Chapter 9

civil rights

protections for individuals from discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, and other characteristics, ensuring equal treatment under the law.

Thirteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1865 that prohibits slavery within the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1868 that provides that persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law; places restrictions on state laws that sought to abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States.

equal protection clause

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all persons alike with regard to application of the laws; clause that has been used to protect the civil rights of Americans from discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, gender, and other characteristics.

Fifteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment passed in 1870 that prohibits the denial of voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, which gave Black male citizens the right to vote.

separate but equal

the doctrine that racial segregation was constitutional so long as the facilities for Black and white people were equal.

segregation

the separation of individuals based on their race.

de jure segregation

the separation of individuals, by law, based on their characteristics, such as race.

de facto segregation

a separation of individuals, based on their characteristics, that arises not by law but because of other factors, such as residential housing patterns.

social movement

people who come together for a common purpose or goal of educating the public and making social and political change by pressuring policymakers and placing issues on the policy agenda.

civil disobedience

the intentional refusal to obey a law, in order to call attention to its injustice.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

legislation outlawing racial segregation in schools and public places and authorizing the U.S. attorney general to sue individual school districts that failed to desegregate.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

legislation outlawing literacy tests and authorizing the Justice Department to send federal officers to register voters in uncooperative cities, counties, and states.

affirmative action

a policy designed to address the consequences of previous discrimination by providing special consideration to individuals based upon characteristics such as race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age.

Nineteenth Amendment

a 1920 constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in schools receiving federal aid, which had the impact of increasing female participation in sports programs.