Unit 7 FRQ
Identify and briefly explain two tactics used by citizens to further the goals of the Civil Rights movement.
Boycotting: the withdrawal from the use of certain goods or services as protest. Ex. Montgomery bus boycott Sit-ins: involves one or more people nonviolently occupying an area for a protest. Ex. Helped shut down business that were segregated.
Facing discrimination at the voting booth, many African American citizens turned to alternative forms of political participation. Describe two alternative forms of participation that helped bring about changes in civil rights policies and explain why they were effective in changing civil rights policies
Boycotts Protests/Sit-ins
Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil rights.
Equal Protection Clause: no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction "the equal protection of the laws"
Define affirmative action
Policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group
Identify and explain three Amendments to the Constitution that were intended to specifically impact Black Americans.
13th amendment -----Formally abolished slavery 14th amendment -----All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the state where they reside. No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process law. Equal protection under laws. 15th amendment -----The right of citizens of the US to vote shall not be denied by any account of race or previous servitude.
Identify two amendments that influenced civil rights through the expansion of suffrage
15th Amendment: Voting not denied on account of race 19th Amendment: Women's suffrage
For each of the the above, discuss three significant events that led to their passage.
15th: ----Civil War was fought to end slavery in the United States, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed right after the Union's victory ----Reconstruction act of 1867 called for the enfranchisement of all citizens in new state constitutions and so provided for the coming of black suffrage ----Election of Ulysses S. Grant, he only won by a slim margin, Republican party knew they would need votes of black men to remain in power 19th ----Seneca Falls Convention was where the idea of women's suffrage gained prominence ----15th amendment, some racist women were angry that blacks could vote but not women ----Formation of the NWSA
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014)
A majority of Michigan voters supported a proposition to amend the state constitution to prohibit all sex and race based preferences, some people formed a coalition to defend affirmative action and sued the governor, Court ruled that the proposed amendment does NOT violate the equal protection clause
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Grutter v Bollinger (2003)
A white student applied to University of Michigan and was denied, the Law school admits that it uses race as a factor because it serves a compelling interest in achieving diversity among its student body, Court ruled this was constitutional because it served a compelling interest
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Adarand Construction v Pena (1995)
Adarand was not hired as a contractor because another MINORITY BUSINESS subcontractor was awarded the work (if you hire disadvantaged people you get compensation), Court ruled that assuming disadvantage based on race alone is a discriminatory practice that violated the due process clause, the federal contract that gave extra compensation was unconstitutional
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Bakke was not accepted at the university although he was highly qualified (more qualified than the African Americans that were accepted) because the university had to fulfill a race quota, court ruled that strict quotas are inappropriate
Briefly explain how each of these bills addressed the problem of gender bias in American society. Assess the effectiveness of each of the legislative action. Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1973
Bars educational institutions that receive federal funds from discriminating against female students in any program or activity The number of female athletes have risen as athletic opportunities for females have increased. There is also equal access to higher education, and schools have an obligation to prevent and address any reported sexual harassment. Men also gained some privileges like nursing school.
Identify and explain the ruling (& the one issued one year later) in the most significant Supreme Court case on the topic of school desegregation, including the constitutional basis for the ruling.
Brown v Board of Education, separate but equal is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause because "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal", overturned by Plessy v Ferguson, paved the way for integration and was a victory in the civil rights movement.
Identify two examples of Civil Rights legislation regarding African Americans and explain two main components of each.
Civil Rights Act of 1964- outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national, religious, minorities, and women, ended 1) unequal application of voter registration requirements, and 2) racial segregation in schools, employment, and public facilities. Voting Rights Act of 1965- Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendment, act allowed for a mass enfranchisement. 1) outlawed discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests, 2) Section 2, which closely followed the language of the 15th amendment, applied a nationwide prohibition of the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color
Describe the difference between civil rights and civil liberties.
Civil Rights: Government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or individuals Civil Liberties: Personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge
Justify the need for affirmative action with two supported reasons.
Diverse campuses are important We need to compensate for past wrongs, it is not enough to grant equality, we need to actively help minorities, also some black schools don't offer AP classes
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Texas v Hopwood (1996)
Four white plaintiffs were rejected from University of Texas and challenged the admissions policy, they had better scores than most of the minorities, overturned race-based admissions in public universities in Texas
Identify and explain three tactics used to prevent full implementation of the 15th Amendment
Grandfather clause ------Made men eligible to vote if they had been able to vote before African-Americans were given the franchise, or if they were the lineal descendants of voters back then (if father or grandfather had voted in a specific year prior to the abolition of slavery) Poll taxes ------Part of Jim Crow, payment of a poll tax (one or two dollars per year) was a prerequisite for voting. Many african american (and poor whites) could not afford to pay. Literacy tests ------Reading or writing tests. Results were rigged by biased registrars who were the sole judges whether you were sufficiently literate to pass. They often did not require white applicants to take the test at all, or always "passed" those who did. Black applicants were almost always required to take the test, even those with college degrees, and they were almost always deemed to have "failed."
Despite ratification, voter turnout among African American citizens was very low throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Explain how two measures taken by some states prior to the 1960s affected voter turnout among African American citizens.
Literacy tests, they would make then incredibly hard for them to pass in order to keep african americans from voting. Grandfather clauses, made it that you could vote if your grandfather could keeping most african americans out of the voting system because their grandparents were originally enslaved.
