US FED GOV

Political Science:

Fundamentals (matter more) inflation, underemployment, approval rating
Will of the People
The Impossibility Theorem (no perfect voting system can meet all your needs in a campaign.)
Mandates don’t exist (31.6 of eligible voters voted for Donald Trump)
Duverger and the Two Party Rule
Partisanship is a hell of a drug (#1 predictor of how someone will vote
Independents aren’t really independent (usually independents don’t vote)
What’s so special about interest groups? (Who has more money to play a bigger role)
Grassroots are rarely spontaneous
Uncertainty reigns

It all boils down to- politics = conflict (structured)

Politics = process (understand the rule of the game, which states in play, which you’ll win, which you shouldn’t waste money in)

Politics = everywhere

Governing is hard but we can come together as a nation

Collective action (when we have to overcome our individual preferences to do something together that makes things better)

PoliSci works to explain political behavior, institutions, and outcomes

Deep division, we can still come together

Governing is hard.

CH 2 US Constitution Part 1 1/15

Patrick Henry “Give me liberty or give me death”

“I AM NOT VIRGINIAN, BUT AN AMERICAN.”

Community is more important than family, family is more important than an individual.

US CONSTITION; Conflict, Compromise, Constitution

Mitigating conflict
Why government
Two resolutions
Political thought and the constitution
Summary

Choices breed conflict

Mitigating conflict

-institutional designs (rules/process) What are the rules of the game? Gives structure of boundaries.

FORMAL RULES - who can vote (voting elections), majority rule or plurality rule the most votes or 60% or more, child labor laws

INFORMAL RULES OR NORMS- voting (expected of you to do), seniority (who can hold positions in committee)

-rules and procedure help reconcile competing preferences

-provide institutional durability (we know when elections are held and how things work)

-bargaining and compromise (transaction costs) The effort it takes to come to agreement

The more you haggle the more the transaction cost

-minimize conformity costs dont give up what you believe in to conform

How much do you have to give up? Unanimity lower transaction cost for higher bargaining cost. Less people will be happy, majority, plurality, dictatorship (to rule is easy, conformity cost is high)

Why Government? Life will be nasty if we don’t have social contract - hobbs

Government is a system for making decisions bout politics and public policy (structure, figure out how to do things)

Government is necessary to : provide order and promote the general welfare (preamble)

Dont forget humans are involved, individual v. Community (make mistakes even w good intention, tension between community vs individual needs)

We cant do things alone!!!

Public goods - worth having like good roads, national defense

Collective Action Problems - free rider problem (free ride on the work of others, doing a group project alone)

-Coordination (choose a party nominee) when there’s too many to fight about, someone might sweep in

-Prisoners Dilemma (social security reform) society usually wins individuals dont

-Free Rider Problem (voter turnout) not voting won’t make a difference

-Tragedy of the Commons (climate change) lots of things impact these issues

? How do you think gov can solve collection action problems such as defense

Provide public goods that would otherwise not be produced by a free market

What does Constitution mean? The rules of the game, like any game the rules are variously interpreted

From British loyalists to a new nation…

Limiting Monarchy in England

-Magna Carta, 1215 (no man above the law, didn’t want to be taxed, rule of law)

-Glorious Revolution, 1688-1689

-English Bill of Rights, 1689 (kings were going to far, held them accountable)

Jamestown, Virginia Colony July 30 1619

Liberty First, then sovereignty and equality

Give liberty first or else we out

-geography (England had to ship soldiers to us, we were separated from king and not represented in parliament)

-Home rule (french and indian war England paid for it)

-taxation with representation (if ur gonna tax me then represent me

-age of enlightenment

What led to revolution

-French and indian war 1754-1763

Stamp and Townshend act 1767

-Boston massacre 1770

-tea act Boston tea party 1773

-intolerable acts 1774

-olive branch petition (king be nice plz, he didn’t read it) 1775

-battles of Lexington and concord 1775

-declaration and common sense (1776)

1/27

WHAT IS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER? Comes from implied powers of second article

An executive order can make things happen when we need them to happen

Make policies- example. take away birth right citizenship (unconstitutional)
Although they need to be constitutional and legislatures sign into law.

