Chapter 5
Civil Rights
Civil Rights
The Struggle for Civil Rights
Struggle for Civil Rights
• Civil rights: rights guaranteed to all American citizens
by law; usually refers to social freedoms and equal
treatment under the law.
– All American citizens have civil rights (not merely minority
groups).
• Often understood in terms of groups whose civil
rights were recognized by the U.S. government only
after legal and political actions secured them.
Struggle for Civil Rights
• Formal, legal inequalities existed uncomfortably with
America’s value of equality for all since the nation’s
founding.
• Full benefits of citizenship were limited.
– Race, sex, age, wealth, national origin most clearly
Struggle for Civil Rights
• The concept of “equal rights” poses complicated
legal and policy questions.
– Does treating people in the exact same manner mean we
are treating them equally?
– How do we address real differences, as with biological
distinctions between men and women, and preserve
fairness?
– How do we address past legally mandated discrimination
in policy?
Struggle for Civil Rights
• Discrimination: use of any unreasonable and unjust
criterion of exclusion
• Formal, legal discrimination against blacks and
women was contested, but persisted.
– Abolitionist movement
– Suffrage movement
Struggle for Civil Rights
• The subjugation of blacks and women was political,
economic, and social in nature.
• Voting, property ownership, employment, and
social/public opportunities were sharply limited
compared to white and male counterparts.
• White women had significantly more legal rights than
black men or black women.
– Supreme Court held white women’s rights existed through
her father, husband, or trustee.
The Civil War Amendments to the Constitution
The Civil War Amendments to the Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment: abolished slavery
Fourteenth Amendment: guaranteed equal protection
under the law
Fifteenth Amendment: guaranteed voting rights for
black men
Separate But Equal
• The Supreme Court initially interpreted the
Fourteenth Amendment very narrowly.
– Ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional for
targeting private actions.
– Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld the concept of separate
but equal
Organizing for Equality
Organizing for Equality
• NAACP
– Raised funds for legal challenges to Jim Crow
– Helped bring northern blacks into political system
• NAWSA and National Women’s Party
– Brought suffrage onto the public agenda
• Securing formal rights required 100+ years of
challenges to discriminatory laws.
– Organizational, strategic efforts
– Courts, public opinion, and lawmakers all levels
Experiences with Integration
• Integrated WWII military shapes the civil rights
movements in the United States.
– Black American troops desegregated in1948
– Latinos (largely Mexican American) served in integrated
units.
• Black and Latino soldiers return to United States
– Feel vested, earned, proven “full Americans”
– Expect/prefer integration, equal protection now
– Broadens public support/demand for civil rights
Social Protest and Congressional Action
Brown v. Board (1954)
• Unanimous Supreme Court decision
• Landmark because overturns Plessy separate but
equal doctrine that sanctioned segregation
• Determined separate but equal in schooling
inherently unequal because predicated on the idea of
racial superiority
Civil Rights After Brown
• Government discrimination on the basis of race must
pass strict scrutiny legal standard.
– Is the program a compelling state interest?
– Is it as narrowly tailored as possible?
Peaceful Civil Rights Demonstrations, 1954–68
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Made interference with the right to vote on the basis
of race a federal issue
• Bans literacy tests
• Pre-clearance requirements for specific states and
regions due to extensive record of
disenfranchisement policies and/or attempts
Impact of Voting Rights Act on Registration
Women and Gender Discrimination
Women and Civil Rights
• Women and Gender Discrimination
–
–
–
–
Equal Rights Amendment
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992)
United States v. Virginia (1996)
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Have Women Achieved Equal Rights?
CHAPTER 5
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Politics
% of members of Congress and state legislatures
1960
39%
Women
1970
39%
Women
1980
42%
Women
1990
2000
45%
Women
48%
Women
2010
56%
Women
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, census.gov; Center for American Women and Politics, cawp.rutgers.edu (accessed 7/18/12).
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Politics
% of members of Congress and state legislatures
1960
Congress 4%
Women
1970
Congress 2%
Women
1980
State Legislatures 11%
Congress 2%
Women
1990
State Legislatures 17%
Congress 6%
Women
2000
State Legislatures 23%
Congress 13%
Women
2010
State Legislatures 25%
Congress 17%
Women
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, census.gov; Center for American Women and Politics, cawp.rutgers.edu (accessed 7/18/12).
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Women’s Income as a Percentage of Men’s
Weekly earnings, by occupation, 2010
81%
74%
Professional
Men: $1,568
Women: $923
81%
Office / Sales
Men: $736
Women: $597
Educators
Men: $1,065
Women: $862
78%
Service
Men: $543
Women: $423
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, census.gov; Center for American Women and Politics, cawp.rutgers.edu (accessed 7/18/12).
