Chapter V: Civil Rights and Public Policy

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 state?

1. Made racial discrimination illegal in hpotels, motels, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation. 2. Forbade discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or gender 3. Create the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to monitor and enforce protections against job discrimination 4. Provided for withholding federal grants from state and local governments and other institutions that practiced racial discrimination. Strengthened voting rights legislation 5. Authorized the U.S. Justice department to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public schools and facilities.

How can women be legally treated differently in the military?

1. Only men must register for the draft when they turn 18. 2. statues and regulations are prohibit women from serving in combat.

What are three key types of inequality in America?

1. Racial Discrimination 2. Gender Discrimination 3. Discrimination based on age, disability, sexual orientation, and other factors.

What are three major conceptions of equality?

1. We have Equal Entitlement of Rights 2. There should be Equal opportunities 3 American society does not emphasize equal results or equal rewards.

What amendment gave women suffrage?

19th

University Board of Regents v. Bakke

A 1978 supreme court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race.

Equal Rights Amendment

Amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex." Despite public support, the amendment failed to aquired the necessary supported from three-fourths of the state legislatures.

What court cases and laws have been made concerning homosexuals as civil rights?

Romer vs. Evans, Lawrence vs. Texas, Bowers v. Hardwick.

Fair Housing Act, 1968

The Civil Rights Act of 1968, is a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or national origin.

Fourteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that states, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, no deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." See also due process clause.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

The constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void in federal elections.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified after the civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Comparable Worth

The issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill.

What is comparable worth?

The issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

The law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.

Suffrage

The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the fifteenth amendment, to women by the nineteenth amendment and to people over the age of 18 by the twenty-sixth amendment.

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 state?

Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African-American elected officials increased dramatically. No racial gerrymandering, no literacy tests, and federal approval of states with a history of discrimination.

What discrimination has been faced by American Indians and how have they overcome it?

We took their lands, used manifest destiny to justify destroying them, assimilating them into our culture, prohibiting practice of their religion, etc.They are using the courts and there is an Indian activist movement.

What discrimination has been faced by Asian Americans and how have they overcome discrimination?

education, jobs, housing, as well as restrictions on immigrating and naturalization or more than a hundred years prior to the civil rights acts of the 1960's. Discrimination was especially egregious during world war II. They are also using the courts.

Create a Civil Rights timeline listing the important dates, historical eras, important legislation, court cases and amendments.

...

What is the Equal Rights Amendment and why didn't it pass?

A constitutional amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Despite public support, the amendment failed to azquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African-American elected officials increased dramatically.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities against these individuals in employment.

Literacy Tests

A test to see if you can read and write and understand the U.S. constitution.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.

Define affirmative action.

A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.

De Facto Segregation

Behavioral segregation not controlled by government policy.

How did the following legislation affect women's rights? Civil Rights Act EEOC change in 1972 Pregnancy Discrimination Act Civil Rights and Women's Equity in Employment

Civil Rights Act: Banned Sexual harassment EEOC Change in 1972: Protected against job discrimination Pregnancy Discrimination Act: To amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. Civil Rights and Women's Equity in Employment: is designed to guard against discrimination in the workplace. It would allow victims of intentional employment discrimination to receive monetary awards, reduce the burden of proof on workers who believe they've been discriminated against, clarify rules for determining when job practices are discriminatory, outlaw job quotas and establish a cap for punitive damages.

What is the difference in de jure and de facto segregation

De jure: Lawful segregation De Facto: Choice and behavioral segregation

Fifteenth Amendment

Extended suffrage to African Americans.

What is the only mention of equality in the U.S. Constitution?

Fourteenth Amendment

Nineteenth Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.

Suspect Classifications

In American jurisprudence, a suspect classification is any classification of groups meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination.