TWO REVOLUTIONS = The first revolution war and governance, chose to be a confederation THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION PRIORITES; the states/decentralized government!!!!! -Unicameral legislature, no courts no executive. One vote per state in legislature. Amendments unanimously across 13 states, money and taxed? Feds, but real the states. Many states didn’t want to give the money THE COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEM! (-coordination - committees of correspondence, uniform message across colonies bc they sent them together. ) (-freeriding - a bit more difficult to overcome) CONSEQUENCES = -high transaction costs, free riding. -Unrest over slavery, taxes, the economy, and threat of invasion. The second revolution: ideas, conflict, compromise. Instead of we the states, it’s we the people.
DRAFTING A NEW CONSTITUTION = inherited political traditions, human nature, governing people. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY THE POWER TO THE PEOPLE. (Locke, newton, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Hume) NATURAL RIGHTS- Inalienable self evident life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. REPUBLICANISM- a state in which power rests with the people or their representatives.
US CONSTITUTION
RESOLVING CONFLICT, COMPROMISE

THE POLITICS OF COMPROMISE = ISSUES IN PHILLY

General- majority vs. minority rights. Preventing tyranny in the majority. Legislature vs executive power.

Small states v large Staes = shape of the national legislature, slavery.

National v. States’ Rights = Shape of the National Legislature, Executive Authority, Electoral College And, Slavery.

SEPARATION OF POWERS / SHARED GOVERNANCE

Legislative - make the law

Executive- execute the law

Judicial- interprets the law.

Tyranny of the majority (federalist #10)

Division of power- horizontally and vertically

Pluralism

Electoral process/representative gov

House – two-year terms

Senate – six-year terms, with only one third standing election at any one time

President – four-year terms

Judiciary – not elected at all

CHECKS AND BALANCES- we need a government that obliges to control itself.

SMALL V LARGE STATES-

Virginia plan - essentially one chamber, representation based on population, favors large states, strongly favors majorities, winners- VA, PA, MA, NC

New Jersey plan - representation equal to each state, favors small states, protects minorities, winners- DE, RI, NJ

Connecticut plan- house based on population (VA PLAN), Senate, each state represented equally (NJ PLAN) Process matters; median voter Connecticut.

SLAVE VS NON SLAVE STATE= Slavery and representation (3/5 compromise, 3 out of 5 slaves are counted as people for representation purposes only)

Determining a states tax burden
Allocating seats in the us house of representation

FEDERAL VS STATE

Nationalist vs states rights

Executive branch= committee or individual or parliamentary?
Elected by congress or the states ? Neither, electoral college
National supremacy clause
Federalism
States- elections, draw districts , choose voter qualifications
Reserved powers
Choose who was in the us senate until the 20th century

RATIFICATION FEDERALIST VS ANTI FEDERALIST

The federalist papers (lobbying campaign, to convince people to sign the constitution.)
The bill of rights

How to amend the constitution?

PROPOSAL - RATIFICATION - FREQUENCY OF USE

Governing principles;

Consent of the governed
Participatory democracy
The rule of law (swear of allegiance to constitution not a person. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW)

Two revolutions= one for liberty and one for prosperity.

Born of conflict and compromise.

US CONSTITUTION=

Awesome but reflects conflict and process
In the product of compromises (logrolling/splitting the difference)
Created a stronger central government but one that cant act quickly
Is intentionally difficult to change
Required additional lobbying, bargaining, and compromise to ratify
Left many things unresolved.

CH 3 Federalism

Concepts
Power
Nationalizing Policy
Legal Foundations
Modern Federalism

POLICE POWERS= are the powers of a government to make and enforce all laws necessary to preserve the public health, safety, and general welfare.

