AP Government
Civil Rights for Other Groups
(1) Native American Civil Rights
• After Wounded Knee Massacre and
the Dawes Act Native Americans
were pushed to assimilate
• In 1924 they were granted
citizenship
• Some civil rights groups turned
militant in the 1960s, and took over
Alcatraz Island and the village of
Wounded Knee
• Indian Self-Determination Act of
1975 – tribes would have authority
for how they administer federal
funds, which gave them greater
control over their welfare
• Special status allowed them to
open casinos which brought
needed money
(1) Civil Rights for Immigrant Groups
• Immigration Act of 1924 set strict quotas
for admission of immigrants that
particularly kept out immigrants from
southern and eastern Europe, Asia, and
Latin America
• Quota system ended in 1965, but
immigration still restricted and illegal
immigrant numbers soared
• Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1985 – required employers to attest to
their employees' immigration status;
made it illegal to hire illegal immigrants
knowingly; and granted amnesty to illegal
immigrants who had already lived in the
US for 5 years
• Executive Order by Barack Obama in 2014
ended prosecution of illegal immigrants
who have lived here for 5 years
(1) Civil Rights for
Disabled Americans
• Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 – extends civil
rights to people with
physical and mental
disabilities
• It guaranteed them access
to employment,
transportation,
accommodations, etc.
• Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
still receives thousands of
ADA-related complaints
each year
(1) Civil Rights for Homosexual Americans
• Gay rights movement began in 1967
after a police raid on a gay bar in NYC
led to protests that clashed with
police
• US Civil Service Commission allowed
gay employees in gov’t positions in
1973
• “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy adopted
by military under Pres. Clinton
• Massachusetts passed first gay
marriage law in 2003
• Lawrence v. Texas (2003) – ruled that
law against sodomy violated privacy
right
• Boy Scouts v. Dale (2008) – allowed
private groups to discriminate against
gay people
(2) Protectionism for Women
• Protectionism is the notion
that women must be
protected from life’s cruelties
• It was the basis for civil rights
laws and court decisions until
the 1970s
• Muller v. Oregon (1908) –
limited working hours for
women, not men
• Women were to work when
they were young and single,
but stay at home when they
were married and having
children
(3) Women and Right to Vote
• Failed attempt for suffrage
amendment in 1860s
• Minor v. Happersett (1875) –
ruled the 14th Amendment did
not give right to vote to all, and
states didn’t have to allow
women to vote
• U.S. v. Susan B. Anthony (1878) –
same as previous decision, but
for federal elections
• Many states beginning with
Wyoming granted women the
right to vote
• 19th Amendment – gave women
the right to vote in 1920
(4 & 6) Equal Pay
for Women
• The justification for paying
women less was that they were
not the principal wage earners in
their families
• This led to belief that women
had less need for higher
education, and thus restricted
them to lower level jobs
• Comparable worth – requires
employers to pay comparable
wages for different jobs filled
predominantly by one gender in
each if the jobs are considered to
have similar value to the
employer
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 – equal
pay for men and women for
similar work
• Still, pay for women lags behind
men to this day
(5) Legislation for Women’s Rights
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
– originally didn’t include women
amongst those protected, but
they were added in House
debate
– prohibits employment
discrimination
– EEOC given power to cover
cases of sexism
• Title IX of Education Amendment of
1972 prohibited discrimination in
federally aided education programs
• Revenue Act of 1972 provided tax
credits for child care
(7) Integrating AllMale Institutions
• Virginia Military Institute
was the last all-male
government institution in
the country
• Instead of admitting
women it opened the
Virginia Women’s Institute
for Leadership
• U.S. v. Virginia (1996) –
ruled that the women
graduates had fewer
opportunities and required
VMI to admit women
(8) Equal Rights
Amendment
• Equal Rights Amendment was first
proposed in 1923, but didn’t pass
through Congress until 1972
• “Equality of rights under the law shall
not be denied or abridged by the US or
any state on account of sex”
• It was give until 1977 to get ¾ of states
to approve, but even after an extension
to 1982 it was 3 states short
• It failed for many reasons including:
– strong state-based anti-ERA
campaigns (while ERA proponents
mounted a national campaign)
– Vocal opposition by women who
supported traditional roles
– Fickle support of state legislators
(8) Women Protected without ERA
• National Organization for
Women formed and continues
to help women
• Women’s issues received more
attention due to ERA and
subsequent laws helped
women
• Women became more involved
in politics
• Supreme Court rulings, Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and Equal
Pay Act protect women already
(though can be taken away
much easier than a national
Constitutional amendment
(9) Affirmative Action
• Affirmative action is a wide range
of programs from special
recruitment efforts to numerical
quotas, aimed at expanding
opportunities for women and
minority groups
• Led to reverse discrimination
• University of California v. Bakke
(1978) – ruled that race could be
a factor, but not be the sole
factor for admitting students
• Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) –
further clarified the extent that
race can be a factor in admitting
schools and argued that a racially
diverse student body is beneficial
to a college