Advanced Placement American Government and Politics Notes

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

  • Introduction to Topics

    • Presented by Jeff Weber
    • Final lecture for the advanced placement American government and politics course

  • Definitions

    • Civil Liberties
    • Fundamental freedoms guaranteed to individuals, such as:
      • Freedom of speech
      • Freedom of press
      • Freedom of assembly
      • Freedom of religion
      • Right to petition
    • Civil Rights
    • Basic rights ensuring freedom from unequal treatment based on protected characteristics, including:
      • Race
      • Gender
      • Disability
    • Policies created by the government to protect individuals from discrimination

  • Equal Protection Clause

    • Overview: States that the government may classify groups but must do so reasonably, without unreasonable discrimination
    • Constitutional Context:
    • Enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law for all citizens
    • Historical Enforcement:
    • The equal protection clause was often unenforced until later legal advancements

  • Civil War Amendments

    • Key Amendments:
    • Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery
    • Fourteenth Amendment: Provided equal protection under the law
    • Fifteenth Amendment: Prohibited voting discrimination based on race

  • Testing Under the Equal Protection Clause

    • Rational Basis Test:
    • Determines if a classification is reasonable and serves a legitimate government purpose
    • Strict Scrutiny Test:
    • Applied in cases involving fundamental rights or suspect classifications

  • Supreme Court Classifications

    • Race: Inherently suspect - classifications based on race are often unconstitutional (e.g., Brown vs Board of Education)
    • Gender: Intermediate scrutiny applied - likely unconstitutional
    • Other Classifications:
    • Age, wealth, disability require reasonable justification for classification to be deemed constitutional
    • Example:
      • Prohibition of people of color in the National Guard is unconstitutional; prohibition of blind individuals is reasonable

  • Historic Cases in Evolution of Civil Rights

    • Dred Scott v. Sandford
    • Supreme Court ruling by Chief Justice Roger Taney declared slaves had no legal rights and were property
    • Jim Crow Era
    • Post-Civil War discrimination system established to perpetuate racial segregation
    • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
    • Supreme Court ruling upheld segregation under “separate but equal” doctrine
    • Reinforced the constitutionality of segregation, enduring for approximately 58 years
    • Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
    • Supreme Court ruling declared that racial segregation in public schools was inherently unequal
    • Overturned Plessy; cited violation of the Fourteenth Amendment
    • Set a powerful precedent against segregation practices
    • Brown II (1955)
    • Ordered schools to desegregate with "all deliberate speed"
    • Recognized the importance of complying with the court's ruling

  • Impact of Segregation and Desegregation

    • Real-life implications of segregation during these times: separate movie theaters, hospitals, restrooms, etc.
    • Analysis of slow progress post-Brown decision, with desegregation to hit 90% only around 1972-1973
    • Supreme Court limitations on inter-district busing to prevent majority-minority districting

  • Civil Rights Legislation

    • Civil Rights Act of 1964
    • Made discrimination by private businesses and state/local governments illegal
    • Civil Rights Act of 1968
    • Prohibited racial discrimination in housing transactions

  • Voting Rights

    • Fifteenth Amendment: Granting the right to vote regardless of race
    • Voting Rights Manipulations: Southern states implemented discriminatory practices:
    • Poll Taxes: Fees imposed to vote, disenfranchising impoverished African Americans
    • Literacy Tests: Challenged the voting rights of many newly freed individuals
    • Grandfather Clauses: Disqualified voters based on their grandparents' voting status
    • Subsequent Legal Developments:
    • Twenty-fourth Amendment: Prohibits poll taxes in federal elections
    • Harper v. Virginia Board of Education: Ruling declared poll taxes illegitimate in state elections
    • Voting Rights Act of 1965: Outlawed racial discrimination in voting practices
    • Twenty-sixth Amendment: Lowered voting age from 21 to 18

  • Gender Classification and Rights

    • Reed v. Reed (1972): Supreme Court ruling against gender discrimination in estate administration
    • Nineteenth Amendment: Prohibits denial of voting rights based on sex
    • Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): Proposed in 1923 to guarantee equal rights regardless of sex; ultimately failed to be ratified
    • Gender Discrimination Laws:
    • Civil Rights Act of 1964: Bans gender discrimination in employment
    • Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
    • Title IX (1972): Prohibits gender discrimination in federally funded education programs, including athletics

  • Affirmative Action

    • Definition: Programs designed to promote advancement of historically discriminated groups
    • Not intended to grant opportunities to unqualified individuals
    • Controversy and scaling back of affirmative action programs in recent years
    • Distinction between Affirmative Action and Quotas:
    • Quotas require a certain percentage of disadvantaged group members; some affirmative action programs may implement quotas based on past discrimination

  • Conclusion

    • Encouragement to seek assistance from instructors for clarifications
    • Closing remarks and best wishes to the audience.