Framers main motivation for developing a federal system of gov- checks and balances, delegation

What policy is appropriate for states, and when is it ok for the feds to get involved-

UNITARY SYSTEM - The central government controls all subunit governments (Japan, France)

FEDERAL SYSTEM - The central government and subunit government share power. (US, Canada, Mexico, India)

CONFDERAL SYSTEM-

•Federalism: a system of government that divides sovereign power across at least two political units (shared power between federal and states)

•Sovereign power: the amount of authority and autonomy given to each unit of government

•Key Elements of a Federal System

•Dillon’s Rule: argues from the courts that cities and counties are creatures for creation from the state, not autonomous the way the states are. They are subservient.

BALANCING POWER

Exclusive Powers- some powers are only for the federal government

Some powers only for the states
What is exclusive to one is denied to the other?

Concurrent Powers- but the federal government also shares many powers

Ex. Collect taxes, borrow money, build roads

Transformation of the Senate

1787-1913:

State Legislatures elected U.S. Senators

Corruption, electoral deadlock

Requirement by 1866 to be elected by absolute majority

States had the power to instruct the Senators

1913- PRESENT:

Direct election of the U.S. Senate, via the 17^th Amendment in 1913

States lost power in the federal government, but increased attention to state/local issues

Calls to appeal the 17^th amendment

Concepts supporting a stronger national government-

Preamble of constitution

Necessary and proper clause

Supremacy clause

Enumerated powers

The constitution and the states/ the constitution protects state authority =

tenth amendment or reserved powers

State to State relations: privileges and immunities clause ( your rights from one state won’t change if you travel to another state) things like drivers license is respected/recognized in another state. Marriage licenses too.

Why give power to the federal government?

Collective action- coming together simply to do what’s best for everyone.

Coordination - trucking data base

Reneging and shirking - cant dump chemicals in water of NC

Cutthroat Competition - Texas takes California businesses

Resources - Great Depression

Politics - state by state laws (marijuana laws) voting laws for women

Two Concepts of Federalism

LAYER CAKE FEDERALISM - local, state, national

MARBLE CAKE FEDERALISM - everyone mixed in everyones business

Nationalizing policy: civil war, Great Depression, railroads, great migration, great society, TV 20th century, post 9-11 world, internet

THE COURT Defining Boundaries: Necessary & Proper Clause, Commerce Clause, & Taxing & Spending Clause

NECESSARY & PROPER CLAUSE:

McCullough v. Maryland (1819) – implied powers allows the federal government to

NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) – cannot be upheld under necessary/proper clause.

Feds argued under necessary/proper clause, courts didn’t buy it.

COMMERCE CLAUSE:

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – includes navigable waters

NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel (1937) – labor relations

Gonzales v. Raich (2005) – feds can criminalize cannabis, even if states allow

But see also:

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

United States v Lopez (1995) – Gun Free Schools Act exceeds Commerce Clause (remains unconstitutional)

NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) – can’t force someone to engage

TAXING & SPENDING CLAUSE

Butler v. United States (1936) – the general welfare

South Dakota v. Dole (1987) – valid use of congressional spending authority

NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) – within the Congress’s taxing authority

CHPT 4 CIVIL LIBERTIES 2/3

Modern Federalism = Incentivizing the States to do what the Feds want (FISCAL FEDERALISM) : Categorical grants - money to states with “Strings attached” (bright futures) , Block grants - money to states over which they have discretion (in education only).
Balancing Interests = between individual rights and community needs.
Nationalizing Civil Liberties
Free expression
Summary

Fiscal federalism sticks -

Unfunded mandates (unpopular w states)
Crossover sanctions (fiscal sanctions, unless u do this we won’t give u the money)
Cross-cutting requirements (imposes a requirement on a grants, ex. Civil rights act requires nondiscrimination)

CIVIL LIBERTIES: ARE BASIC POLITICAL FREEDOMS THAT PROTECT CITIZENS FROM GOVERNMENTAL ABUSE OF POWER.

