Civil rights

Question 1

How are civil rights protected in the US?

Answer 1

1. The constitution
   E.g. the USSC was established in Article 3 of the constitution, giving citizens a court of final appeal if they feel that their rights have been infringed
2. The Bill of Rights
   E.g. the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, religion and the press
3. Subsequent amendments to the constitution
   E.g. the 14th Amendment gave citizens ‘equal protection’ under the law and stated that a citizen’s freedoms cannot be removed by the government without ‘due process’
4. Landmark SC rulings
   E.g. Obergefell v Hodges 2015, the court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry

Question 2

What is the role of pressure groups in promoting and supporting rights?

Answer 2

1. Pressure groups have led many campaigns to support rights
   E.g. Planned Parenthood have campaigned to extend women’s rights to abortion
2. Pressure groups raise funds to pay for campaigns of politicians to support the rights and interests of their members
   E.g. the NRA donated over $30 million on behalf of Trump in his 2016 campaign
3. Political campaigning to convince politicians to vote in the interests of their member’s rights and interests
   E.g. the NRA successfully convinced Congressmen to vote against Obama’s attempts to impose stricter gun control

Question 3

What are the key pressure groups?

Answer 3

1. National Association for Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)
2. National Rife Association (NRA)
3. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Question 4

How have the NAACP influenced politics?

Answer 4

1. They funded key SC cases
   E.g. Brown v Board of Education 1954
2. They have successfully lobbied Congress
   E.g. they lobbied Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act 1957 and the Voting Rights Act 1965

Question 5

How have the NRA influenced politics?

Answer 5

1. They have exceptional influence within the Republican Party
   E.g. in 2018 only 6 Republican members of Congress had not received funding from the NRA
2. The NRA has huge financial resources
   E.g. the NRA and other gun rights groups have donated nearly $13million to congressional campaigns, compared to a total of $570k form gun-control groups
3. The NRA has had a huge influence on Congress
   E.g. the NRA’s influence in Congress allowed them to convince Congressmen to vote against Obama’s gun control legislation

Question 6

How have the ACLU influenced politics?

Answer 6

1. The ACLU helped to end segregation
   E.g. supported then NAACP in Brown v Board of Education 1954
2. ACLU has protected minority rights in the modern day
   E.g. ACLU has won court rulings protecting the right to privacy of lesbians and gay men
3. ACLU has campaigned for the rights of immigrants
   E.g. ACLU challenged Trump’s 2017 ban on immigration from Muslim-majority due to 1st Amendment freedom of religion but this was later ruled constitutional by SC.

Question 7

How have civil rights impacted US politics: race?

Answer 7

1. The civil rights movement
2. Voting rights
3. Incarceration rates

Question 8

How has the civil rights movement impacted US politics: race?

Answer 8

1. Landmark SC cases
   E.g. Brown v Board of Education 1954
2. 24th Amendment 1964
   E.g. protected African-Americans from discrimination in voting
3. The actions of individuals
   E.g. Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, which helped to develop new attitudes towards race

Question 9

How have voting rights impacted US politics: race?

Answer 9

1. The 1965 Voting Rights Act made it easier for African-Americans to vote by removing the restrictions on voting in most Southern states
   E.g. in Mississippi turnout increased from 7% in 1964 to 67% in 1969 (led to democrats winning more elections)

Question 10

How have incarceration rates impacted US politics: race?

Answer 10

1. Increased incarceration rates for African-Americans has led to felony disenfranchisement
   E.g. 1 in 13 African Americans of voting age were no longer eligible to vote because of previous criminal conviction in 2016

Question 11

How have BLM impacted US politics: race?

Answer 11

1. BLM have protested against racial inequality

E.g. in 2020 BLM began street protests and riots following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer

Question 12

Explain and analyse 3 ways in which a civil rights campaign has had an impact on US politics.

Answer 12

1. The civil rights movement resulted in a landmark Supreme Court decision
   E.g. Brown v Board of Education 1954
2. The 1965 Voting Rights Act made it easier for African-Americans to vote by removing the restrictions on voting in most Southern states
   E.g. in Mississippi turnout increased from 7% in 1964 to 67% in 1969 (led to democrats winning more elections)
3. The Black Lives Matter campaign has kept
   race at the forefront of the political agenda.
   E.g. in 2014 BLM began street protests and riots known as the Ferguson unrest due to police shooting of unarmed African-Americans

Question 13

Explain and analyse 3 ways in which pressure groups have a role in protecting civil rights?

Answer 13

1. Pressure groups use legal challenges to try to achieve a landmark SC case
   E.g. Brown v Board of Education
2. Pressure groups lobby Congress
   E.g. the NRA successfully lobbied Congress to reject Obama’s gun control measures
3. Pressure groups may write amicus curiae briefs in an attempt to convince courts to make a certain decision
   E.g. in 2018 the Christian Coalition of America produced an amicus curiae brief against legalising large-scale betting