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Civil Rights
policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by govt officials/individuals
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Name 5 key types of discrimination in America.
- racial
- gender
- age
- disability
- sexual orientation
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The fight for equality involves what three aspects.
- 1. philosophically, defining the term equality
- 2. constitutionally, interpreting laws
- 3. politically, it involves power
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Americans believe in what 3 things pertaining to civil rights.
- 1. equal rights
- 2. equality of opportunity
- 3. no emphasis on equal results/equal rewards
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Equal Protection of the Laws
part of the 14th amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent protection to all people
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Name and describe the 3 standards of review used by the Supreme Court in terms of civil rights.
- 1. reasonable - (age, wealth, etc.) bear a rational relationship to some legitimate governmental purpose
- 2. racial & ethnic classifications are inherently suspect
- 3. classifications based on gender fit somewhere between these two extremes
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Name and describe the 3 eras of racial equality.
- 1. era of slavery: colonization - end of Civil War in 1865
- 2. era of reconstruction/resegregation: 1865 - 1953
- 3. era of civil rights: 1954 - present
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Scott v Sandford
court decision ruling that an escaped slave in a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen; Congress could not ban slavery in territories
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Jim Crow Laws
segregation laws
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What two entities put civil rights' goals on the nation's policy agenda?
- the courts
- the nat'l conscience
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
made racial discrimination against any group in hotels/motels/restaurants illegal; forbade job discrimination
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Suffrage
legal right to vote
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Name the five amendments that expanded suffrage.
- 15th: African American suffrage
- 19th: women's suffrage
- 26th: 18-21 year old suffrage
- 22nd: Washington DC residents suffrage
- 24th: poll taxes eliminated
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Name three methods used for keeping African Americans from voting historically.
- literacy tests
- poll taxes
- White primary
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
prohibited any govt from using voting procedures that denied a person the vote on the basis of race/color and abolished the use of literacy requirements for anyone who had completed the 6th grade
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Protectionist Laws
kept women mostly in the home to protect the family and the country's moral fabrics
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Equal Rights Amendment
equality of rights cannot be abridged on account of sex
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Comparable Worth
issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skills
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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
requires employers and public facilities to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment
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Affirmative Action
efforts to bring about increased employment, promotion, or admission for members of previously disadvantaged groups
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Describe the specifications of the legality of affirmative action.
Affirmative action is constitutional as long as it does not set aside a certain quota/number of spaces available only to minority members
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What are 2 reasons opponents are against affirmative action?
- they believe that is cannot rectify past injustices
- they believe merit is the only basis for determining benefits
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