Civil Rights – Chapter 5
“Equal Protection”
Race, the Constitution, and
Public Policy
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The Era of Slavery

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) – African
Americans had no rights under a
white man’s government
 The Civil War
 The Thirteenth Amendment - ended
slavery
The Civil War Amendments

Fifteenth Amendment: specifically
gives black men the right to vote
Shortly after ratification the Southern
states devised ways around these
amendments by passing laws
(Black Codes) that restricted
opportunities for black Americans.
de jure (by law) and de facto (by reality)
Intent of the
Fifteenth Amendment

To avoid the intent of the
Fifteenth Amendment,
Southerners moved to exclude
African American voters with:
Poll taxes
 Literacy tests
 Whites-only primaries
 Grandfather clauses
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Alternative forms of political
particpation
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Alternative forms of participation that helped
bring about changes in civil rights policies:
Demonstations/protests/civil disobedience
Organized interest-group activity (NAACP)
Courts/litigation
Boycotts
Election activities other than voting (campaigning,
donating)
How did these forms change
Civil Rights Policies?
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Participation – giving African Americans
a voice
Linkage mechanism – providing an
avenue to impact policy
Policy output or outcome – The March on
Washington led to the Civil Rights Act of
1964
Race, the Constitution, and
Public Policy

The Era of Reconstruction and
Resegregation

Jim Crow laws - segregated
African Americans from
whites
Separate But Equal
Doctrine
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The Supreme Court ruled in
Plessy (1896)that the Louisiana
law was constitutional and that
separate but equal facilities
for blacks did not violate the
Equal Protection Clause.
The high-court Plessy ruling
led to a profusion of Jim
Crow laws.
By 1914 every Southern state
had passed laws that created
two separate societies--one
black, the other white.
Race, the Constitution, and
Public Policy

The Era of Civil Rights
Rosa Parks began the African American
(modern) Civil Rights movement
 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
started the Civil Rights movement
 Court ordered integration and busing of
students (South proceeded very
slowly)

Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
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The NAACP argued that the
intellectual, psychological, and
financial damage that befell
black Americans precluded any
finding of equality under the
separate but equal policy.
The Civil Rights Act of
1964:
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Barred discrimination in public
accommodation.
Outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter
registration.
Authorized the U.S. Justice Department to
initiate lawsuits to
desegregate schools and
public facilities.
The Civil Rights Act of
1964:
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Allowed the federal government to
withhold funds from discriminatory state
and local programs.
Prohibited discrimination on the basis of
race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
Created the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) to monitor and enforce
bans on employment discrimination.
The Impact of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Southerners argued that the Act violated the
Constitution and was an unwarranted use of
federal power.
The Court ruled that state-imposed (de jure)
segregation must be eliminated at once.
A full decade after Brown, less than 1% of
African American children in the South
attended integrated schools.
Over time, these rulings and laws opened up
numerous occupations to minorities and
women.
Race, the Constitution, and
Public Policy

Getting and Using the Right To Vote
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Suffrage: The legal right to vote.
Poll Taxes: if you paid the tax then, you
could vote.
White Primary: Only whites were allowed to
vote in the party (Democratic) primaries.
Race, the Constitution, and
Public Policy

Getting and Using the Right To Vote
 Smith v. Allwright (1944): ended white
primaries.
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Twenty-fourth Amendment: Eliminated
poll taxes for federal elections.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Helped end
formal and informal barriers to voting.
Civil Rights History
Native Americans
 2 million people live on “reservations”
 Push for more sovereignty on their land
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Ex. – gambling operation rights
Art. 1, Sec. 8 – commerce clause give
Congress right to regulate Indian tribes
Civil Rights History
Latino/Latina Rights
 38.8 million in US (about 10 million in
1980)
 Mexican – 15 million-rights issues include
Bilingual education programs, immigration
 Puerto Rican – 2.7 million-PR is a
commonwealth of US, citizens can move
freely back and forth, not represented in
Congress, don’t have to pay federal tax
Civil Rights History
Asian American
 8 million in US, 40% of immigrants
 Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 – lasted through
WWII
 WWII – Japanese racism – internment
 Korematsu v. US (1944) - court ruled
placement in internment camps was
constitutional (National Security)
 1980s reparations for internment
Women and Equal Rights
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Seneca Falls Convention – 1848 – beginning
of women’s suffrage movement
Muller v. Oregon (1908) – 10 hour work
day limit for women
19th Amendment – 1920 – Women vote
1970s – “reasonableness standard” – all legal
circumstance must be treated equal
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Ex. Cannot set different age limits for driving, but
can set laws on rape that punish man only
Women and Equal Rights
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Reed v. Reed (1971) – for the first time
upheld a claim of gender discrimination.
 Craig v. Boren (1976) – established the
medium scrutiny standard for gender
discrimination
 Draft is not discriminatory
 Women in the Military -now allowed to
serve as combat pilots
Women and Equal Rights
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Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) 1972
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“Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the US or any State on
account of sex.” – did not pass because…
Rostker v. Goldberg (1981) – Court upheld
the requirement men to register but not
women for draft, ended ERA push
Women and Equal Rights
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Civil Rights Act (1964)
Title VII – prohibits gender discrimination in
employment, extended to sexual
harassment
Comparable worth – “equal pay for equal
work”
Title IX – provide equal funding for all
programs that receive federal funding
Rights for Older Americans
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Age discrimination illegal
Age Discrimination in Employment Act raised
the general compulsory retirement age to 70
AARP – interest group – large influence
Rights for Disabled Americans
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17% of Americans have a disability
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - illegal to
discriminate based on disability
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of
1975 – gave all handicapped children free
education
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 –
protected disabled rights
Homosexual Rights
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1993 – “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – gay rights
to be in the military - repealed by
President Obama
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) – law forbidding
homosexuality was constitutional
Lawrence v. Texas (2003) – law against
homosexual action violated due process of
14th Amendment – “life, liberty, and
property”
Reverse Discrimination
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Equality of opportunity vs. equality of results – Do
civil rights require the absence of discrimination
OR require racial balance?
University of California v. Bakke 1978 – strict
quotas unconstitutional, race can be a criteria
for admission to a public institution
Richmond v. Croson 1989 – city of Richmond
could not guarantee that 30% of companies that
received subcontracts were owned by minorities
Supreme Court Rulings
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Classifications by race and ethnicity have
now been ruled by the Court to be
acceptable only in laws seeking to remedy
previous discrimination.