AP Gov.
Civil Rights and Public Policy
 Chapter Overview
Civil rights refer to the central rights necessary to ensure full participation in the political and civil
life of a society. In this chapter, we explore the development of civil rights in the United States. We
begin by considering the uneven development of civil rights in the nineteenth century, focusing in
particular on the initial expansion of civil rights under the Civil War Amendments, and their gradual
erosion in practice through discriminatory state laws and Supreme Court decisions. We then
examine developments in the twentieth century that led to an expansion of civil rights protections
afforded to a diverse array of groups in the United States. We conclude by considering the ways in
which civil rights policy affects democracy and increases the scope of government. By the end of the
chapter, students should have a solid understanding of the historical development and current status
of civil rights as a public policy issue in the United States.
 Instructional Materials
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Edwards chapter 5
AP Act.
o Applied Affirmative Action
o Protest Movements
Supreme Court DBQ’s
o Plessy v Ferguson
o Brown v. Board
o Regents v. Bakke
o Gratz and Grutter v Bollinger
MyPoliSciLab: Ch 5 activities and Simulation
 Learning Objectives
L.O.1
L.O.2
Differentiate the Supreme Court’s three standards of review for
classifying people under the equal protection clause.
Trace the evolution of protections of the rights of African
Americans and explain the application of nondiscrimination
principles to issues of race.
L.O.3
Relate civil rights principles to progress made by other ethnic
groups in the United States.
L.O.4
Trace the evolution of women’s rights and explain how civil
rights principles apply to gender issues.
L.O.5
Show how civil rights principles have been applied to seniors,
people with disabilities, and gays and lesbians.
L.O.6
Trace the evolution of affirmative action policy and assess the
arguments for and against it.
L.O.7
Establish how civil rights policy advances democracy and
increases the scope of government.
 Class Activities
CLASS ACTIVITY 1: 1965 Alabama Literacy Test (http://www.civicallyspeaking.org/literacy.pdf).
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The voter registration process was similarly applied in an uneven and unfair way,
with registrars of voters permitting white voters to pass the exams with low scores
(or even registering them without a test at all), while denying black voters with high
scores the right to register to vote.
CLASS ACTIVITY 2: Review the decision of the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia (1966).
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To what extent did Loving set a precedent for a similar decision around gay marriage?
What are the similarities and differences between the two cases? If you were arguing
the case, how might you use Loving to either support or oppose gay marriage?
CLASS ACTIVITY 3:
1. Explain, in your own words, the central themes of this chapter, including equality of
opportunity, equal protection under the law, and due process.
2. Reflect on the degree to which each of the groups profiled in this chapter have been
successful in achieving the kinds of equality established by these doctrines. What evidence
do we have today that there is frustration among some groups regarding equality issues?
CLASS ACTIVITY 4: How would you go about proving a past pattern of discrimination if you
wanted to pursue a case about discrimination? What evidence or documentation would you need to
develop?
CLASS ACTIVITY 5: Brainstorm a list that highlights the pros and cons of affirmative action.
Respond to the following questions:
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How does society benefit from remedial programs such as affirmative action?
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Does affirmative action serve its intended purpose, or is the divisiveness that it often
conjures self-defeating?
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Prepare a one-paragraph brief answering the question: Do we still need affirmative
action?
CLASS ACTIVITY 6: Panel Discussion: What role should women and homosexuals should play
in the military?
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Team 1: examine the congressional hearings that were conducted after the Persian
Gulf War, which led to a congressional decision to permit women to serve as combat
pilots.
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Team 2: look at the decision to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the effects of
that decision.
CLASS ACTIVITY 7: Are all forms of discrimination the same? Use the infographic from the
textbook to respond to the following questions:
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The Supreme Court’s 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia ended state-level bans on
interracial marriage. The infographic presents data highlighting the relationship
between support for interracial marriage and same-sex marriage.
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Examine the data presented in the infographic.
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Do you see any geographic patterns of support for same-sex marriage? In which
regions is support the strongest? In which regions is it weakest? What factors might
explain the regional differences you note?
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How does support form same-sex marriage relate to support for interracial marriage
as presented in the infographic?
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How have the courts affected public opinion? How does public opinion affect the
courts? What is the direction of the relationship between the two?
 Research Activities: Complete 1 (10 points)
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 1: Examine the degree of inequality (de jure and de facto) for one or
more groups of Americans who have had to struggle to achieve their civil rights. The Census Bureau
provides extensive information of use in this assignment, such as historical tables of income
inequality by ethnicity (www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/inequality/).
Provide broader information, such as access to schools, life expectancy, childhood poverty rates,
unemployment rates, and so on.
Present you data in one or more tables comparing performance across two or more measures. Then
write a short paper in which you summarize your findings.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 2: Brown v Board of Education (http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brownboard-education.html) was the landmark decision in moving the civil rights movement forward.
Write a short paper answering the following questions:
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What was the finding of the Supreme Court?
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What constitutional language was it based upon?
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What were the arguments of the plaintiffs? What were the arguments of the
defendants?
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How did Brown v Board set the stage for subsequent civil rights gains?
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 3: Visit the G-O Road Controversy website at
http://users.humboldt.edu/jemenhiser/emenLyng.html. The G-O Road controversy centers on a
key civil rights dispute that emerged between the U.S. Forest Service and tribal authorities in
Northern California over the construction of a new road between two towns to facilitate timber
harvesting and fire control in the area. Review the documents related to the dispute available there,
and then prepare a briefing and strategy paper for either the Forest Service or the tribal
communities. Your paper should focus on (1) central questions at hand; (2) the other side’s goals; (3)
their own goals; and (4) a strategy for achieving their goals in light of the other side’s position.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 4: Watch or listen to speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm
X. Many of Malcolm X’s speeches are available at http://www.malcolm-x.org. A rich collection of
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches are available at http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html. Video
and audio recordings are also available.
