Study Guide- Chap 5
civil rights- policies designed to protect people from discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals
What are the 3 categories of equal rights ?
racial equality
gender equality
mixed- (other equality issues) -- age, disability, sexual orientation, etc.
What is equality of opportunity ?
the concept that all individuals should receive the same chance (to be successful)
how does equal results/rewards figure into our system ?
it doesn't -- we expect an equal chance, but not that all will be equally successful
Given that, what would equality under the law involve?
that all persons, regardless of group, are treated equally by the legal system
Where in our Constitution is equality dealt with ? What about in the Bill of Rts. ?
the word equal/equality does not appear anywhere in the Constitution or the BoR
-- it only shows up in the 14th amendment:
can't deny any person "equal protection under the laws"
What are the 3 levels of scrutiny in determining equal treatment ?
in looking into whether a practice is discriminatory or not, the court has three approaches-reasonableness -- the assumption is that the practice is probably legal & not discriminatory, depending on specific details (age issues)
inherently suspect -- the assumption is that the practice is probably NOT legal and IS discriminatory, unless the court can be
persuaded otherwise (racial & ethnic cases)
somewhere in between -- these issues are viewed on a case by case basis, with little or no preconceived ideas (gender issues)
I.D. the 3 eras in the push for equality for African-Americans:
Slavery, Reconstruction & Resegregation,
& the Civil Rights era
Explain the significance of:
Scott v. Sandford,1857 (Dred Scott case)-ruled that slaves were chattel (property) and had NO rights
the owner's property rights superseded all else -- also said Congress had no power to ban slavery anywhere in the US
Plessy v. Ferguson, 18___? (how long after Scott ?)- 1896-- ruled separate but equal public facilities (hotels, restaurants,
schools, etc) were Constitutional (basically violated the supremacy clause -- 14th amendment already in place)
Brown v. Board of Education,1954- ruled that since separate but equal facilities were inherently UNEQUAL, they were
unconstitutional -- ordered states to desegregate public schools "with all deliberate speed"
what were some subsequent events resulting from Brown ?
some desegregation began, but very slowly in the south -- white enrollment in private schools skyrocketed
What was “busing” ?
desegregation by court order -- students from neighboring districts could be forced to attend the other school
What is the difference between de jure segregation & de facto segregation ?
de jure -- is separation BY LAW-- illegal
de facto-- happens naturally, and is legal (Little Italy, Chinatown, etc.)
What were the components of the Civil Rights Act, 1964 ? (there are six)
1. banned discrimination in hotels, restaurants & public accommodations
2. banned employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender, religion
3. created the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) to monitor & enforce discrimination prohibitions
4. granted authority to withhold federal grants from state/local govts & institutions that discriminate
5. strengthened voting rights legislation
6. gave authority to US Justice Dept to institute lawsuits to desegregate public schools & facilities
Explain the significance of:
Voting Rts Act ’65- outlawed discriminatory practices in voting, especially targeting southern blacks -- finally enforced the 15th
amendment (after 100 years) -- esp. literacy tests
Open Housing Act ’68- forbade discrimination is the sale/rental of housing or apartments
Guinn v. US,1915- declared the grandfather clause (for literacy tests) unconstitutional
poll tax- a fee to vote -- targeted poor southerners, especially blacks-- many "waivers" for poor whites
24th Amendment-made the poll tax UNconstitutional in federal elections
Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections,1966- made the poll tax UNconstitutional in state/local elections
-- basically incorporated the 24th
Thornburg v. Gingles,1986-ruled that any re-drawn Congressional district boundaries (gerrymandering) must avoid discriminatory
results
Generally, how has the court ruled on racial gerrymandering ? -- gerrymandering by race/ethnicity is illegal --both ways, whether to hinder
minority voting or help it
What was the issue & ruling in the Loving v. Virginia, 1967?
SC struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage--Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, had been sentenced to
a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other.
They had violated the state's anti-miscegenation statute, & the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited marriage between people
classified as "white" and people classified as "colored." This law had been upheld as constitutional in Pace v. Alabama, 1883 but Loving
overturned Pace, ending ALL race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.
The court ruled that marriage is a fundamental right (9th amend.) therefore to deny it to specific groups was a violation of the
equal protection clause of the 14th.
Obergefell v Hodges, 2015 - using the Loving case as a ‘stepping stone’ the SC ruled that the fundamental right to marry is
guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the due process AND equal protection clauses of the 14th, and it struck down as
unconstitutional any/all state laws prohibiting same-sex marriages.