“THE ESSENCE OF GOV IS POWER AND POWER LODGED AS IT MUST BE IN HUMAN HANDS, WILL EVER BE LIABLE TO ABUSE” -James Madison

Gideon v. Wainright 1963 - Gideon accused of stealing pocket full of change, didn’t have money or education, wrote a letter to Supreme Court to appeal his case, was able to get a lawyer and fended for his case, was not guilty. 1st time Supreme Court said that having a public defender applies to state court cases.

Civil Liberties=

Basic Freedoms and Liberties

Rooted in the Bill of Rights, due process clause of 14^th Amendment

Restricts what government can do to you

Freedom

Civil Rights=

Protection from Discrimination

Rooted in the equal protection clause of the 14^th Amendment

Protects you from discrimination by the government

Equality

!!!!CIVIL LIBERTIES ARE PROTECTIONS FROM GOVERNMENT,

CIVIL RIGHTS ARE ABOUT PROTECTIONS BY GOVERNMENT!!!!

Civil liberties government limits impose conformity costs, no right is absolute.

The bill of rights did not apply to the state governments until the 20th century.

Nationalizing through selective incorporation.

BILL OF RIGHTS- Federalists and anti-federalists

Originally applied only to federal government

Checks majority rule

Barron V. Baltimore, 1833

- Bill of Rights does not apply to the States

Highlighted dual Federalism
Superseded by the 14^th Amendment

14th Amendment Selective Incorporation - a doctrine describing the ability of the federal government to prevent states from enacting laws that violate some of the basic constitutional rights of American citizens.

Standards for protections =

STRICT SCRUTINY •Laws must:

serve a “compelling state interest” or goal,
must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal, and
must be the least restrictive means of achieving that goal.

INTERMEDIATE SCRUTINY=

•Less demanding

•Laws must be content-neutral.

•Laws must be “substantially related” to an important government interest.

Freedom of expression- speech, assembly, petition, and press.

SPEECH!!

Protected

Less protected

Historical Background: Restrictive

Alien & Sedition Acts, 1798 = mainly for press, not really enforced.

Bad Tendency Test, Patterson v. CO, 1907 = if what ur saying is leading to a bad tendency, gov has interest to restrict your speech.

Espionage Act, 1917 = WW1 , go after people who for religious reasons didn’t want to be scripted into war or socialist

Clear and Present Danger Test (Schenck v. US, 1919) = passing flyers as a socialist turning people away from going to war, court said that is clear and present danger since it was turning away soldiers

INCORPORATED: Gitlow v. NY, 1925 = pass out pamphlets of socialism, not in war.

Fundamental freedom: direct incitement test (imminent lawless action, brandenburg v. Ohio)

Additional Protected Speech

Symbolic Speech!

- Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 1969 (wear arm bands to school)

- Texas v. Johnson, 1989 (burning the flag, political speech but is protected)

Money as Speech!

- Buckley v. Valeo, 1976 (cannot restrict the amount of money a candidate spends to run for president)

Hate Speech!

R.A.V. v. City of St Paul, MN, 1992
Snyder v. Phelps, 2011

Less protected forms of speech:

- Fighting Words

- Commercial speech

- Slander/Libel

- Obscenity: Miller Test (Serious Literary Artistic Political S)

Speech on the internet- Cyber bullying, offensive speech, AI generated “deep fakes”

THE PRESS.

When we wanted to be informed, newspapers were it and we relied on them to know what’s going on. Generally, unbiased. Always get multiple stories to see the difference in which they talk about different stories.

-Prior Restraint : not exactly censorship, preventing paper from printing papers that hurt the governments reputation. (Near v. MN, 1931) (DEFINING CASE NY Times v. IS, 1971) stole pentagon papers abt Vietnam war and ny times printed it, gov cant stop bc they’re embarrassed. Doesn’t impact national security,

-Defamation (ny times v. Sullivan 1964) protects and limits the abilities for public officials sue ordinary people for defamation.

Freedom of the press conflict with other rights!!

FREEDOM OF PETITION AND ASSEMBLY ASSOCIATION (joining groups/orgs) some groups are dangerous and some states wanted to limit abilities to associate groups they dont agree with. (NAACP, Alabama wanted to publish names of the people) Expressive association matters.

