4. Civil Rights protect minorities from
majorities
Stops race, religion, gender, ethnic
discrimination
Invalidates actions by people
against people
Right to vote, women‟s suffrage,
separate is not equal
6. Dred Scott…
American slave born in Virginia
Moved with owner to Illinois
Slavery illegal in Illinois
Tried to gain freedom on grounds that he
lived in free state of Illinois
SCOTUS ruled against him
7. Dred Scott v. Sandford
(1857)
Black people (slave and free):
not protected by Constitution
not U.S. citizens
Regarded as worst decision ever
made by SCOTUS!
8. Civil War (1861–1865) identified
Republican Party as party of
victorious North
Republican-dominated Congress forced
Reconstruction on South via
Constitutional Amendments
9. To the Rescue!
Ending Servitude: Reconstruction
Amendments
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
prohibits slavery within U.S.
10. Fourteenth Amendment (1868):
• All persons born in U.S. are citizens
• States cannot deprive citizens of
constitutional rights
• Secured rights of former slaves &
descendants (overruled Dred Scott v.
Sandford).
• Equal access (Equal Protection
Clause)
13. Separate but Equal Doctrine!
Plessy v. State of Louisiana
Homer Plessy, part black-part white
Under Louisiana law: Plessy black
Boards train car designated whites only
Arrested
14. Plessy denied 13th and 14th Amendment rights
Judge: Feds cannot regulate within state
boundaries
Constitution only applied to federal government
Lost appeal to State Supreme Court
Lost appeal to SCOTUS, Plessy v. Ferguson
(7-1)
Okay if both races had equal, but separate,
facilities
15. Two Types of Segregation
De jure: Imposed by law
• Southern Democrat „Jim Crow Laws‟
• Separate but equal doctrine
De facto: Fact of life
• Economic, social conditions, personal
choice
17. The End of Separate-but-Equal Doctrine!
Brown vs. Board of Education (1954):
Struck down separate but equal
Desegregated public schools
De jure segregation violates 14th
Amendment
14th amendment now applies to states
18.
19. • White Flight
• Public schools still segregated
• Schools still unequal
• De jure turned into de facto
25. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Migration of black Americans to north
Gained jobs and education
Black middle class develops
Black vote now important in national
elections
NAACP, National Urban League
27. Passage!
Johnson Administration
73 to 27 in U.S. Senate
• Right to Vote
• Banned racial discrimination
in public places
• Required equal employment
opportunities
• Could withhold federal funds
from states
30. Received full citizenship rights
in 1924
Millions of dollars in claims
settled for Indian tribes
Some tribal lands restored
31. SCOTUS (1831),
Cherokee Nation v.
Georgia
Tribes not "states"
Not "foreign
states” either
Are "domestic
dependent nations,"
with many sovereign
powers
32. Congress has full power over Indian
affairs
Has repeatedly acted to limit
tribal power
33.
34.
35.
36. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: IS IT
CONSTITUTIONAL?
“Affirmative action” is when
government takes positive
steps to increase
representation of women and
minorities in areas of
employment, education, and
business from which they have
been historically excluded
37. Supporters:
Rights past wrongs… helps disenfranchised
Opposition:
Agree with equal opportunities
Disagree with guaranteed results
Want success based on merit
Oppose "reverse discrimination"
38. Jennifer Gratz:
Applicant to Univ. of Michigan
High credentials; not accepted
Made federal case of rejection
Believed rejected because of race
Admission‟s point system
110 academics, 40 “other factors”
39. Should race and ethnicity be
considered for college admissions?
If Affirmative Action was
necessary at one point, is it
still necessary?
What is equality?
40. Court:
Struck down point system
Upheld right of public
universities to use race
factors in admissions
And yet, today…?
42. White” New Haven Firefighters
Passed examinations, but denied
promotions
No minority applicant passed
43. New Haven quota system for
promoting minorities
New Haven invalidated exams
White firefighters sued
SCOTUS case
White Firefighters win by 5-4
decision, 2009
49. Saudi Arabia still bans women
from voting.