74%
Production
Men: $640
Women: $473
Latinos
Latinos and Civil Rights
• Education
– Mendez v. Westminster (1947)
– Bilingual education
• Immigration as Civil Rights Issue
– California Proposition 187 (1994)
– Arizona SB 1070 (2010)
• American citizens of Latino origin suspect class claims
• Supreme Court upholds/strikes down parts (2012)
Asian Americans
Asian Americans and Civil Rights
• Asian Americans
– 1870, Congress declares Chinese ineligible for citizenship
– 1882, Chinese Exclusion Act
– Japanese Internment
• 1942–1945, over 110,000 Japanese Americans (and
authorized residents) forcibly relocated and held
• Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush authorized
reparations payments to survivors and descendants.
American Indians and Civil Rights
• Native Americans
– Tribe members are both American citizens and members
of sovereign tribal nations.
– They may reside on reservations that may have different
laws than states where they are located.
– Many state, federal, and even private programs require
proof of Native American ancestry.
• Such authentication is not asked of any other group.
Ability, Age, and Civil Rights
• Disabled Americans
– 1973 Rehabilitation Act
– Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
• The Elderly
– Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)
– Gross v. FBL Financial Services (2009)
Gays and Lesbians
Gays, Lesbians, and Civil Rights
• Gays and Lesbians
– Military policy: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT,1993)
• Repealed in 2011
– Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
– Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
– Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA, 2006)
– As of 2012:
• 9 states legalized same-sex marriage.
• 39 states prohibited same-sex marriage.
Affirmative Action
• Compensatory action to overcome the
consequences of past discrimination
• Quotas (requisite number of x group) are illegal since
Bakke (1978).
• Michigan 2003 cases, race cannot be determining
factor but can be one of several
• Schools may opt not to use affirmative action.
– Legal costs and other considerations
Affirmative Action
Public Opinion in Black and White
• Will a solution to problems between blacks and
whites be found?
– 1963, 55 percent of those polled said “yes.”
– 2009, 56 percent of those polled said “yes.”
• 2009, ~75 percent of blacks and ~50 percent of
whites still see racism as a problem in America.
Public Opinion in Black and White
Public Opinion in Black and White
Do you think African Americans:
a) achieved racial equality
b) will soon achieve racial equality
c) will not achieve racial equality in your lifetime
d) will never achieve racial equality
ABC News/Washington Poll, Jan. 12–15, 2010.
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe the U.S. Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) should be allowed to conduct
ethnic profiling, or is this practice a threat to an
individual’s civil rights?
a)
b)
c)
Allowed, it is not a threat to individual’s civil rights.
Not allowed, it is a threat to individual’s civil rights.
Allowed, despite threat to individual civil rights, to
protect the public and security interests.
Public Opinion Poll
Is it possible for schools to be “separate but equal,”
where there is racial segregation but equal
educational opportunity, in today’s society?
a)
b)
Yes
No
Public Opinion Poll
Should states and the federal government be
allowed to ask people they suspect of being
unauthorized immigrants to prove their legal status
based on physical appearance?
a)Yes, it protects public and national interests.
b)No, it is a clearly discriminatory policy.
c) Yes, it is worth offending and/or inconveniencing
some American citizens in order to identify those
breaking immigration laws.
Public Opinion Poll
Should the federal and state governments
recognize same-sex marriages, opposite-sex
marriages, or get out of the business of authorizing
and recognizing personal relationships altogether?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Recognize same- and opposite-sex marriages
Recognize opposite-sex marriage only
Recognize same-sex marriage only
Stop authorizing, licensing, or otherwise
validating marital status for anyone
Public Opinion Poll
What did the election of President Barack Obama
tell us about race in American society?
a)
Racism is not a significant problem in American
society any longer.
b) Racism is more problematic than ever; the
reaction to his presidency was noticeably hostile.
c) Racism remains a problem, but only in some parts
of the country.
d) Racism exists, but it now targets nonblack groups.
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
• Quizzes
• Flashcards
• Outlines
• Exercises
wwnorton.com/we-the-people
Following this slide, you will find additional images,
figures, and tables from the textbook.
The Link to the Women’s Rights Movement
Organizing for Equality
Cause and Effect in the Civil Rights Movement
Social Protest and Congressional Action
The Civil Rights Act
The Universalization of Civil Rights
Immigrants and Civil Rights
Latinos
The Supreme Court and the Burden of Proof
Human Rights and International Politics
Housing
The Digital Divide