Civil Rights
“Equal Protection”
14th Amendment (1868)
• Forbids any state to “deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws.”
• Sex, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual
preference
Civil Rights History
African Americans
• Dred Scott Case 1857
• Jim Crow Laws – segregated community
• de jure (by law) and de facto (by reality)
• Civil Rights Act of 1875
• Plessy v. Ferguson – separate but equal
• NAACP – 20th century push for rights
• Brown v. Board of Education – “separate but equal”
unconstitutional
• Civil Rights Act of 1964, 24th Amendment (poll tax),
Voting Rights Act 1965
24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of
1964 &
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Voting (Barred unequal application of voter registration
requirements)
• 24th amendment – no poll taxes SO…LITERACY TEST WAS
REINFORCED
• Public accommodation (Barred discrimination)
• Schools (Gov. can force desegregation though litigation)
• Employment (Affirmative Action programs developed)
• Federal Funds (federal funding pulled for non-compliance)
• VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1965 - demonstrate that a proposed
voting change does not have the purpose or the effect of
discriminating based on race or color.
• In some cases - must also show that the proposed change does
not have the purpose or effect of discriminating against a
"language minority group." (literacy tests banned)
Civil Rights History
Native Americans
• 2 million people live on “reservations”
• Push for more sovereignty on their land
– Ex. – gambling operation rights
• Art. 1, Sec. 8 – commerce clause give
Congress right to regulate Indian tribes
Civil Rights History
Latino/Latina Rights
• 37 million in US (about 10 million in 1980)
• Mexican – 15million-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
• Cubans – 1960s, many fled communist
takeover by Castro, “wet foot, dry foot”
policy
• Central and South American – political
trouble is driving people to US, face similar
bilingual and immigration issues
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)
• 1980s reparations for internment
Women and Equal
Rights
• 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
– Ex. Cannot set different age limits for driving,
but can set laws on rape that punish man only
Women and Equal
Rights
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) 1972
– “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
• Roe v. Wade (1973) – women’s freedom
to choose abortion
Women and Equal
Rights
• 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
• 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
• 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 –
protect disabled rights – SC has
somewhat limited this act
Homosexual Rights
• 1993 – “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – gay rights
to be in the military
• 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
• 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
• Gratz and Grutter cases from University of Michigan
(AffAct in undergrad admissions can begin to go; not in
law school admissions – still a need for diversity)
Civil Rights summary
• Constant pursuit of equality
• Civil Rights for minority groups will
constantly be changing
• EVERYONE will be a part of some
minority group during their lifetime