Afghan women
received right to
in 2004…
…but obstacles
still exist:
fear, tradition,
apathy
50. American Suffrage
Time Line
Women barred from World
Anti-Slavery Convention
(1840)
Activists Stanton and Mott
start women‟s rights
convention (1848)
Back seat to abolition
movement
Combining two might doom
both
51. Const. Amendment proposed (1878):
"Right of citizens to vote shall not be
abridged by U.S. or States on account of sex"
Introduced in next 41 sessions of Congress
WY (territory) already allowed women to vote
WY admitted as state (1890)
UT, CO, ID join WY (1900)
Progressive Bull Moose Party 1st to include
suffrage plank (1912)
52. Proposal wins 2/3rds vote
in Congress favoring
Amendment (1919)
Proposed amendment sent
to states for ratification
Need one more state to
pass amendment (1920)
One more vote needed in
Tennessee State House
24 year old Rep. Harry
Burn casted deciding vote
for suffrage
53. At time, Harry Burns had in his
pocket a letter from mom
“Don't
forget to
be a good
boy and
vote for
suffrage.”
57. Women in the Work Force
Progress or not that 70% of women in U.S.
work full time?
Is full equality between sexes possible?
Men still dominate national political
institutions. Fair or unfair?
58. o Some career fields divided by sex:
Which ones?
Discrimination?
Female president?
o Do natural differences between genders
exist causing career divisions?
59. Abortion
Pre-1973 crime at state level except to save
mother‟s life
1960s: 12 states permit for rape, incest,
physical health
1970: NY, AK, HI, WA allow for any reason with
doctor‟s approval
SCOTUS (1973): “Liberty” in Constitution
includes abortion
Ruled “person” in Constitution didn't include
unborn baby
60. In 1973 sonograms & ultrasounds did not exist
If they did would Roe been ruled differently?
61. Regulations and Other Issues
Tax funds not to be used for abortions (Hyde
Amendment)
No funding under Medicaid (care for poor)
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
Failed to pass Congress in 2006 (Anesthesia)
SCOTUS (5–4, 2007):
Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act constitutional
RU486 – Morning after pill
67. Immigration,
Hispanics,
and Civil Rights
• Immigration rates highest since
early 20th century.
• By 2050, minority groups
collectively will constitute
majority of Americans.
70. Illegal Immigration
• Mostly Latin
Americans
entering states
bordering
Mexico looking
for work.
• Issues include:
– Citizenship
– Border Crime
71. Special Protections for
Older Americans
1967 Age Discrimination in
Employment Act
– Prohibits age discrimination in all
but limited number of occupations
– Mandatory retirement largely
illegal
72. Securing Rights for
Persons with Disabilities
• Americans with
Disabilities Act
– No job
discrimination
against disabled
– Requires physical
access to public
buildings and
services
73. Rights and Status of Homosexual
Males and Lesbians
• Growth verses
stagnation in Gay
Rights movement
• Laws strengthening
traditional
marriage
• Religious liberty
issues
74. Gay Community and Politics
- Gay activists play role in both
parties
Gay Men and Lesbians in Military
Child Custody and Adoption
Same-Sex Marriages
75.
76.
77.
78. Gay Rights Movement
Lawrence v. Texas (2003):
SCOTUS rules unconstitutional state
laws barring sodomy
Defeat of Don‟t Ask Don‟t Tell
DOMA and Prop. 8
80. Gay and black civil rights movements?
Are they comparable?
81. Is marriage a U.S. Constitutional right?
Yes, on race: SCOTUS, Interracial
Marriage Ruling,
Loving v. Virginia
No SCOTUS ruling declaring “sexual
preference” as having same status
as “race”
Notas do Editor
School segregation today exists because of de facto segregation. Busing to achieve integration appears to have failed in its goal to improve educational outcomes for all children. The modern focus is on improving education, not integration.
Harry Burn after the vote. The Tennessee State Senate Chamber.
Many active women’s political organizations work towards increasing the number of female elected officials at all levels. The 111th Congress has 93 female members: 17 senators and 76 representatives. The past (and first female) Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi of California, and the Secretary of State is Hillary Clinton.