AP Gov - Unit 3 (Civil Rights)

Civil Rights

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

The Civil Rights Movement

a social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country

Plessy vs Ferguson

Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. Home Plessy, who was 1/8th black, challenged the act. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

• Found to violate the 14th Amendment - Due process clause

• SCOTUS found that the law was constitutional. 14th Amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law. They found segregation did not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination

• Created Jim Crow Laws and “Separate but Equal”

Jim Crow Laws

state and local laws that legalized racial segregation

Seperate but Equal

racial segregation by means of separate and equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites

NAACP

A civil rights organization that aimed to eliminate racial prejudice, racial discrimination, and equality for minority groups.

• series of strategies to achieve this

Brown vs Board of Education

African American students had been denied admittance to certain public schools based on segregation for public schools. They argued that such segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

• SCOTUS overturns the decision made in Plessy vs Ferguson. Declared separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities are inherently unequal and violate the Equal Protection Clause. It created a sense of inferiority that was detrimental.

• Require integration at an “all deliberate speed,” which could mean very quickly, or very slowly

De facto

• a state of affairs that is true but not officially recognized (In practice)

  • segregation was illegal but it continued

De jure

practices that are legally recognized whether or not it is practiced in reality

Redlining

denying financial services based on the neighborhood

• usually practiced in African American or minority neighborhoods

• Racial integration busing was a failed attempt to diversify the racial makeup of schools by sending students to other districts

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. that addressed the critques of the white church leaders in Birmingham.

• main point was that people have the moral responsiblity to break unjust laws and cannot continue to wait

14th Amendment- Equal Protection Clause

The biggest constitutional arguement for the Civil Rights Movement as it gave equal protection to anyone.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

an act that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

• does not discriminate in places of public accommodation

Voting Rights Act of 1965

removed race-based restrictions on voting

• outlawed literacy tests and grandfather clauses

grandfather clause

you could not vote unless your grandfather did

• prevented African Americans from voting as their grandfathers were most likely slaves

Literacy tests

tests that prevented African Americans from voting

24th Amendment

abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections

• poll taxes prevented African Americans from voting and polling

Feminist Movement

a social movement and political campaign that worked on creating equality between women and men

NOW

National Organiation for Women

• focused on justice and equality for women

Equal Pay Act

requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work

Title IX of the Educational Amendment act

prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance

Affirmative Action

effort to improve diversity and give opportunities to groups who have been discriminated against

Bakke Case

Allan Bakke applied twice for admission to the Univeristy of California Medical School at davis. He has rejected both times as the school reserved 16 places for minority students. Bakke was more qualified than any of the minority students who were accepted in the year Bakke applied.

• SCOTUS ruled in favor of Bakke and argued the school had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

U of Michigan Cases

Had a point system for applicants and gave points to those of minority groups. They stoped using racial preferences in 2006.

Pro of Affirmative Action

Helps students who are statistically undermined of opportunities

Con of Affirmative Action

It is still racist and admits students who are unqualified

Lawernece vs Texas

Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another adult man, Tyron Garner, engaging in a private, consensual sexual act. This violated a Texas law which made same sex sexual conduct, illegal.

• SCOTUS ruled that the Texas Law had violated the Due Process Clause. The act was a private conduct and fell under the Due Process Clause.

• Argued under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause

Obergefell vs Hodges

Groups of same-sex couples sued their relevant state agencies in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee over bans on same-sex marriage. They argued that the states' statutes violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause

• SCOTUS ruled in favor of the couples and said that the Due Process Clause allowed same-sex couples to receive the same liberties as opposite-sex couples. As well, denial of this right would be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.

Masterpiece Cake Shop Case

A same-sex couple asks the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop to create a cake for their wedding. The owner refused based on his religious beliefs and believed his cakes were a work of art. The couple filed a lawsuit with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

• SCOTUS ruled in favor of the owner. Expression of same-sex marriage is protected. Furthermore, they acknowledged that the cakes were a form of artistic expression and aligned with the owner’s religious beliefs. They also stated that the Commission had shown hostility towards the owner’s religious beliefs.

• Argued under the Free Exercise Clause