Title: Americas Democratic Republic
1Americas Democratic Republic
2Introduction
- Civil rights Legal area providing the basic
right to be free from unequal treatment based on
certain protected characteristics (race, gender,
disability, etc.) in settings such as employment,
housing, and education.
3Civil Rights Before the 20th Century
- Equality is not mentioned in the Constitution or
Bill of Rights - African Americans and women were not passive
bystanders in the fight for equality - Civil War Amendments (sometimes called the
Reconstruction Amendments) -
4Civil Rights Before the 20th Century
- Undermining the Civil War Amendments
- Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)
- Civil Rights Cases (1883)
- Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
5Civil Rights Before the 20th Century
- Weakening the 15th Amendment
- Poll taxes
- Grandfather clause
- White primary
6Civil Rights Before the 20th Century
- Women and the 15th Amendment
- Minor v. Happersett (1874)
- Abandoned legal challenges and turned to direct
action - 19th Amendment (1920)
- Banned discrimination in voting based on sex
7Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Changes in interpretation of the Constitution and
interracial relations were shaped by the civil
rights movement
8The Civil Rights Movement
- After WWII, African Americans began to insist
upon fairer treatment in America - A major turning point in the civil rights
struggle was Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka - The most effective tool of the civil rights
movement was nonviolent civil disobedience.
9Major Civil Rights Legislation
- Civil Rights Act of 1964- Prohibits racial
discrimination in different areas of life
(housing, schools, voting, etc.) - Voting Rights Act 1965-Allowed the Justice
Department to take over elections in areas with a
history of racial discrimination - Executive order 11246-Also known as Affirmative
Action, required federal contractors to take
affirmative action in recruiting minority
candidates - Civil Rights Act of 1968-prohibited
discrimination in the sale, rental and financing
of housing
10Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Key Events
- 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
- 1957 Montgomery Bus Boycott
- 1960 Freedom Rides
- 1961 Sit-ins
- 1962 Integration of Ole Miss
11Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Key Events
- 1963
- Birmingham demonstrations
- Bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church and murder
of four girls - Integration of University of Alabama
- March on Washington
- Murder of Medgar Evers
- Civil Rights bill sent to Congress
- Assassination of JFK
12Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Key Events
- 1964
- Passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Ended legal segregation in public accommodations
and schools - The Summer Project, also known as Freedom Summer
- Murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and
Michael Schwerner
13Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Key Events
- 1965
- Murder of Malcolm X
- Voter registration demonstrations
- Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson
- Bloody Sunday
- Murder of Rev. Jim Reeb and Viola Luizzo
- Selma March
- Passage of Voting Rights Act
14Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Key Events
- 1964 - 1967
- Urban rebellions (race riots) in large northern
cities across the country - White backlash
- 1968
- Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Murder of Robert F. Kennedy
- Passage of Civil Rights Act of 1968
15Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Affirmative Action
- Main goal of Civil Rights Movement was to remove
artificial barriers - Because of hundreds of years of discrimination,
economic and social situation of many blacks
remained stagnant - Progress had to involve proactive governmental
efforts
16Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Important Actions
- Richard Nixons Philadelphia Plan (1969)
- Regents v. Bakke (1978)
17Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Proponents of Affirmative Action
- Impact of past discrimination is so pervasive,
removing artificial barriers is not enough - United States diverse society requires tolerance
and sense of community - Those who are disadvantaged or discriminated
against need successful role models in important
societal institutions
18Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Opponents of Affirmative Action
- Violates the American principle of individualism
- Reverse discrimination
- Main beneficiaries of affirmative action are
middle class - Increases intergroup and interracial tension
19Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Supreme Court on Affirmative Action
- Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) reaffirmed Regents v.
Bakke (1978) - Quotas are illegal
- Race can be one of several factors
20Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Racial
Minorities
- Affirmative Action and federal constitutional law
- Regarding admissions to educational institutions,
- the goal of achieving a diverse student body is a
compelling reason - Race can only be one of several factors
21Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Women
- Rights for women have changed more by changes in
societys attitude than by a loose
constructionist view of the 14th Amendments
equal protection clause
22Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Women
- Legal Considerations
- Craig v. Boren (1976)
- Intermediate scrutiny gender as a somewhat
suspect classification
23Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Women
- Abortion Rights
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- Existence of a general right for women to decide
to terminate a pregnancy - Abortion from a legislative issue to a
constitutional issue - Reflected
- Changes in public opinion
- Inequities against women
- Pressure from interest groups
24Contemporary Status of Civil Rights for Women
- Sexual Harassment
- Disagreement about the definition
- 1980 EEOC ruled that
- Sexual activity as a condition of employment
violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive
working environment is against the law
25Broadening the Civil Rights Umbrella
- Elderly and Disabled
- Mandatory retirement barred
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)
- Americans With Disabilities Act (1990)
26Broadening the Civil Rights Umbrella
- Gays and Lesbians
- Stonewall Rebellion 1969
- Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
- Upheld Georgias sodomy law
- Romer v. Evans (1996)
- State laws denying basic civil rights to gays and
lesbians are unconstitutional - Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
- Overturned Bowers v. Hardwick
27Broadening the Civil Rights Umbrella
- Gays and Lesbians
- Looming issues
- Gay marriage
- Defense of Marriage Act 1996
- Adoption of children by gays
28Civil Rights in the Democratic Republic
- Civil rights issues have significantly altered
the republican Constitution - Absence of constitutional foundation guaranteeing
civil rights made the fight much longer - Advances have been uneven
29Discussion Question
- Can government legislate how people think about
one another? What factors in addition to
anti-discrimination laws might be at work in
changing how people think about racial minorities
and other groups regularly discriminated against
in the past?