AP Gov Unit 3 Ch5 Terms

Chapter 5: Civil Rights Terms & Topics

civil rights

Protections from discriminatory actions of the government

14th Amendment

Amendment which prohibits the states from making and enforcing laws which deprive people of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law, diminishing them of their privileges & immunities, and denying the equal protection of the laws to anyone within its jurisdiction

Equal Protection of the laws

Clause in the 14th Amendment stressing that all laws established must equally protect everyone under a state’s jurisdiction

13th Amendment

Amendment that abolished slavery

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law which made discrimination in public areas & employment illegal on the basis of race

suffrage

The legal right to vote

15th Amendment

Amendment which gave suffrage to all men 21 or older regardless of race

poll taxes

Small taxes imposed on the right to vote, used to exclude African Americans who couldn’t afford to pay them

white primary

Primary elections which completely banned African Americans from voting for candidates for the general election, severely silencing their voices

24th Amendment

Amendment prohibiting the use of poll taxes in federal elections

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law prohibiting limits on the right to vote based on race

19th Amendment

Amendment granting women’s suffrage

Equal Rights Amendment

Amendment prohibiting the federal and state governments from abridging laws and protections on the basis of sex

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Law protecting disabled people from discrimination and requiring employers and facilities to provide accommodations for them

affirmative action

Policy that gives special treatment, attention, or protections to a discriminated group

Jim Crow laws

laws which enacted segregation (de jure) by establishing separate facilities for white and colored people

Black codes

Laws restricting African Americans the rights of owning property, buying/leasing land, and moving freely in public spaces

literacy tests

Tests which were required to register to vote; targeted African Americans, who weren’t as properly educated due to segregation

use of curfews

Imposed to target black communities, particularly during the civil rights movement to limit protests

Grandfather clause

Clause exempting those with grandfathers able to vote before 1860 from taking literacy tests, blatantly excusing white people from taking them while forcing black people to do so

franchise

A right granted by the government (to individuals)

disenfranchise

The restriction of someone’s rights (such as to vote)

preclearance

Process involving states/localities needing to submit any changes in their election policies or district maps to the federal govt for review before putting them into effect; ensured that these practices weren’t discriminatory

Shelby v. Holder

Case declaring part of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, ruling that the formula used to determine what states/localities were subject to preclearance was outdated

Title IX Higher Education Act

Law prohibiting discrimination in education programs on the basis of sex

reverse discrimination

The unfair treatment of a majority group in favor of a minority group

Family & Medical Leave Act

Law allowing legible employees to take an unpaid job-protected leave for family/medical reasons

26th Amendment

Amendment lowering the minimum voting age for everyone to 18

de jure

Segregation enforced by law

de facto

Segregation enforced by reality