AP Gov Chapter 5 Vocab

Question 1

Civil Rights

Answer 1

Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatments by government officials or individuals.

Question 2

Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 2

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 o citizens of the untied states; 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 laws.”

Question 3

equal protection of laws

Answer 3

part of the fourteenth amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent “protection” to all people.

Question 4

Scott v. Sandford

Answer 4

the 1857 supreme court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizens and that congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories.

Question 5

thirteenth amendment

Answer 5

the constitutional amendment ratified after civil war that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Question 6

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 6

An 1896 supreme court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring , “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” was constitutional.

Question 7

Brown v. Board of Education

Answer 7

the 1954 court decision holding that school segregation in Topeka, Kansas, was inherently unconstitutional because it violated the fourteenth amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. this case marked the end of legal segregation in the united states.

Question 8

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 8

the law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, and motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination.

Question 9

Suffrage

Answer 9

The legal right to vote ,extended to African Americans by the fifteenth amendment, to women by the nineteenth amendment and to people over 18 by the 26th amendment.

Question 10

Fifteenth amendment

Answer 10

the constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to African Americans.

Question 11

poll taxes

Answer 11

small taxes levied on the right to vote often 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 24th amendment in 1964.

Question 12

White primary

Answer 12

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 a voice in the real contests. the supreme court declared white primaries were unconstitutional. in 1944.

Question 13

24th amendment

Answer 13

the constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void in federal elections.

Question 14

voting rights act of 1965

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Korematsu v. United States

Answer 15

A 1944 supreme court decision that upheld as constitutional the interment of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent in encampments during world war 2.

Question 16

19th amendment

Answer 16

the constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.

Question 17

Equal rights amendment

Answer 17

a constitutional amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by congress in 1972, stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex.” Despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from 3/4s of the state legislatures.

Question 18

Reed v. Reed

Answer 18

The landmark case in 1971 in which the supreme court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination.

Question 19

Craig v. Boren

Answer 19

In this 1976 ruling, the supreme court established the “medium scrutiny” standard for determining gender discrimination.

Question 20

comparable worth

Answer 20

the issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill.

Question 21

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Answer 21

A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment.

Question 22

Affirmative action

Answer 22

a policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment for members of some previously disadvantaged group.

Question 23

regents of the university of California v. Bakke

Answer 23

a 1978 supreme court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race.

Question 24

Adarand Constructors v. Pena

Answer 24

A 1995 supreme court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional.