Civil Rights and the
Constitution
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
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Slavery and the United States Constitution
•Article I, section 9 states: “The Migration or Importation
of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall
think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by Congress
prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight…”
•Article I, section 2: “Representatives and direct Taxes
shall be apportioned among the several States…according
to their respective numbers, which shall be detrmined by
adding to the whole Number of free Persons…three-fifths
of all other Persons.”
•Why did the framers of the Constitution choose not to
address the issue of slavery directly?
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The “Civil War” Amendments
•The 13th Amendment (1865) prohibits slavery in the
United States.
•The 14th Amendment (1868) establishes that all persons
born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and
that no state shall deprive citizens of their rights under the
Constitution or deny “equal protection of the laws.”
•The 15th Amendment established the right of citizens to
vote regardless of “race, creed, color, or previous
condition of servitude.”
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
Civil Rights Agenda in Congress (late 19th century)
•Civil Rights Acts of 1865-1877
•Civil Rights Cases (1883)
-10th Amendment prevents Congress from passing
legislation prohibiting private acts of discrimination
•Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
-State laws requiring separate facilities for whites
and blacks do not violate the equal protection
clause of the 14th Amendment as long as the
facilities are substantially equal (separate but equal
doctrine)
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
Brown v Topeka Board of Education (1954)
•Landmark case overrules “separate but equal doctrine”
•Orders integration of public schools with “all deliberate speed.”
•Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Bd. of Education
(1971)
•Does Busing Work?
–Yes: leads to more positive racial attitudes among children
–No: has added to white flight to suburbs
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
Civil Rights Agenda in Congress (mid 20th century)
•Civil Rights Act of 1957 – established the Civil Rights Commission
which is responsible for investigating claims of racial bias
•Civil Rights Act of 1960 – intended to stop southern states from
denying voting rights of African-Americans
•Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibited discrimination by government
institutions and private citizens in the areas of [1] voter registration, [2]
public accommodations, [3] public schools, and [4] employment. The
Act also established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
which was assigned the task of ending racial discrimination in
employment practices.
•In 1965, EEOC began enforcing affirmative action
•Katzenbach v McClung; Heart of Atlanta Motel v United States (1964) –
upheld CR Act of 1964 on basis of Commerce Clause
•Civil Rights Act of 1968 – prohibited discrimination in housing
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
Equality Under the Law: Equal Protection
• The Fourteenth Amendment
– Forbids states from denying equal protection
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Affirmative Action
• Workplace Integration
– Full and equal opportunities in education,
employment, etc. for all
• Opinions on Affirmative Action
– Will aggressive affirmative actionreverse
discrimination?
• Affirmative Action in the Law
– University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)
– Texas vs Hopwood*
– Grutter vs Bollinger (2003) [CNN link]
– Gratz vs Bollinger (2003) [CNN link]
Copyright Wm. Feagin, Jr. 2003
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display
What’s Your Opinion?
• Which position on affirmative action
programs comes closer to your own
point of view?
– Keep them without rigid quotas?
– Phase them out?
– Don’t know or have an opinion?
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On-Going Debate Over Equality
• de facto Discrimination
– Social, economic, cultural biases
discrimination
• de jure Discrimination
– Specific lawdiscrimination
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Persistent Discrimination
• Superficial Differences
• minorities attending college
• obtaining professional and managerial jobs
• acceptance as suburban neighbors
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Persistent Discrimination
• Deep Divisions
– Continued inequality in:
• health care and mortality rate
• nutrition
• education
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What’s Your Opinion?
• Should Private Discrimination be
Allowed?
– Should private country clubs and
organizations be allowed to discriminate
based on:
• Religion, race, sexual preference
• Physical characteristics, lifestyles
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