Civil Rights

Now Chapter 5

Quest for Equality

Rights and privileges guaranteed to all citizens under the equal protection and due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments.

Inherent characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex.

Discrimination usually occurs on assumptions about the groups or individuals.

The question arises what the government should do about the discrimination.

Quest for Equality Cont.

Suspect classification distinctions based on race, religion, national origin, and gender, which are assumed to be illegitimate.

Many argue that sexual orientation, ability or disability, and narrative language should be added to that list.

Some states have barred this discrimination while others have not.

Most of our history has allowed unequal treatment of groups.

Slavery

The first written Constitution could have ended slavery but it did not why?

Africans arrived to our shores as indentured servants.

By mid 1600’s slavery took indentured servants place.

Slavery Cont.

Many people sought freedom but kept slaves.

1800’s activists started to protest slavery. Missouri Comprise passed in Congress in

1820 . This was the first reg. on slavery. No slavery was allowed 36 30’.

Anti-Slavery Society was furious with congress for accommodating slave states.

Slavery

1850 Congress attempted to stall or prevent secession in the south by passing the Fugitive Slave Act. Fine $1,000 or jailed six months.

Civil War Era

The abolitionist bolstered their efforts when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published.

John Brown was executed for trying to ignite a slave insurrection at Harpers Ferry.

Dred Scott v. Sandford.

Civil War cont.

Southern way of life was under siege. Civil War occurred 11 southern states

left the union. Emancipation Proclamation: April 1862 3 constitutional amendments were born 13th 14th and 15th

Reconstruction Lincoln was assassinated: April 1865 Reconstruction era:1866-1877 South

brought back into the Union slowly. During this time period a substantial

amount of African Americans were elected to legislation.

Black Codes: Limit the rights of freeman Enforcement Act of 1870: Penalties Civil Rights Act of 1872: Anti Ku Klux Klan

Act

Jim Crow Laws

In 1877 R. Hays rolled back almost all the progress of African Am.

Jim Crow Laws: separate groups in school, work, and public.

Separate societies for fear intermixing of people.

White primary Literacy test Poll tax Grandfather clause

Governmental Acceptance of Discrimination

Civil Rights Cases 1883: SC ruled the gov. could not prevent acts of discrimination by individuals.

Civil Rights Act of 1875 “full and equal enjoyment of facilities” unconstitutional

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 ruled against equal protection clause.

This case created the Separate but equal doctrine.

The Civil Rights Movement

Niagara Movement: voting rights for African Americans.

Founded by W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter.

1909 Du Bois joined Oswald Garrison Villard and William Lloyd Garrison formed the NAACP.

NAACP

Focus was separate but equal doctrine Professional schools during 1930s 1950s classrooms, dinning rooms,

libraries in schools 1954 separate but equal was made

unconstitutional

End of Separate but Equal

1951 Brown v. Board Topeka Kansas Lawyer that fought for Brown was

Thurgood Marshall. The case ruled that separate but equal in

schools was unconstitutional The so-called second Brown case

determined how to enforce their previous ruling.

Montgomery Bus

Rosa Parks was the spark for the NAACP to get involved with separate but equal laws on the busses.

Martin L. King was chosen to lead the bus boycott.

MLK

King became the symbol for the civil rights movement.

381 days of boycotting busses meant massive loss in profit.

King was arrested, had death threats, and had his home bombed.

Dec. 1956 SC ruled segregation of the busses was unconstitutional.

Non Violent Civil Disobedience

Active, but nonviolent refusal to comply with laws or governmental policies that are morally objectionable

The philosophy came from Henry David Thoreau.

King used Mahatma Gandhi’s methods in Civil rights movement.

Activists used boycotts, sit ins, and marches.

Reaction to Civil Disobedience

Selma-Montgomery March: When peaceful protesters only walked six blocks they were met at Edmund Pettus bridge with tear gas, whips, and night sticks.

Known as Bloody Sunday and televised national caused a sway of public opinion in the favor of Civil Rights Movement

Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X used more aggressive tactics.

April 4, 1968 MLK was assassinated.

