CIVIL RIGHTS AND PUBLIC POLICY

civil rights

policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals

fourteenth amendment

the constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that states “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…”

equal protection of the laws

part of the fourteenth amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent protection to all people

dred scott v sandford

the 1857 supreme court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and that congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories

thirteenth amendment

the constitutional amendment ratified after the civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude

plessy v feurguson

an 1896 supreme court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a louisiana law requiring “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” was constitutional

brown v board of education

the 1954 supreme court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the fourteenth amendment guarantee of equal protection

civil rights act of 1964

the law making racial discrimination in public accomodations illegal

suffrage

the legal right to vote, extended to african americans by the fifteenth amenment, etc

fifteenth amendment

the constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 extend suffrage too African Americans

poll taxes

small taxes levied on the right to vote

white primary

primary elections from which African Americans were excluded

twenty fourth amendment

prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections

voting rights act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage

korematsu v united states

a 1944 supreme court decision that upheld as constitutional the internmen of more tan 100,000 americans of japanese descent in encampments in WWII

nineteenth amendment

the constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantee women the right to vote

reed v reed

the landmark case in 1971 in which the supreme court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination

equal rights amendment

proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal legal rights for all citizens regardless of sex

craig v boren

the 1976 ruling in which the supreme court established the “intermediate scrutiny” standard for determining gender discrimination

comparable worth

the principle that jobs requiring similar skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions should receive equal pay, regardless of the gender of the people in those roles

americans with disabilities act of 1990

a law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accoodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment

affirmative action

a policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group

regents of the university of california v bakke

a 1978 supreme court decision holding that a state univeristy may weigh race or ethnic background as one element in admissions but may not set aside places for members of particular racial groups

adarand constructors v pena

a 1995 supreme court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities should be presumed to be unconstitutional