separate-but-equal” doctrine.

– In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) the Supreme Court ruled that segregation mandated by law denied African American students equal educational opportunities.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Voting Rights and Representation– Suffrage is the right to vote.– Disfranchisement is the denial of voting rights.

• The white primary• Test of understanding• Literacy test• Poll tax• Grandfather clause

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

– In at-large elections, citizens choose office holders from an entire political subdivision such as a state or city.

– In district elections citizens choose public officials from subdivisions within a geographic area.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

– Minority-vote dilution is drawing election districts in order to thinly spread minority voters among several districts.

– Minority-vote packing is the drawing of election districts lines so as to cluster minority voters into one district or small number of districts to reduce their overall electoral influence.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

– The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is a federal law designed to protect the voting rights of ethnic minorities. The VRA makes it illegal for state and local governments to enact and enforce election rules and procedures that diminish African American and Latino voting power.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Freedom from Discrimination– The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed

discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin in hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other public accommodations.

– The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law intended to end discrimination against disabled persons.

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Sexual Harassment is a legal concept based on federal laws prohibiting gender discrimination in employment. The federal courts have identified two categories:– Quid pro quo harassment– Harassment based on a hostile

environment

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Civil Rights Issues and Policies

• Affirmative action refers to steps taken by colleges, universities , and employers to remedy the effects of past discrimination.– Racial and ethnic quotas– Minority business set-asides

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Concluding Review Questions

• What are the most important provisions in the U.S. Constitution affecting civil rights policies?

• Does the Constitution require that government treat all persons in identical fashion?

• What was the significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

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Concluding Review Questions

• What is the significance of the Voting Rights Act?

• Who sets the agenda for civil rights policymaking?

• Who implements civil rights policies?