Civil Rights, Equal Protection, and Legal Precedents

Vocabulary flashcards covering key civil rights court cases, legislation, constitutional amendments, and historical policies discussed in the lecture.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

A 1986 Supreme Court decision upholding a Georgia state statute and ruling that states can pass laws prohibiting sodomy between consenting adults.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

A 2003 Supreme Court case that overturned Bowers v. Hardwick, declaring that a Texas statute prohibiting sodomy furthered no legitimate state interest justifying invasion of privacy.

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

A 1996 federal law establishing that the federal government did not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions and that states were not required to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

Windsor v. United States (2013)

A 2013 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the portion of DOMA that barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

A 2015 Supreme Court decision ruling that states must recognize same-sex marriages from other states and allow same-sex marriages to take place within their own state.

Nineteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 that granted all women in the United States the right to vote.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

A federal law signed in 1963 requiring employers to provide equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

A federal agency created in 1800 that assumed a guardianship role over Native Americans to monitor activities on reservations.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A 1965 federal act requiring states with non-English-speaking populations to distribute voter information in local languages and conduct bilingual elections.

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988

A 1988 law passed by Congress allowing Native American tribes on reservations to establish casinos to generate revenue and stabilize their economies.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

An 1882 federal statute that established a ten-year ban on immigration from China to the United States.

National Origin Act of 1925

A law that replaced the Chinese immigration ban with a quota system limiting immigrants of a specific nationality to 3% of the U.S. population.

Korematsu v. United States

A Supreme Court ruling holding that curfews and internment camps targeting Japanese Americans during World War II were constitutional.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

A 1988 act of Congress offering a formal apology and financial reparations to former Japanese American internment camp detainees.

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

A 1954 Supreme Court decision ruling unanimously that excluding individuals of Mexican descent from jury selection violated equal protection rights.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment that officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law for all citizens across all demographic groups.

Fifteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified around 1870 that guaranteed voting rights to citizens regardless of race.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark 1964 federal law that banned segregation in public spaces, prohibited employment discrimination, and addressed voter registration inequalities.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court ruling establishing the 'separate but equal' doctrine, making segregated public accommodations constitutional if equal facilities were provided.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

A 1954 Supreme Court decision that invalidated the 'separate but equal' doctrine, ruling that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

De Jure Segregation

Segregation that is formally enforced and established by law.

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that occurs in practice due to societal patterns, living choices, and geographic concentrations rather than explicit laws.

Affirmative Action

A policy designed as a remedy for past discrimination by providing opportunities to foster a more diverse student body or workforce.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

A Supreme Court case establishing that setting aside rigid admissions quotas based on race is unconstitutional discrimination.

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

A 2003 Supreme Court case striking down a university admissions policy that awarded fixed point values heavily based on race.

Grutter v. Bollinger

A Supreme Court decision upholding a law school's admissions process where race was evaluated as one factor among many in an individualized review.

Fisher v. Texas

A Supreme Court decision upholding Texas's top 10% high school class rank rule as a constitutional, race-neutral admissions policy.