A.P. U.S. Government & Politics

CIVIL RIGHTS

The privileges and rights guaranteed to an individual and are protected from limitation by government actions (laws)

Guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment

WHAT ARE CIVIL RIGHTS?

HISTORICALLY

Emancipation Proclamation- (1863) freed the slaves

After the Civil War: the 13th Amendment-abolished slavery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh3-9R7Q0OE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

*first step toward guaranteeing rights for African Americans

14th Amendment-defined citizenship to include former slaves, and provided for due process and equal protection

15th Amendment-extended suffrage to all males, regardless of race

Response: Black Codes

• Examples: literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, registration laws, & white primary elections

• Jim Crow laws designed to segregate schools & public facilities

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Upheld Jim Crow laws that separate but equal facilities is constitutional

Executive Order 9981 (1948)

• Ordered the desegregation of the armed forces

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KA (1954)

• Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson ruling separate but equal is unconstitutional

Brown v. Board II

• Ordered schools to be desegregated “with all deliberate speed”

Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964)

• Clarifies that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was to also be applied to public accommodations

COURT CASES & LEGISLATION

Civil Rights Act of 1957

• Created the Civil Rights division within the Justice Department, and made it a crime to prevent a person from voting in federal

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Outlawed discrimination in voter registration

• Prohibited discrimination in employment and places of public accommodation

• Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

24th Amendment

• Outlawed poll taxes in federal elections

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Allowed federal registrars to register voters & outlawed literacy tests and other discriminatory tests in voter registration

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)• Established in 1909 to lobby in Washington and

publicize black grievances

Strategies to Achieving Equal Rights• Mobilizing public opinion through dramatic events

(Rosa Parks bus boycott & King’s March on Washington)

• Peaceful violations of the law (sit-ins & freedom rides)• Violence & riots (The Black Panthers & Malcolm X)

AFRICAN AMERICANS

WOMEN

The fight for women’s civil rights came out of their participation in the abolition movement in the 1840’s

19th Amendment • Gave women the right to vote

The Equal Pay Act (1963)• Made it illegal to base an employee’s wages on race, gender, religion, or natural origin

Civil Rights Act of 1964• Banned job discrimination on the basis of gender

Equal Employment Opportunity Act (1972)• Prohibited gender discrimination in hiring, firing, promotions, pay, and working

conditions

Title IX (1972)• Outlawed discrimination in educational programs, including athletic opportunities for

females

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974)• Prohibited discrimination against women seeking credit

Defined as any sexual behavior (physical or verbal) that creates a hostile work enviornment

Two forms of harassment:

Quid Pro Quo- sexual favors expected in return for employment/promotion

Hostile Environment- creating a setting where harassment impairs a person’s ability to work

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in America

• Now the largest minority group in the U.S.

• Civil rights action for Hispanics has focuses on:

• -a plan for citizenship for the 12 million undocumented

immigrants

-health care

-admission of more Hispanic students to college

-redistricting plans that aren’t discriminatory to Hispanics

HISPANIC AMERICANS

More than 2 million Native Americans live on reservations in the U.S.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988)

allowed Native Americans to have casinos on their reservations

NATIVE AMERICANS

The Rehabilitation Act (1973)

Prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in federal programs

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975)

Guarantees that children with disabilities will receive an “appropriate” education

The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)• Extends provisions under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to those

with disabilities

• Businesses are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled employees and customers

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Prior to the 1970s, few people were willing to discuss their sexual preferences in relation to same-sex relationships.

Protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14 th Amendment

1996- Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

-a direct contradiction to the Full faith & Credit Clause allowing states the right to refuse to recognize gay marriages performed in other states

2014- The Supreme Court shot down DOMA on the national level, agreeing to recognize legal same-sex marriages

HOMOSEXUALS

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)

Prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals over the age of 40 on the basis of age

THE ELDERLY

The courts recognize that some forms of discrimination are valid

Example: must be 21 to drink, 18 to vote, etc.

Devised the rational basis test to determine if the discrimination has a legitimate purpose

WHEN IS DISCRIMINATION PERMISSIBLE?

“OK” gender based differences:

-all boy/all girl schools-widows’ property tax

exemption-delayed promotions in the

military-statutory rape

NOT “ok” gender based differences:

-age of adulthood-drinking age

-arbitrary height/weight requirements

-mandatory pregnancy leaves

-Little League exclusion-Unequal retirement benefits

The court has a choice of 3 standards to apply in discrimination cases:

1. Reasonableness Standard- the difference in treatment must be reasonable and not arbitrary

2. Intermediate Scrutiny- a standard in between reasonableness and strict scrutiny

3. Strict Scrutiny- drawing differences between groups of people based on race is inherently suspect, and not allowed (only applies to race, not gender)

DISCRIMINATION CLASSIFICATIONS

A policy designed to correct the effects of past discrimination based on race & gender

A program that gives special preference to minorities and women in education admissions and employment

Controversial:

-argued as a means of reverse discrimination

-equality of opportunity vs. equality of results?

Race may be used as a factor is college admissions and hiring, but may NOT be the only factor

Bakke v. University of California (1978)- racial quotas are not permissible, but race may be considered in admissions

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION