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civil rights
policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals
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fourteenth amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted after the civil war that states "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the US; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"
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equal protection of the laws
part of the fourteenth amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent "protection" to all people
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thirteenth amendment
the constitutional amendment ratified after the civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude
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civil rights act of 1964
the law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination
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suffrage
the legal right to vote, extended to african americans by the fifteenth amendment, to women by the nineteenth amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the twenty-sixth amendment
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fifteenth amendment
the constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to african americans
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poll taxes
small taxes levied on the right to vote that often fell due at a time of year when poor african american sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. this method was used by most southern states to exclude african americans from voting. poll taxes were declared void by the twenty-fourth amendment in 1964
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white primary
one of the means used to discourage african american voting that permitted political parties in the heavily democratic south to exclude african americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. declared unconstitutional in 1944
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twenty-fourth amendment
declared poll taxes void in federal elections
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voting rights act of 1965
a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to african american suffrage. under the law, hundreds of thousands of african americans were registered, and the number of african american elected officials increased dramatically
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nineteenth amendment
guarantees women the right to vote
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equal rights amendment
"equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any state on account of sex." despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three0fourths of the state legislatures
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comparable worth
the issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill
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americans with disabilities act of 1990
a law passed in 1990 that requires employers ad public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment
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affirmative action
a policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group
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