Ch. 19: The Federal Government and Protection of Minority Rights

majority rule

the side that gets the most votes wins

minority rights

people of different ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, or income also have rights

Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court said that states could provide separate facilities to different races (like bathrooms) as long as they were equal in quality

Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)

separate public schools for African-American students is not equal, end of legal segregation in public schools

Little Rock High School, Arkansas (1957)

President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to make sure African American students could go to a "white" school

Civil rights Act of 1964

prohibited racial discrimination in hotels, restaurants, and all place of employment

Voting Rights Act of 1965

ended poll taxes and literacy tests that were used to keep African Americans from voting

affirmative action

employers were ordered to raise the number of minority and female employees

Fair Housing Act of 1968

prohibited discrimination on race, religion, or family status(families with kids, pregnant women)

19th amendment

gave all women the right to vote

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Congress says women doing the same work as men must be paid the same wages

Title IX (1972)

equal opportunities for women in college (sports, higher degrees, career education, math/science, sexual harassment