1. Chapter 5
Civil Rights

2. Civil Rights
Rights rooted in 14th Amendments’ guarantee of equal protection under the law (equal treatment)
What government must do to ensure equal protection, to ensure freedom from discrimination
History of civil rights – struggle of groups to free themselves from discriminatory treatment (African Americans, women, elderly, homosexuals, etc.)
Key cases: Dred Scott v. Sanford; Plessy v. Ferguson; Brown v. Board of Education

3. Constitution and Slavery
In apportioning representation based on population, constitution refers to free persons and “other persons” (or slaves)
Slave equal to 3/5 of free person
Supreme Court confirms constitutionality of slavery in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Slaves not citizens of US
Not entitled to rights/privileges of citizenship
Constitutional servitude ends with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments during Reconstruction following Civil War

4. Civil War Amendments
13th Amendment (1865) – neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in U.S.
14th Amendment (1868) – all persons born or naturalized in U.S. are citizens
States cannot abridge privileges or immunities of citizens
All persons (whether or not citizens) entitled to due process
All persons entitled to equal protection; citizens have political rights (vote, run for office)
15th Amendment (1870) – right to vote shall not be denied because of race, color or previous condition of servitude

5. Civil Rights Acts ( )
Aimed at enforcing 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments
Civil Rights Act (1866)
Extended citizenship to anyone born in U.S.
Gave African Americans full equality before law
Authorized president to enforce act through use of force
Enforcement Act (1870)
Set out specific penalties for interfering with right to vote

6. Nullification of Civil Rights Acts
Reconstruction statutes, civil rights acts did little to secure legal equality for African Americans
Civil Rights Cases (1883)
Supreme Court rules 14th amendment only prevents official discriminatory acts by states, not by private individuals
Met with widespread approval throughout U.S.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Supreme Court rules segregation does not violate 14th Amendment
Established separate-but-equal doctrine
Provided constitutional justification for racial discrimination/segregation throughout U.S.
In South, Jim Crow laws solidified segregation (separate drinking fountains, seats in theaters, restaurants, hotels, restrooms, waiting rooms, etc.)

7. Barriers to African American Voting
White primary – state primary in which only whites may vote
Southern politicians claimed political parties were private entities
Wasn’t outlawed by Supreme Court until Smith v. Allwright (1944!)
Grandfather clause – restricting voting to individuals who could prove grandfathers had voted prior to 1867
Used to exempt whites from poll taxes, literacy tests

8. Barriers, cont. Poll taxes – required payment of fee to vote
Intended to disenfranchise poor African Americans
Outlawed in national elections by 24th amendment
Outlawed in all elections by Supreme Court in 1966
Literacy tests – required potential voters to read, recite or interpret complicated texts
Intended to disenfranchise African Americans
Barriers quite effective at disenfranchising African Americans
Note: U.S. didn’t achieve universal suffrage (i.e., become fully democratic) until Voting Rights Act (1965)

9. Ending Legal Segregation
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) – Supreme Court rules public school segregation violates 14th Amendment
Chief Justice Earl Warren claims separation implies inferiority
Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education (1955) – orders desegregation “with all deliberate speed”
Court–ordered busing (transporting African American children to white schools and white children to African American schools to eliminate school segregation) met with considerable resistance
Today, many schools are segregated; little public or court support for integration efforts

10. Civil Rights Movement King’s “I Have a Dream” speech Malcolm X
Key developments
Rosa Parks, Montgomery, Alabama 1955
Martin Luther King leads bus boycott
King’s philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience to achieve racial justice
Formation of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Birmingham protest, 1963
March on Washington, 1963
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Black Power movement
Malcolm X
Violent response to non-violent protest movement produced groundswell of support

11. Modern Civil Rights Legislation
Civil Rights Act (1964)
Most far-reaching in modern times
Forbade discrimination on basis of race, color, religion, gender and national origin
Voter registration
Public accommodations
Public schools
Expanded power of Civil Rights Commission
Withheld funds from programs administered in discriminatory way
Established right to equality of opportunity in employment (created EEOC)

