1. Civil Rights

2. March towards Equality
13th ended slavery
14th all people born here are citizens and all people are equal under the law
15th gave African Americans the right to vote
19th Gave women the right
to vote in 1920
24th Ended Poll tax
26th year olds may
vote

3. 14th Amendment
Civil Rights Act, 1964 passed to add teeth to the 14th Amendment
The Court and Civil Rights Tests
Strict Scrutiny Test- compelling state reason, least restrictive remedy, race/ethnicity
Intermediate Scrutiny- gender, Craig v Boren
Rational basis test- plaintiff must show law is arbitrary and unreasonable

4. Equal protection v Legitimate Government Purpose
Equal protection under the law
When can the government discriminate against a group of people?
Only to achieve a legitimate government goal, to correct past wrongs, and use the least restrictive means of achieving its goals
Affirmative Action- Moving beyond equal opportunity and towards equal results
Many Americans and the courts have rejected a quota system. Regents of CA v Bakke

5. Struggles for African Americans
End of slavery- Dred Scott, 13th Amendment
Reconstruction- 14th, 15th Amendments, Jim Crow laws, Plessy v Ferguson
Civil Rights Movement- Brown v Bd of Ed, Swann v Charlotte- Mecklenburg ISD, de jure and de facto segregation, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Open Housing Act of 1968, 24th Amendment

7. Ruby Bridges, New Orleans, 1960 1st grade student

8. Women Rights 19th Amendment
No age difference for drinking or legal status
No exclusive female schools if receiving government funds and no exclusive male schools that receive federal funds (US v Virginia VMI)

9. Women Rights Employment
No mandatory pregnancy leave, must hire even if job is dangerous to fetus, no arbitrary height and weight requirements, equal pay for equal work (court is silent on comparable worth
Title IX
Sexual Harassment- “hostile work environment” or quid pro quo (job or school)

10. Right to Privacy and Abortion
Griswold v Connecticut,1965
Roe v Wade
Webster v Reproductive Health Services, 1989
Rust v Sullivan, 1991
Casey v Planned Parenthood (PA), 1992
Bray v Alexandria, 1993

11. Other Groups Disabled- American with Disability Act, (ADA) 1990
Court must decide what disabilities qualify.
1. Must limit major life activity.
2. record of such impairment
3. regarded as having such an impairment
Elderly- Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 1967
Gays/Lesbians
Lawrence v Texas (2003) overturns Bowers v Hardwick
Same sex marriage- Government’s role- Defense of Marriage Act, 1996