ap gov civil rights

What are civil rights?

Laws that protect people from discrimination by government or individuals.

How are civil rights different from civil liberties?

Civil liberties = Bill of Rights freedoms; Civil rights = extend those freedoms equally to all.

What groups are protected under civil rights?

Race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation.

What did Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) rule?

Enslaved people were property, not citizens — upheld slavery.

What did the 13th Amendment do?

Abolished slavery.

What did the 14th Amendment do?

Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.

What did the 15th Amendment do?

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race.

What did Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) decide?

“Separate but equal” segregation was constitutional.

What did Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decide?

Segregation in public schools is unconstitutional — overturned Plessy.

What did Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971) allow?

Busing to integrate schools was constitutional.

What event began after Rosa Parks’ arrest?

Montgomery Bus Boycott.

What law banned segregation in public places and discrimination in jobs?

Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

Ended literacy tests and gave federal oversight of elections.

What did the 24th Amendment do?

Banned poll taxes in federal elections.

What did the 19th Amendment (1920) achieve?

Women’s right to vote.

What did Reed v. Reed (1971) rule?

Gender discrimination violates the 14th Amendment.

What standard of review did Craig v. Boren (1976) create?

Intermediate scrutiny for gender discrimination.

What happened to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)?

Failed ratification by 3 states (35/38).

What did Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) rule?

Employers are liable for workplace sexual harassment.

What did Roe v. Wade (1973) establish?

Right to privacy includes abortion (first trimester).

What did Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) change?

Overturned Roe—abortion regulation left to states.

What did the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 require?

Reasonable accommodations; no job discrimination for disabilities.

What law protects older workers?

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967).

What did Lawrence v. Texas (2003) overturn?

Bowers v. Hardwick; legalized same-sex intimacy.

What did Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) establish?

Same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.

What was the ruling in Regents of UC v. Bakke (1978)?

Race can be one factor in admissions, but no quotas.

What happened in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023)?

Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions.

What is “strict scrutiny”?

Highest standard for race/ethnicity discrimination.

What is “intermediate scrutiny”?

For gender-based laws.

What is “reasonable standard”?

For age, wealth, etc- easier to meet