12. Modern Civil Rights Legislation
Voting Rights Act (1965)
Outlawed discriminatory voter registration tests
Authorized federal registration and administration of voting where discrimination took place
Resulted in massive voter registration drive of African Americans in South
Led to increasing political participation on part of African Americans in voting and holding office
Increased participation of other minorities
Civil Rights Act (1968)
Forbade discrimination in housing, mortgage-lending

13. Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights
Suffrage Movement
Connected to abolitionist movement
Suffragists organized first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls, NY (1848)
Established women’s suffrage associations
Finally won passage of 19th Amendment (1920)

14. Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights
Modern Women’s Movement
Feminism = political, economic, and social equality for women
Connected to Civil Rights Movement of 1960s
Spurred by publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963)
National Organization for Women (NOW) formed (1966)
Argued for ratification of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Targeted gender discrimination by challenging policies and laws in federal courts
Advocated and encouraged increasingly prominent role for women in government and politics

15. Gender-Based Discrimination in Workplace
Gender discrimination = practice, policy or procedure denies equal treatment to individual or group based on gender
Prohibited by Title VII of Civil Rights Act (1964)
Sexual harassment = unwanted physical or verbal conduct or abuse of a sexual nature that interferes with recipient’s job performance, creates a hostile environment, or carries an implicit or explicit threat of adverse employment consequences
Wage discrimination = women earn $0.77 cents for every $1.00 earned by men despite Equal Pay Act requiring equal pay for equal work ($.59 in 1963)
Glass ceiling = women holding few top positions in professions or businesses

16. Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action = policy in admissions or hiring gives special consideration to traditionally disadvantaged groups to overcome present effects of past discrimination
Original aimed at advancing women and “minorities”
Goes beyond strict interpretation of equal protection
Regents of CA v. Bakke (1978)
Bakke argued UC Davis’ affirmative action policy constituted “reverse discrimination”
Court rules race can be considered as a factor in admissions, just not only factor
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña (1995) – requires “strict scrutiny,” must be tailored to meet compelling state interest
Other recent cases have upheld constitutionality of affirmative action programs
CA’s passage of Proposition 209 (1996) outlawed affirmative action programs in all state-sponsored institutions (e.g., hiring and college admissions)

17. Special Protection for Older Americans
Not protected against discrimination by Civil Rights Act
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (1967)
Prohibits discrimination on basis of age unless age is shown to be bona fide occupational qualification
Mandatory Retirement
Forced retirement when person reaches certain age
Prohibited forced retirement for employees under 70 in most occupations by amendment to ADEA (1978)

18. Securing Rights for Persons with Disabilities
Not protected from discrimination by Civil Rights Act
Protection afforded through Rehabilitation Act, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, and Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)
Requires public buildings and services be accessible to persons with disabilities
Requires employers make reasonable accommodations
Defines “disabilities” as physical or mental impairments that substantially limit everyday activities (e.g., blindness, alcoholism, heart disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS, etc.)
Conditions that can be medically corrected (medication, glasses) do not fall under ADA

19. Rights and Status of Gays and Lesbians (LGBT)
Gay rights movement for equal rights and protections grew in aftermath of Stonewall incident
“shot heard round homosexual world”
Most states had anti-sodomy laws now considered unconstitutional
Supreme Court upheld law in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) made homosexual conduct between two adults a crime
Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas such laws violate 14th amendment’s due process law
12 (+) states, 230 (+) municipalities have laws protecting homosexuals from discrimination

20. Outstanding Issues Gays in Military Same-sex Marriages
Clinton (1993) policy “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT)
Overturned by Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (Obama signed 12/22/10)
Same-sex Marriages
Highly controversial
Various states have made movement (CA,
Conflict over definition of marriage
Child Custody and Adoption
Courts no longer deny custody or visitation to persons solely on basis of sexual orientation