Justify the removal of affirmative action with two supported reasons.
Mismatch theory, students go to universities they are not prepared for, can be discouraging Puts too much emphasis on race and not economic status, favors rich minorities
Briefly explain how each of these bills addressed the problem of gender bias in American society. Assess the effectiveness of each of the legislative action. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. (Also mandated the Equal Opportunity Commission to monitor and enforce the bans on employment discrimination) Effective, but obviously there are still sexist people who do not treat people equally
Briefly explain how each of these bills addressed the problem of gender bias in American society. Assess the effectiveness of each of the legislative action. The Equal Pay Act of 1963
Prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same establishment who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, the gender wage gap endures and women are on average paid less than men, but there has been some significant progress.
Briefly explain each of the following case scenarios AND how the Supreme Court ruled with regards to affirmative action in each (all of these are on pages 150-151 in the textbook, but may not be named - check the notes on page 602 to identify them): Gratz v Bollinger (2003)
Student applied to University of Michigan and was denied and told that they were qualified but not competitive enough, Court ruled that this undergraduate policy was not tailored sufficiently to meet the strict scrutiny standard, since the policy did not consider every student and offered admission to nearly every minority, it is unfair
Briefly explain how each of these bills addressed the problem of gender bias in American society. Assess the effectiveness of each of the legislative action. The Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution
The Equal Rights Amendment of the Constitution proposed amendment to guarantee equal rights for women Has not been effective, as the proposed amendment was never ratified. Even after extending the deadline for ratification, the amendment did not garner the necessary ¾ of state's approval.
Explain how Plessy v. Ferguson relates to an amendment noted above
The state of Louisiana enacted a law that required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. The court ruled that the racial segregation was NOT an unconstitutional infringement on the 14th amendment and that the "separate but equal" doctrine satisfied the 14th amendment so long the facilities were equal.
Explain the significance of each decision in United States politics. United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), Hernandez v. Texas (1954), Loving v Virginia (1967), Reed v Reed (1971), Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), Tennessee v. Lane (2004), Obergefell v Hodges (2015)
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) ----Determined the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted birthright citizenship to all persons born in the United States regardless of race or nationality. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) ----That racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because separate facilities are inherently unequal. Hernandez v. Texas (1954) ----14th Amendment protects those beyond the two classes of white or Negro, and extends to other racial groups in communities depending upon whether it can be factually established that such a group exists within a community. Loving v Virginia (1967) ----Invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Reed v Reed (1971) ----The Idaho Probate Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the law's dissimilar treatment of men and women was unconstitutional. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) ----Court ruled unconstitutional the use of racial "quotas" in admissions process, but held that affirmative action programs could be constitutional in some circumstances. Tennessee v. Lane (2004) ----the Court held that Congress had sufficiently demonstrated the problems faced by disabled persons who sought to exercise fundamental rights protected by the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment (such as access to a court). Obergefell v Hodges (2015) ----The Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples in the same manner as it does to opposite-sex couples.
Identify which provision of the Fourteenth Amendment was applied in each of the following Supreme Court cases. United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), Hernandez v. Texas (1954), Loving v Virginia (1967), Reed v Reed (1971), Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), Tennessee v. Lane (2004), Obergefell v Hodges (2015)
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) ---Determined the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted birthright citizenship to all persons born in the United States regardless of race or nationality Equal Protection Clause Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) ---Equal protection clause Hernandez v. Texas (1954) ---Equal Protection Clause, equal protection for Mexican Americans Loving v Virginia (1967) ---Equal Protection and Due Process Reed v Reed (1971) ---Ruled that the administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between sexes Equal protection clause Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) ---Race quota in admissions, Equal Protection Clause Tennessee v. Lane (2004) ---Disability, access to upper court house Due Process Obergefell v Hodges (2015) ---Due Process and Equal Protection Clause
Describe a Supreme Court decision that extended civil rights to each of the following. Women, Persons with disabilities, African Americans, LGBT Community, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Pacific Island Americans, Native Americans
Women ---Roe v Wade, granted women the right to privacy during their pregnancy. Persons with disabilities Tennessee v Lane, must give access African Americans ---Loving v Virginia, allowed for interracial marriage, which was previously illegal LGBT Community ---Obergefell v Hodgins, legalized same sex marriage all over the country. Hispanic Americans ---Mendez v Westminster, segregation of california schools was unconstitutional Asian and Pacific Island Americans Yick Wo v Hopkins, laundromat case Native Americans ---United States v. Winans, protected the Indians' rights to fishing, hunting and other privileges
Describe a specific legislative action that extended civil rights to each of the following. Women, Persons with disabilities, African Americans, LGBT Community, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Pacific Island Americans, Native Americans.
Women ---19th Amendment Persons with disabilities ---Americans with Disabilities Act: Defined disabled and extended protections of Civil Rights Act of 1964 to disabled people, guarantees access to public facilities, employment African Americans ---13th Amendment LGBT Community ---Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Hispanic Americans ---Mendez v Westminster White school denied Mexican student, prompted California Governor to sign into law a bill ending all public school segregation Asian and Pacific Island Americans ---Yick Wo v US Laundromats, did not grant permits to asian owners, ruled that a non-discriminatory law administers in a discriminatory way is unconstitutional Native Americans ---Indian Citizenship Act With Congress' passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, the government of the United States confers citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country.