Heightened Scrutiny Test

In U.S. constitutional law, is the second level of deciding issues using judicial review. The other levels are typically referred to as rational basis review (least rigorous) and strict scrutiny (most rigorous). In order to overcome the intermediate scrutiny test, it must be shown that the law or policy being challenged furthers an important government interest in a way that is substantially related to that interest. This should be contrasted with strict scrutiny, the higher standard of review which requires narrowly tailored and least restrictive means to further a compelling governmental interest.

White Primary

One of the means used to discourage African American voting that permitted political parties in the heavily democratic south to exclude African Americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. the supreme court declared white primaries unconstitutional in 1944.

Equal Protection of the Laws

Part of the fourteenth amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent "protection" to all people.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v. Ferguson, is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal".

Civil Rights

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

Define Civil Rights.

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

List ways Southern whites kept blacks from voting after the fifteenth amendment was passed.

Poll taxes, literacy tests, understanding the constitution, white primaries.

What laws have protected the disabled from discrimination?

Rehabilitation Act, Accessibility laws, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975,

Explain the policy of protectionism.

Raising tariffs to benefit domestic business, especially manufacturers.

What is the difference between reasonable and arbitrary classifications according to the supreme court?

Reasonable: Bear a rational relationship to some legitimate government purpose (this is constitutional). A person who challenges these classifications has the burden of proving that they are arbitrary. Arbitrary classifications are singling out and invalid.

Explain how the following court cases affected women's rights: Reed vs. Reed Craig vs. Boren Kichberg vs. Feenstra Arizona vs. Norris Orr vs. Orr Mississippi vs. Hogan Michael M. vs. Superior Court

Reed vs. Reed: The landmark case in 1971 in which the supreme court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination. Craig v. Boren: In this 1976 ruling, the supreme court established the "medium scrutiny" standard for determining gender discrimination Kicheberg vs. Feenstra: In Kirchberg v. Feenstra, the Supreme Court overturns state laws designating a husband "head and master" with unilateral control of property owned jointly with his wife. Arizona vs. Norris: Orr vs. Orr: was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that a statutory scheme in Alabama that imposed alimony obligations on husbands but not on wives was an unconstitutional equal protection violation. Mississippi vs. Hogan: was a case decided 5-4 by the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that the single-sex admissions policy of the Mississippi University for Women violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Michael M. Vs. Superior Court: was a United States Supreme Court case over the issue of gender bias in statutory rape laws. The petitioner argued that the statutory rape law discriminated based on gender and was unconstitutional. The court ruled otherwise. Sexual intercourse entails a higher risk for women than men. Thus, the court found the law just in targeting men as the only possible perpetrators of statutory rape

De Jure Segregation

Segregation by law. It's illegal because of Brown v. Board of Education.

What was the first meeting held in the United States concerning women's rights?

Seneca Falls Convention

Define sexual harassment as viewed by the court.

Sexual harassment that is so pervasive as to create a hostile or abuse work environment is a form of gender discrimination, which is forbidden by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Poll Tax

Small taxes levied on the right to vote that often fell due at a time of year when poor African-American sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. This method was used by most Southern states to exclude African Americans from voting. Poll taxes were declared void by the twenty-fourth amendment in 1964.

List important cases surrounding affirmative action.

The university of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors v. Pena, AFL-CIO v. Weber, Gratz v. Bollinger,

What is suspect classifications and what does the supreme court view as inherently suspect?

They are classifications about race, national origin, or religion that are presumed invalid and are upheld only if they serve a compelling public interest.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.

Strict Scrutiny Test

he most stringent standard of judicial review used by United States courts. It is part of the hierarchy of standards that courts use to weigh the government's interest against a constitutional right or principle. The lesser standards are rational basis review and exacting or intermediate scrutiny. These standards are used to test statutes and government action at all levels of government within the United States.

Rational Basis Test

refers to the lowest of three levels of scrutiny applied by courts when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment. "Rational basis review" simply means that the enactment in question is "rationally related" to a "legitimate" governmental reason offered as its justification.