Chapter 6 Civil Rights American Government 2006 Edition

Chapter 6 Civil Rights American Government 2006 Edition To accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions O’Connor and Sabato Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Civil Rights o Refers to government-protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or individuals based on categories such as n n n race, sex, national origin, age, religion or sexual orientation. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Slavery, Abolition, and Winning the Right to Vote, 1800 -1890 o Slavery and Congress n Congress banned the slave trade in 1808. n 1820: Blacks made up 25% of the population. o Were the majority in some southern states n Westward expansion: free v. slave states n 1820: Missouri Compromise o Prohibited slavery about 36 th degree latitude o Missouri entered as a slave state o Maine carved out of Massachusetts to become a free state and maintain balance Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

First Civil Rights Movement: Abolition and Women’s Rights o William Lloyd Garrison n 1830 s: founded the American Anti-Slavery Society n Had more than 250, 000 members n Women were not allowed to participate equally in its activities. n Garrison, its founder, and Frederick Douglas left the Society. o Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott n Not allowed to participate in World Anti-Slavery Society Meeting in London n Made them focus on how women’s status similar to that of slaves (few rights) n First women’s rights meeting 1848 Seneca Falls, NY Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The 1850 s: The Calm Before the Storm o Gold Rush o Cities grew o Railroads and telegraph increased mobility and communication o Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold more than 300, 000 copies (equal to 4 million today) o Dred Scott decision n Found that Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional n Slaves were not U. S. citizens and could not bring suits in federal court Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Civil War and Its Aftermath: Civil Rights Laws and Constitutional Amendments o Civil War Amendments n Thirteenth: Specifically bans slavery in the United States. o Ratified by Southern states as a condition of their readmission to the Union after the war o Used black codes to restrict opportunities for newly-freed slaves n Fourteenth: Guarantees equal protection and due process of the laws to all U. S. citizens. n Fifteenth: Specifically enfranchised newly-freed male slaves. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Civil Rights, Congress, and the Supreme Court o Jim Crow laws n Enacted by southern states, these laws discriminated against blacks by creating “whites only” schools, theaters, hotels and other public accommodations. o Civil Rights Cases (1883) n Name attached to 5 cases brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1875 n The Supreme Court decided that discrimination in a variety of public accommodations (theaters, hotels, and railroads) could not be prohibited by the act because it was private, not state, discrimination. n Moral reinforcement for the Jim Crow system Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Civil Rights, Congress, and the Supreme Court o Southerners had to avoid the intent of the 15 th Amendment. n Amendment did not guarantee suffrage; it simply said that states could not deny anyone the right to vote on account of race or color. So…use some other criteria. o Poll taxes o Property requirement o Literacy or understanding tests o Grandfather clause Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Push for Equality, 1890 -1954 o Progressive Era (1890 -1920) n Concerted effort to reform political, economic, and social affairs o Child labor, monopolies of economic power, limited suffrage, political corruption, prejudice were targets. n Plessy v. Ferguson o Court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Founding of the NAACP o Oswald Garrison Villard, publisher of the New York Evening Post n 1909: conference to discuss problem of emerging race riots n W. E. B. Dubois, founder of the Niagara Movement o Group of educated African Americans focused on the injustices suffered by African Americans n Together formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Key Women’s Groups o 1890: National and American Women Suffrage Associations merged o New organization: National American Women Suffrage Association n Headed by Susan B. Anthony n Focused on securing suffrage primarily n Helped by mushrooming of women’s groups o Temperance, workforce rules, sanitation, public morals, education, and so forth o National Consumer’s League: 8 -hour work day n Muller v. Oregon (1908) o 19 th Amendment (1920) guaranteed women the right to vote Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Litigating for Equality o 1930 s: NAACP launched full-scale challenge in federal courts n Focus on Plessy decision n Test cases o Jim Crow in schools o Supreme Court: More emphasis on individual freedoms and personal liberties o Gaines case: Court ordered Missouri to either admit Gaines to the school or set up a law school for him. o NAACP created separate legal defense fund. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Litigating for Equality o Brown v. Board of Education (1954) n Decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection n Marked the end of legal segregation in the United States n Plessy’s separate but equal doctrine was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. n How would Brown be interpreted and implemented? Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Civil Rights Movement o School Desegregation n “All deliberate speed” n Little Rock Central High School o Confrontation between state and federal government. o Cooper v. Aaron (1958) n Unanimous decision n “No state legislator or executive or judicial officer can war against the Constitution without violating his undertaking to support it. ” Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