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For Malcolm X, possibilities include:
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By Any Means Necessary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhg6LxyTnY8)
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The Ballot or the Bullet (audio) (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt4f0WDBtu4)
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The House Negro and the Field Negro
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQe9nUKzvQ)
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For Martin Luther King, Jr., consider:
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I Have a Dream (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57lotnKGF8)
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The Mountaintop Speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk1VANxSNyg)
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Beyond Vietnam (audio) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC1Ru2p8OfU)
Prepare a short paper in which you contrast the framing of the civil rights question
by King and Malcolm X.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 5: While intended to address the legacy of discrimination, surveys show
that most Americans oppose affirmative action programs. Indeed, many Americans view affirmative
action as a form of discrimination itself.
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In a short paper, reflect on the politics and effectiveness of affirmative action.
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This may require that you research the legal rationale behind affirmative action
policies, review how the courts have evaluated various affirmative action programs,
and consider what people think affirmative action requires.
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Can one group be protected without discriminating against another? Where would
you place your priorities?
RESEARCH ACTIVITY 6: Write a short paper comparing the Equal Rights Amendment with the
Fourteenth Amendment. Did the ERA cover some of the same ground as the Fourteenth
Amendment, or did they deal with completely separate concepts?
 Discussion Questions: Respond to all of the
following:
1. According to the Supreme Court decisions in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and the two
University of Michigan cases noted in the chapter, what sorts of affirmative action programs for
admission to public universities are permissible, and what sorts are not?
2. What rights are guaranteed to disabled Americans under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
What infrastructure changes must be made to ensure these rights? What has the Supreme Court said
about where disabled people have the right to live?
3. What progress has been made in achieving rights for Native Americans? What movements and
activities have helped to improved their status?
4. What are civil rights? Where did the American notion of equality come from, and what does it imply
in terms of rewards and opportunities? What is the basis for the “equal protection of the laws”
standard that became the principal tool in the struggle for civil rights?
5. The record on gay rights has been mixed. Discuss some of the setbacks in the struggle for gay rights,
and identify some signs that attitudes are changing. A prominent issue today is same-sex marriage.
How do state laws stand on that issue, and how does the American public feel about it?
6. Make an argument for interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment as supporting the right of gays and
lesbians to get married to their same-sex partners.
7. How does de jure segregation differ from de facto segregation? How did McLaurin v. Oklahoma State
Regents (1950) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) seek to end de jure segregation in education? How
did the events following these rulings demonstrate that de facto segregation was alive and well?
8. How did the U.S. government treat Japanese Americans during World War II and Arab Americans
following 9/11 in similar ways? What did the Supreme Court decision in Korematsu v. United States
(1944) and the 2004 Supreme Court decision regarding Arab American detainees say about America’s
willingness to suspend civil rights in times of war or crisis?
9. Outline an affirmative action program for public university admissions that would pass constitutional
muster.
10. In what ways did the discrimination of Hispanic Americans in the past resemble the types of
discrimination experienced by African Americans? What tactics of the African American civil rights
movement did Hispanic civil rights leaders use? Which of the ongoing problems that Hispanics
experience resemble those of African Americans, and which are different?
11. Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Why were they necessary,
given that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted decades beforehand?
12. What did the Supreme Court rule about the male-only draft in the 1981 case of Rostker v. Goldberg?
How did it justify its decision? Today women are objecting to being excluded from combat. Discuss
how the de facto segregation of men and women in the military compares to the de jure segregation.
What are the arguments for and against putting women into combat?
13. Compare and contrast the use of nonviolent resistance (also known as civil disobedience) and
litigation during the civil rights movement. Which was more successful and why?
14. What is age discrimination? Discuss some laws and court cases that have supported civil rights for
older people. Why might this issue become more highlighted in the near future?
15. How has the Supreme Court treated age discrimination differently from gender discrimination? What
does an employee need to demonstrate in order to show impermissible discrimination on the basis of
age?
 Essay Questions: Respond to TWO of the
Following: (10 points each)
1.
Contrast the attitudes toward a woman’s traditional role in the first and second wave of feminism.
How were the attitudes of the first wave reflected in public policy that focused on protectionism?
When the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced, why did supporters claim it was needed,
and why did many reject it? How did the attitudes of the second wave lead to the Supreme Court
ruling of Reed v. Reed in 1971? Why was it a landmark case? What kinds of women’s issues are now
being addressed that were not apparent in the first wave of feminism?
2.
Using Table 5.1, identify the three standards the Supreme Court uses to evaluate whether a
classification in a law or regulation is constitutionally permissible. Discuss what test the Court applies
for each standard and whether the rule maker or the challenger has the burden of proof. Give an
example of a law that could be subject to each standard of review. Do you agree with this three-tiered
approach? Why or why not?
3.
What is nonviolent resistance (also known as civil disobedience)? Provide some examples of the use
of nonviolent resistance in advancing civil rights in the United States. How successful have these
techniques been? How well would these techniques transfer to current efforts to expand civil rights
for gays and lesbians?
4.
Why do two of the basic principles of democracy, equality and individual liberty, sometimes conflict
with each other? How do civil rights laws promote one of these principles while limiting the other?
Provide some concrete examples. How would the Founders of the United States be likely to feel
about these issues? Why are civil rights laws necessary under the founding documents of the United
States? Identify historical events that have demonstrated their importance to the security of the
country.
5.
Describe existing policies about women serving in combat roles in the military, and how the policies
are usually enforced. What are the two main reasons given for these policies? Typically, how are these
arguments rebutted? Overall, do you believe that the prohibition on women serve in combat military
roles is necessary or not? Justify your answer.