What present day issues generally bring native Americans into the spotlight ? owning casinos-- Indian groups get some special privileges
on reservation areas-- often allowed to operate businesses denied by state law-- they can also avoid large portions of taxation on tribal land
identify MALDEF & UFW and their purpose
Mexican-American Legal Defense & Education Fund -- sort of an "NAACP" for Latinos--fundraising & legal counsel for Hispanic/Latino rights
United Farm Workers-- a migrant workers union-- organized by Cesar Chavez in the 1970s
What was the issue of Korematsu v. US,1944 ? internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII-- Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional - approx. 110,000 were confined for years and had their property confiscated -- about 35% were native born US citizens
Even though ruled constitutional, was it really ? What could lead you to argue it wasn’t ? NO –it was a bill of attainder----President Reagan issued a formal apology in 1988 & the govt paid reparations to the former inmates (those still alive after 40+ years) -- about
$20,000 per survivor
What was “coverture” ? a 19th century legal concept-- it meant that a married woman had no LEGAL identity separate from her spouse -couldn't sign contracts, inherit or sell property
19th Amendment- in 1920- granted all women the right to vote --many states had already done so-- 16 states had full voting rights and 17
others (TX included) allowed "partial" voting rights
Who was Charlotte Woodward ? - the only signee of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention calling for women's voting rights (she was 19 at the
time) to live long enough to vote in the 1920 Presidential election
Why is 1920-1960 called the ‘doldrums’ of the women’s movement ? because once voting rights were gained, the movement for other
equality rights stalled (like workplace gender discrimination, etc)
When was the 2nd Feminist Wave / What began to happen? 1950s-60s - coincided with/grew out of the Civil Rights movement -- women's
organizations formed that challenged traditional gender assumptions
Reed v Reed, 1971-1st time ANY gender based law was struck down—end of automatically awarding child custody to the female
Stanton v Stanton, 1975-overturned a Utah law setting different legal ages for adulthood for men & women (women-lower age)
What is comparable worth ? equal pay for equal jobs (**NOT a legal requirement for federal govt yet)
Describe gender equity in the armed forces: generally the branches & academies have been fully integrated, EXCEPTonly males register for Selective Service (draft) & women not sent into combat **!
Rokster v. Goldberg,1981-SC ruled that male only registration for selective service was constitutional
-- goal is to provide an emergency fighting force -- males give enough numbers
Identify the case that held employees responsible for workplace harassment-Faragher v City of Boca Raton -- cannot allow a hostile work environment
What is the nation’s fastest growing population group ? 80+
What was the original mandatory retirement age, and how did it originate ? 65 -- was the arbitrary age chosen for Social Security in 1930s
-- became the age at which people were forced to retire
began to see much discrimination in hiring people over age 45
What did the Age Discrimination Employment Act, 1978 do ? -- raised mandatory retirement age to 70
since then ? -- most have done away with mandatory ages-- set minimum ages at which one can receive full benefits
To what does the ‘gray liberation’ movement refer ?
rights for the elderly & focus on eliminating age discrimination
1976- Supreme Court ruling regarding categorization of age discrimination:
that age discrimination was not inherently suspect-- falls into reasonableness category
What were the earliest rehabilitation laws designed to do ?
protect disabled vets
Rehabilitation Act, 1973-was an accessibility law for the handicapped—added people w/ disabilities to groups protected from
discrimination --- Nixon vetoed it twice (too costly)—was overridden 2nd time
ADA (American Disabilities Act), 1990-required all employers and public facilities to make REASONABLE accommodations for
access for the disabled---also strengthened prohibitions of employment discrimination based on disability
new problem created ? - WHAT constitutes a disability ??
diabetes? asthma ? obesity? high blood pressure? poor eyesight? HIV?
**generally, if it can be treated successfully in some way, probably not a protected disability
affirmative action-policies designed to overcome the effects of PAST discrimination
criticism—seems to have its goal more focused on equal results—moving beyond equal opportunity
Regents of University of California v. Bakke, 1978 –issue ? Bakke, a white male, was denied admission to med school because of “set
asides”—quotas of slots for minority students—his academic record was actually higher than some who got in
quotas- Bakke case declared them unconstitutional—can use race/ethnic background as one element of admission, but NO
numerical quotas
Adarand Construction v. Pena, 1995—issue ? --similar to Bakke, but dealing with quotas in govt contracts set aside for minority-owned
businesses—not allowed either
reverse discrimination- Bakke & Adarand cases argued that too much affirmative action amounted to reverse discrimination—in effect,
penalizing individuals for NOT being a minority