LOBBY PROTEST JOIN GROUPS- Lobbing is calling upon the government.

DOCTRINE OF INCORPORATION WILL BE ON THE EXAM.

CH 4 CIVIL LIBERTIES PART 2 2/5

RELIGION- ENGEL V. VITALE= banned prayer in school, a town meeting is free to hold a prayer before,

Excessive entanglement= between state and religion. Accommodationist free exercise v. establishmentAlthough it’s ok to have some prayer around adults and in certain groups and how much is too much?

Two Clauses -

Establishment of religion : check on religious tyranny. CASES;

•Engel v. Vitale, 1962 – no prayer in schools

•Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971 – no funding for church run schools, Lemon Test

•Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 2002 – school vouchers okay

•Town of Greece v. Galloway, 2014 – legislative prayer okay

LEMON TEST- law should be secular in nature, does not enhance nor inhibit, no excessive entanglement.

Free Exercise : actions, beliefs, religious liberty. Can gov limit access to your religion practice. CASES;

•Reynolds v. U.S., 1878 –yes, interfere with practice (polygamy)

•Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972 - no, can’t interfere (Amish & education)

•Employment Division. Smith, 1990 -, yes, can, compelling interest (peyote)

•Masterpiece Cakeshop. V. CO Civ. Rts. Comm., 2018 – no, must be neutral

Neutrality Test

Compelling Interest

Narrowly Tailored

Accommodationist

Strict Scrutiny= harder to enforce, has to be in government best interest

•Laws must: (1) serve a “compelling state interest” or goal,

(2) must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal, and

(3) must be the least restrictive means of achieving that goal.

Intermediate Scrutiny=

•Less demanding

•Laws must be content-neutral.

•Laws must be “substantially related” to an important government interest.

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED-

Protections

No Politics/Rule of Law- no one is above the law, politics out of criminal process.

Procedural Safeguards- mistakenly arrested, like being swept up in the wrong place wrong tome

4^th,5^th, 6^th, 8^th, Amendments

Search & Seizure 4th Amendment

Probable Cause- every man is his own king in his own castle, reasonable search and seizure.

Exclusionary Rule

•Mapp v. Ohio (1961)- went without a warrant looked for kidnap found porn. If you find evidence illegally it is not valid in court.

Good Faith Exception- did things lawfully would be found eventually.

•United States v. Leon (1984)-

Modern Era

•Upholds drug testing

•Riley v. California (2014): cell phones, need a warrant to search cell phone

•Domestic Surveillance- looking for terrorists through phone calls.

What about TSA and flying- when u purchase plane ticket you give consent to be searched.

Self Incrimination 5th Amendment

You have rights!!!! Know them.

Miranda rights- right to attorney, right to remain silent,

Mallory . Hogan must be told about them so you dont confess.

Counsel; Speedy;Jury of Peers 6^th Amendment

Have a right to public defender.

Impartial Juries:

•States determine rules

•Unrepresentative juries

pool selection process

jurors rejected for cause

Speedy Trial

•not controversial

Counsel

•Gideon v. Wainright, 1963

Cruel and Unusual Punishment 8th Amendment

Excessive bail, excessive fines, death penalty (outlawed across the land, linked to discrimination)

Furman v. GA, 1972

•discriminatory, as applied

Gregg v. GA, 1976 - are you guilty- separate convictions -are you convicted of death penalty.

•Model Law

•separate conviction and sentencing trials

Right to Bear Arms 2nd Amendment

Collective Right - Peripheral Right idea of Well-regulated militia

Not granted by the Constitution

•Colfax Massacre

•Look to the state for protection

•United States v. Cruikshank, 1876

Does not protect weapons like sawed off shotguns

•National Firearms Act, 1934

•United States v. Miller, 1939

Individual Right - Right for individuals in their own homes

•District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008

States also can’t infringe

•McDonald v. City of Chicago, 2010

Don’t have to have a special need:

•NY State Rifle & Pistol Assn v. Bruen, 2022

•Smith v. New York, 2024 (self defense)

Domestic Violence – yes could limit when persons are a danger

•US v. Rahimi , 2024 - whether you could deny guns in a domestic violence situation, sides with victims

Over time we have increased the right for citizens to own guns in their own home.

