Civil Rights Flashcards

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1
Q

What are civil rights?

A

Protections introduced by the government to ensure that a group of citizens are not discriminated against

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2
Q

What are civil liberties?

A

The freedoms enjoyed by individual Americans, e.g. freedom of speech

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3
Q

What amendment do many civil rights originate from?

A

The ‘equal protection’ clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (1865)

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4
Q

Example of a law passed by Congress which created civil rights

A

The Voting Rights Act 1965 outlawed discrimination that prevented African-Americans from voting

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5
Q

What are inalienable rights?

A

Rights that cannot be taken away

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6
Q

What are entrenched rights?

A

Rights explicitly mentioned in the constitution, that can only be removed through an amendment

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7
Q

What is the Third Amendment?

A

Right not to have military troops quartered in private homes
(shows how the Bill of Rights is less relevant now)

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8
Q

What year was the Bill of Rights?

A

1791

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9
Q

What was the 24th amendment?

A

Gave Americans the right to vote without requiring them to pay tax. Intended to give African-Americans greater voting powers.

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10
Q

What was the Equal Rights Amendment?

A

A proposed amendment to the constitution which was never ratified which would’ve entrenched the rights of women and made it illegal to discriminate against on the basis of sex

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11
Q

Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail?

A

It was only ratified by 35 out of the necessary 38 states

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12
Q

What pressure group campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment?

A

National Organisation for Women (NOW)

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13
Q

What are landmark rulings?

A

A judgement by the Supreme Court which fundamentally changes the way the constitution is interpreted

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14
Q

Brown v Topeka 1954

A

Students given the right not to be segregated by race

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15
Q

Griswold v Connecticut 1965

A

Right to use contraceptives within marriage

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16
Q

Miranda v Arizona 1966

A

Right for people to be informed of their 5th amendment rights before being questioned by the police

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17
Q

Loving v Virginia 1967

A

Laws banning interracial marriage declared unconstitutional

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18
Q

Lawrence v Texas 2003

A

Right to engage in consensual private homosexual activity

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19
Q

DC v Heller 2008

A

Individual right to bear arms

20
Q

Altitude Express v Zarda 2020

A

Right of employees not to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation

21
Q

How can pressure groups promote and support rights?

A
  • Fundraising and advertising
  • Lobbying and electoral donations
  • Legal campaigns, amicus curiae briefs
22
Q

What does ACLU stand for?

A

American Civil Liberties Union

23
Q

How many members of the ACLU are there?

A

1.5m

24
Q

What is controversial about the ACLU?

A

They defend the rights of ALL Americans, including Nazis and KKK

25
Q

Example of ACLU defending Nazis

A

In 1978, they successfully defended the rights of neo-Nazis to march through an area of Chicago where many Holocaust survivors lived

26
Q

Examples of landmark cases which the ACLU has contributed to

A
  • Brown v Topeka
  • Roe v Wade
27
Q

How many lawsuits against the Trump administration did the ACLU file?

A

230

28
Q

Example of a recent ACLU success

A

In 2020, they successfully won a case that made the discrimination on the grounds of gender orientation illegal

29
Q

What does the NAACP stand for?

A

the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

30
Q

Examples of the NAACP successfully lobbying Congress

A
  • Civil Rights Act 1964
  • Voting Rights Act 1965
31
Q

How were the methods of the NAACP different from campaigners like Martin Luther King?

A

Focused on using conventional campaigning methods instead of direct action

32
Q

What SCOTUS case established the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine, used to justify racial segregation?

A

Plessy v Ferguson 1896

33
Q

Indian Civil Rights Act 1968

A

Extended the protections of the Bill of Rights to Native American tribal governments

34
Q

What is affirmative action?

A

Positive discrimination to favour minorities

35
Q

How many states have banned affirmative action?

A

9

36
Q

Fisher v University of Texas 2016

A

Ruled racial affirmative action was legal, as long as some criteria was met

37
Q

Impact of the Voting Rights Act 1965

A

African-American turnout increased from 7% in 1964 to 67% in 1969

38
Q

Shelby County v Holder 2013

A

States could impose restrictions on voting as the country had changed since 1965 - more than 25 states have introduced some voting restrictions since

39
Q

How are incarceration rates higher for African Americans?

A

They only make up 12% of the population but 33% of the prison population

40
Q

How does drug usage differ between racial groups?

A

It doesn’t - yet African Americans are 6x more likely to be incarcerated for drug crimes

41
Q

What is felony disenfranchisement?

A

The loss of the right to vote by those who have committed a felony

42
Q

How many states have completely banned people with felonies from voting?

A

11

43
Q

What are ballot initiatives?

A

A petition signed by a certain number of people which triggers a referendum on their proposed law

44
Q

Example of a ballot initiative

A

In 2018, voters in Florida passed a ballot initiative restoring the right to vote to those who had felonies - restored the right to vote to around 1.4m people

45
Q

How much more likely are black Americans to be killed by police than white Americans?

A

2.5x

46
Q

How many people were estimated to have attended the 2020 BLM protests?

A

23m

47
Q

What are some structural differences between US and UK civil rights?

A
  • Civil liberties and rights are entrenched in the US constitution
  • Most US rights stem from Supreme Court decisions while in the UK they stem from acts of Parliament