Governments Response to Civil Rights Movement

Congress passed Voting Rights Act

1964 Civil Rights Act

1968 Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlaws arbitrary discrimination in voters registration w/in states

Bans discrimination in public accommodations Bans state and local gov. banning access to

public facilities based on race, ect Delegates US Attorney General to sue to

desegregate public schools Bars gov agencies from discrimination Equal employment opportunities

Other Civil Rights Legislation in the 1960’s

Less than 1/3 of African voters were registered to vote in the southern counties. 2/3 of whites were.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: wanted to remedy this problem: it ban previous voter registration practices and mandated federal intervention in any county in which less than 50% of eligible voters were registered.

CRA of 1968 outlawed the practice of steering.

Impact of the Civil Rights Movement

Had momentous impact on society by baring discrimination in employment, accommodations, housing, and education

Voting rights especially were impacted:

Ex: Mississippi 7% in 1965 to 76% in 2004

Some states have more African American voters than white.

More African Americans are running for office and getting elected.

Top state is Mississippi

Women’s Movement

Advocating for women's rights started in mid 1800’s aiming to vote.

The first wave gained the right to vote in 1920

The second wave began in 1960’s and continues today

First Wave

Started from the 1840 World Anti- Slavery Conference

1848 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized a meeting at Seneca Falls, NY to talk about lack of women’s rights.

End of conference women signed the Declaration of Sentiments.

Listed rights not given to women Voting, education, own property, employment

were all mentioned.

First Wave Cont.

Because women were ignored in the making of the Constitution, the ladies felt the federal government would ignore them as well.

They realized that the Constitution put the states in charge of voting, thus they took their fight to the states and battled at the state level for change.

They expanded their beliefs thought the court system and courts interpretations of the Constitution. Thus forcing the Federal government to get involved. This goes especially for the 14th amendment.

State Level Rights

Even after the passing of the 14th amendment, women's rights were still limited by social norms as well as state laws.

Edu. for girls prepared them to be good wives and motherhood.

1800’s colleges started to allow women but did not offer them the same opportunities as men.

State Level Rights cont

Women's careers were limited by social norms: 1st give up marriage and 2nd: limited choices.

Bardwell Case established ordinary scrutiny test (rational basis test)

Some women had voting rights but were taken away later on down the road.

The Second Wave

After the 19th amendment the massive push for women's rights died.

It was not until the 1960’s that another massive push came for women's rights.

This time the focus was on social, economic, and political issues.

Women notice that they were being treated unfairly at work, discrimination in education, lack of child care, and violence in the home.

Second Wave Cont.

In 1961 Esther Peterson was made by JFK the first director of the Women's Bureau in the department of Labor.

JFK also established a commission on women's status that was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt.

Federal Legislation

1964 CRA brought about: Title VII Title VI Title IX Reed v. Reed Heightened Scrutiny Test Strict Scrutiny test

Proposed Equal Rights Amendment

1972 Congress Proposed ERA

Opponents said it was a duplicate of the 14th amendment.

Deadline was 1982/ not reached

Other Civil Rights Movements

De Jure Segregation De Facto Segregation Native American: Indian Removal act Indian Citizenship Act 1924 AIM 1968 IGRA 1988: 310 operations

Latin Movement

Largest Minority Group in the US making up 15 percent of population.

1846 land disputes pushed settlers into Mexican Territory.

Treaty of 1848 sold the Mexican territory to the US for $15 million.

Those Mexicans that stayed became US citizens 77,000.

In 1929 LULAC started to protest against many forms of discrimination

Mendez v. Westminster

Chicano Movement

1960’s the birth of the Chicano Movement

Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Jessie Lopez started AWOC and NFWA.

These later formed the UFW Until 1971 Latinos were not considered a

racial minority. Corpus Christi Independent School

District v. Cisneros

Asian Decent

4% of the US population is Asian JACL was founded in the 1930’s Immigration and Nationality Act allowed

Asian Immigrates to become citizens. Interment Camp WWII JACL fought for decades for reparations 1996 NCAPA pressed for equal

protection.

Disabilities 1973 Rehabilitation Act American with Disabilities Act (ADA) expanded

1973 Act to education, employment, health care, housing, transportation, and any federal funded program.

The court has narrowed the definition of disabilities recently.

ADA has fought back with 2007 Restoration Act. Road to Freedom Tour

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered

LGBT movement started after Stonewall Rebellion in June 1969.

Lambda Legal founded LGBT in 1970 Wisconsin was first state to outlaw

discrimination 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick 2003 Lawrence v. Texas Since 1998 ¾ of states ban same sex marriage 2008 CA, MA, CT allowed same sex marriage Hate crimes continue to rise against LGBT