Privacy Rights 9th Amendment

“Penumbras”

-Sexual Behavior

-Childbearing Choices (roe v wade, dobbs v jackson)

-Right to Die

-The Internet, how much privacy you have on the internet

CHPT 5 CIVIL RIGHTS 2/10

Brown v board - desegregate the schools

Residential segregation

DE JURE V. DE FACTO SEGREGATION

De jure= by law. we will have laws saying you live here you live there.

De facto= by practice and legacy. it is fact, way things are. Not by law but by practice/legacy people live in certain areas (black communities, white communities)

LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL:

John lewis- instrumental civil rights movement activist. Got on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and got beaten in protest

Emancipation order to free slaves, but still lots to do… segregation, right to vote, etc.

ZERO PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL EQUALITY WERE IN THE CONSTITUTION AS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN.

Fugitive slave clause - return slaves that went north

3-5 compromise - regarded as 3/5 of a person in population

Importation clause- ban the importation of slaves

14th amendment: deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. EVERYONE IS EQUALLY PROTECTED BY THE LAW/CONSTITUTION.

Major obstacles to civil rights

State authority had no federal check (until the interpreters came up)
Self interested politicians

Height of slavery

1808 -ended the importation of slaves

Balance of Power: Free v. Slave States, Missouri Compromise 1820- idea that you match slave state with free state. Slave state below the red line.

Abolitionist Movement- radical equality (quaker)means were ALL equal, no matter class gender race.

Wilmot Proviso

Consolidation of factions Republican Party)

Underground Railroad - brought slaves north and south that escaped to Mexico

1850 Compromise: Fugitive Slave Law written tried to capture runaway slaves to south. so that is was common for a freed black person to the south for a bounty.

DRESCOTT V LINCOLN AND CIVIL WAR

No ability for black person to ever be a citizen - Supreme Court.

1820 compromise was a violation of 5th amendment taking clause.

Republicans came together took White House and congress and finally had the civil war.

South lost, north won.

AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

13th amendment - abolished slavery

14th amendment - granted citizenship, due process, equal protection

15th amendment - right to vote (black men, first)

PROMISES AND FAILURE OF RECONSTRUCTION:

Black Codes, use of “or crime”

Abolishing 3/5ths gave South 13 seats in Congress!!! Great if everyone voted, but a big black population were kinda not voting bc racism….

Rise of vigilante violence - kkk

Republicans give in

JIM CROW & SEGREGATION 1877-1933

White Primary - can only vote In the primary if ur white.

Poll Tax- pay a poll tax to vote, no land reform and many couldn’t afford to vote.

Literacy Test- never administered in neutral way, complex test to those and easy for others

Grandfather Clauses- if your grandfather could vote you’re fine if you cant pass the test or pay the tax (neither applied for blacks)

Separate but Equal: Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 - separate malls, water fountains, etc

The Democrats Court Black Voters 1933-1940s (first hated them but then courted them to get their group of votes)

The Great Depression -

The New Deal: policies and actions to help Black Americans -

The Great Migration & Black Soldiers - millions left mississippi to New York to be an important patriot of the community, treatment of soldiers.

President Truman- openly courted black voters and civil rights

The great split – the Dixiecrats Revolt (later became republican)

2/12

National civil rights coalition emerges - lots of different groups that didn’t always agree on how to do things. But they worked together

2 CASES THAT DESEGREGATED SCHOOLS, first law schools…

Brown v. Board of Education Topeka Kansas (I &II) 1952/1954 = overturned plessy v Ferguson, 20 Years it took to finally integrate.