A New Move for African American Rights o Rosa Parks challenged segregated bus system n Was arrested for violating Alabama law banning integration of public facilities, including buses o Initiated boycott of buses o Martin Luther King, Jr. a new, 26 -year old minister, selected to lead the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association o Montgomery officials and businesses began to harass African Americans. o Court ordered that city buses must integrate. o Emergence of nonviolent protest in civil rights movement Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Formation of New Groups o Martin Luther King Jr. launched the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. n Had a southern base n Rooted closely in black religious culture n Importance of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience o Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) n Offshoot of SCLC, but more of a grassroots organization n Perceived as more radical n Freedom rides Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Civil Rights Act of 1964 o Leading to the legislation n Kennedy request on banning discrimination in public accommodations n March on Washington led by King o “I Have a Dream” speech n Kennedy assassinated n Johnson, southern-born VP, put civil rights on top of his agenda as new president. o Opposition from Strom Thurmond—longest filibuster in history of Senate (8 weeks) n Public opinion changes (southern attitudes) Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Civil Rights Act of 1964 o The legislation, once passed… n Outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter registration n n and expedited voting rights lawsuits. Barred discrimination in public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce. Authorized the Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools. Provided for the withholding of federal funds from discriminatory state and local programs. Prohibited discrimination in employment on grounds of race, color, religion, and national origin, or sex. Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to monitor and enforce the bans on employment discrimination. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 o Lawsuits quickly emerged to challenge the act. n Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality. o Education n Supreme Court ruled that all state-imposed segregation (de jure discrimination) must be eliminated at once. o Employment n Title VII prohibits discrimination in workplace. n Notion of “business necessity” Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Women’s Rights Movement o Litigation for Equal Rights n Hoyt v. Florida (1961) o Trial by all-male jury acceptable o Decision reversed in 1975 n Kennedy creates President’s Commission on the Status of Women o Report, American Women (1963) documented pervasive discrimination against women o Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) o National Organization for Women (NOW) o Equal Rights Amendment n Strong movement on ratification; halted by Roe v. Wade decision. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Wage Gap, 2002 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Equal Protection Clause and Constitutional Standards of Review o 14 th Amendment protects all U. S. citizens from state action that violates equal protection of the laws. n Rational basis or minimum rationality test n Heightened standard required when o First Amendment rights or suspect classifications such as race are involved. o Strict scrutiny o Reed v. Reed (1971) o Craig v. Boren (1976) Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Equal Protection Clause and Standards of Review Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Violations of the Fourteenth Amendment n Single-sex public nursing schools n Laws that consider males adults at 21 but females at 18 n Laws that allow women but not men to receive alimony n Virginia’s maintenance of an all-male military college o Contrast: Court has upheld the following: n Draft registration provisions for males only. n State statutory rape laws that apply only to female victims. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Statutory Remedies for Sex Discrimination o Title VII: prohibits discrimination by private and(after 1972) public employers. o Key victories under Title VII: n Consideration of sexual harassment as sex discrimination. n Inclusion of law firms, which many argued were private partnerships, in the coverage of the act. n A broad definition of what can be considered sexual harassment, which includes same-sex harassment. n Allowance of voluntary affirmative action programs to redress historical discrimination against women. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Statutory Remedies for Sex Discrimination o Title IX n Provision of the Educational Amendments of 1972 that bars educational institutions receiving federal funds from discriminating against female students o Key victories under Title IX n Holding school boards or districts responsible for sexual harassment of students by teachers Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Other Groups Mobilize for Rights o Hispanic Americans n o Native Americans n n n o Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund o Expand voting rights and political opportunities “genocide by law”; isolation Dawes Act in 1887 Litigation: hunting, fishing, land rights and access to sacred places, religious freedom Gays and Lesbians n n n o Advantaged in terms of education and income status Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Lesbian Rights Project Romer v. Evans (1996) Lawrence v. Texas (2003) Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) Disabled Americans Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Continuing Controversies in Civil Rights o Affirmative Action n Policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group n Bakke case n Other decisions found that a factory and union could voluntarily adopt a quota system in selecting black workers over more senior white workers for a training program. o Union workers were outraged. Left Democratic Party to vote for Reagan in 1980. o Reagan took political stand against affirmative action. o Court generally stood by the process, but has moved to limit such programs and make it harder to prove employment discrimination. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Recent Controversies o Gay rights and Cracker Barrel n n o Cracker Barrel chain discriminated against homosexuals by requiring that employees exhibit “heterosexual values” on the job. The restaurant adopted a new anti-discrimination policy that included protections for sexual orientation. Wal-Mart n n Gender discrimination: Claim that women were paid lower wages and offered fewer opportunities for advancement than males. June 2004, a federal judge broadened the suit to include 1. 6 million women in a class action law suit. Ethnic origin discrimination: Claim by 9 illegal immigrants who worked as janitors that Wal-Mart paid them lower wages and gave them fewer benefits based on their ethnic origin. Another group claimed that Wal-Mart knowingly hired illegal immigrants and in doing so violated the workers’ civil rights by refusing to pay Social Security and other wage compensation benefits. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006