Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Unit

What did SCOTUS say in the Dred Scott decision?

Former slaves and the descendants of slaves were not citizens of the United States even if they were residents of free states or territories.

13th Amendment: Prohibited Slavery

14th Amendment: Said that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, and that no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.

15th Amendment: Granted African Americans the right to vote.

Black Codes: Laws that attempted to restrict the economic and political rights of freedmen.

Jim Crow Laws: Laws that prevented black men from exercising their 15th Amendment. It also separated them in places such as restrooms, water fountains, and public schools.

Literacy tests: Used by registrars to determine whether voters were qualified to vote.

Poll tax: Voters pay a tax to vote.

Grandfather clause: restricted black voting rights by exempting only those whose ancestors could vote before the Civil War from taking literacy tests and poll taxes.

24th Amendment: Prohibited Poll tax

Segregation de Jure: Segregation written in the law.

Segregation De Facto: Segregation through things like housing patterns and schools.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Legislation outlawing racial segregation in schools and public places and authorizing the 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.

Title IX: Legislation prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools receiving federal aid.

Who are the NAACP, and what role did they play in Brown v. Board of Education?

NAACP-National association for the advancement of colored people. The oldest and largest branch that advocated for black people.

The NAACP and multiple other people sued the school district, and later on, the case was brought to SCOTUS. The NAACP provided funding for Brown v Board.

LDF: Legal Defense Fund.The First Law organization created by the NAACP, which fought for black people. Most famous for their influence in Brown v. Board. Became independent 17 years after its creation.

Thurgood Marshall: Founder of the LDF. Chief legal counsel for the NAACP who spearheaded and argued the Brown V Board. He masterminded the legal strategy to prove that “separate but equal” schools were inherently unequal and unconstitutional.

Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009: Expanded federal law to prosecute crimes. Federal crime to attack someone based on religion, race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

Obergefell v. Hodges: Legalized same-sex marriage nationwide based on the 14th Amendment.

19th Amendment: A 1920 constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

Equal Rights Amendment: A constitutional amendment designed to guarantee equal rights regardless of gender.

Equal Pay Act: Federal law prohibiting sex-based wage discrimination between men and women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment.

NOW: Feminist advocacy group founded in 1966 aimed at promoting women’s rights and equality. Address issues such as reproductive rights, gender discrimination, and workplace equality.

Affirmative Action: Policy used by institutions to consider factors such as race, gender, or background to increase opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups.

Controversies of affirmative action: Can be regarded as unfair. Debate between diversity and merit.

NSA: National Security Agency. U.S. Department of Defense intelligence agency responsible for global monitoring, collecting, and procesing info.

ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union. Nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and laws.

Patriot Act: Act passed shortly after 9/11. Meant to strengthen law enforcement surveillance powers, allowing for greater info sharing and increased penalties for terrorism-related crimes.

USA Freedom Act: Law that ended the NSA’s bulk collection of American telephone metadata, replacing it with a more targeted provider-held approach.