Civil Disobedience: Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birmingham Demonstration, Selma, Freedom Rides

NATIONAL LAWS FOR EQUALITY -

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 (Johnson pushed hard for this act)

•prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

•forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as race, in hiring, promoting, and firing.

•prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs.

•strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools.

Includes...

•Voting

•Employment

•Marriage

•Education

•Access to public accommodations, housing, credit

•Also, includes investigations into police misconduct

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

Outlawed strategies to disenfranchise Black citizens

Provisions to facilitate voter registration

Enforced 14^th & 15^th Amendment

Significant change in state/federal relations re voting

Voting rights today = weakened

Shelby County v. Holder, 2013 – Section 5 coverage formula struck down

Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 2021 – made it more difficult to challenge discriminatory laws

FAIR HOUSING ACT OF 1968

1930s: FHA refused to insure homes for black families, or white ones living near black

Prohibits discrimination in sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion or sex

Didn’t completely end redlining

Example of de jure segregation, cannot build wealth.

Ended in 1968, cannot discriminate housing and loans etc

STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE - Legislative Presidential Judicial Mass Protest*

Social Movements and Mass Protest

SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION =

Women’s Rights:

1963 Equal Pay Act

1972 Title IX (amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965)

1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act

1993 Family Medical Leave Act

2009 Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Marriage Rights:

2022 Respect for Marriage Act

Other:

2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act

WHAT CAN THE PRESIDENT DO?

Executive Orders

Examples include Truman integrating the troops (1948), Kennedy on Affirmative Action (1961), Obama (2014) on sexual orientation or gender identity

Using the National Guard (Eisenhower at Little Rock)

The bully pulpit - Lindon Johnson going on tv and spoke

Presidential appointments

THE COURTS =

Elections:

Outlawed the white primary (Smith v. Allright, 1944)

Upheld the VRA (SC v. Katzenbach, 1966) and weakened it (see previous)

Access to Education:

Outlawed separate but equal (Brown v. Board 1952/54)

School busing (Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg 1971, overturned in 2007)

Affirmative Action (overturned in 2023)

Same Sex Schools (United States v. Virginia, 1996)

Marriage:

Race (Loving v. Virginia, 1967) marriage outside of race

Same Sex (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015) same sex marriage

Strict Scrutiny!!!!!

(race, ethnicity, creed, national origin)

unequal treatment legal only if “compelling interest” and “least restrictive”

Intermediate Scrutiny!!!!

(sex, gender)

unequal treatment legal only if “substantially related to a government objective” and “not substantially broader than necessary” ex. How many scholarships go to women and men

Rational Basis!!!

(age, economic, other)

unequal treatment must be “rationally related” and avoids “arbitrary, capricious, deliberate” discrimination

CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE 21 CENTURY: Voter Suppression – Policing & Mass Incarceration – Affirmative Action

Long standing concerns=

Employment discrimination

Income inequality

Health inequality

Environmental justice

Voting rights

Lifetime wage gap for women as compared to men…

Insane.

Voter suppression

Ballot access - getting to the ballot, being too far etc.

Felon disenfranchisement

Voter id requirements

Fake news

Voter intimidation

Gerrymandering - drawing district lines that favor a particular candidate, your vote cant really change things.. (super diluted)

SAVE ACT =

Mandates documentary proof of U.S. Citizenship to register to vote or change registration

Birth Certificate or Passport only!!!!!! Bc these have proof of us citizenship

Driver’s License, Military ID, Tribal documents disallowed

Segregation persists in eduction

-Affirmative Action unconstitutional (2023)

-School busing ended (2000s)

-Magnet Schools

LEGACY AND CONTEMPORARY CIVIL RIGHTS - how to have a successful social change

Politics of self interest (how to meet in the middle)

Model for strategic action (politics is conflict)

Skilled use of media (politics is everywhere)

Built foundations (politics as process) built on previous movements/attempts

Challenging Tyranny

Madison and importance of competing ambitions

Ambitious politicians transform moral justice into public policy using the politics of self interest.

Coalitions of self-interested constituencies

Important: 14^th Amendment equal protection