Copyright, 2000 © Prentice Hall Magruder’s American Government C H A P T E R 21 Civil Rights: Equal Justice Under Law

Civil Rights: Equal Justice Under Law C H A P T E R 21 Civil Rights: Equal Justice Under Law SECTION 1 Diversity and Discrimination in American Society SECTION 2 Equality Before the Law SECTION 3 Federal Civil Rights Laws Federal Civil Rights Laws SECTION 4 American Citizenship American Citizenship Chapter 21

Chapter 21, Section 1 Diversity and Discrimination in American Society S E C T I O N 1 Diversity and Discrimination in American Society The population of the United States is largely white, but in recent decades the populations of certain minority groups have grown significantly. Historically, some Americans have been reluctant to yield an equal place in society to minority groups. African Americans have been treated unjustly for much of the country’s history as have Native, Hispanic, and Asian Americans. Women, though a majority of the population, have traditionally been denied the rights enjoyed by men and still suffer some inequities, especially in the workplace.

Equality Before the Law S E C T I O N 2 Equality Before the Law The 5th and 14th amendments forbid government to draw unreasonable distinctions between classes of people but will allow “reasonable” classifications. Historically, many States passed racial segregation laws which the Supreme Court allowed with the separate–but–equal doctrine. The Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and has since found segregation in many areas unconstitutional. The Court has held that classifications based on gender are also unconstitutional, unless they can pass the strict scrutiny and rational basis tests. Chapter 21, Section 2

Chapter 21, Section 3 Federal Civil Rights Laws S E C T I O N 3 Federal Civil Rights Laws The Civil Rights Act of 1964 held that discriminatory practices based on race, color, sex or national origin are illegal. Affirmative action has been used to overcome the effects of discrimination, but it has been criticized by those who feel it amounts to reverse discrimination. The Supreme Court has found that affirmative action is constitutional when race or gender is not the only factor in the decision or when evidence of longstanding and flagrant discrimination exists.

American Citizenship S E C T I O N 4 American Citizenship According to the Constitution, people become citizens when they are born in the United States or born to a parent who is a citizen. Other residents can become citizens through naturalization; any of these citizens can be denaturalized if citizenship was acquired through fraud or deception. The United States previously set quotas for immigration from different nations which have been replaced with a ceiling on the number of total immigrants. Congress passed legislation in 1986 and 1996 to address the issue of undocumented aliens. The 1986 law offered amnesty to certain undocumented aliens and made it illegal for employers to hire undocumented aliens. Chapter 21, Section 4