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Politics- USA Y2 > Civil Rights > Flashcards

Civil Rights Flashcards

1
Q

What was the original Latin Motto of the USA? What does it mean?

A
  • ‘E pluribus unum’
  • ‘Out of many, one’
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2
Q

What did Congress change the motto to?

A
  • Changed original motto in 1956
  • to ‘In God We Trust’
  • on their dollars
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3
Q

What is the Statue of Liberty a symbol of?

A
  • worldwide symbol for welcome no and immigration
  • reflects ‘land of the free, home of the brave’
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4
Q

Details

A
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5
Q

What does Civil Rights mean?

A
  • protections introduced by the government to ensure that groups of citizens are not discriminated against
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6
Q

What does Civil Liberties mean?

A
  • the freedoms enjoyed by individual Americans
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7
Q

What does Entrenched Rights mean?

A
  • rights that are explicitly mentioned in the constitution
  • are protected by the amendment process
  • cannot be easily changed or removed
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8
Q

What does inalienable rights mean?

A
  • Rights that cannot be taken away
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9
Q

List some reasons why US citizens are protected by the government framework:

A
  • Americans have a high value on alienable rights
  • Constitution has a ‘due process’ clause, ensuring equal treatment under the Law
  • US SC gives US citizens final court of appeal if rights have been infringed upon
  • complex amendment process, prevents rights being easily removed
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10
Q

What ways have civil rights be added?

A
  • Additional constitutional amendments
  • Landmark Rulings
  • Federal Laws
  • Pressure Groups
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11
Q

What are some problems with Civil Liberties?

A
  • some rights are better protected then others - e.g. right to bear arms entrenched but rights of women and children not entrenched
  • Constitution difficult to modernise and relies too much upon informal amendments by the Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court an unelected and unaccountable body
  • much of constitution concerned with workings of constitution not civil liberties
    E.G.- 2010 Citizens United vs. FEC, companies are people and Super PAC’s have unlimited funds
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12
Q

Amendments

A
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13
Q

When was the Bill of Rights Created and Ratified?

A
  • Created 1789
  • Ratified 1791
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14
Q

How many amendments are there in the Bill of Rights?

A

10

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15
Q

How many amendments are there overall?

A

27 + Equal Rights Amendments

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16
Q

Define 1st Amendment:

A
  • freedom of religion, speech, assembly and the Press
  • Congress cannot legislate against these
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17
Q

Define the 2nd Amendment:

A
  • the right to bear arms
  • “well regulated militia… security of free state”
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18
Q

Define the 3rd Amendment:

A
  • The housing of soldiers
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19
Q

Define the 4th Amendment:

A
  • Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
  • “persons, houses, papers and effects… no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause”
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20
Q

Define the 5th Amendment:

A
  • Protection of rights to life, liberty and property
  • “unless… indictment of a grand duty” “without due process of law”
  • E.G. cannot incriminate yourself
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21
Q

Define the 6th Amendment:

A
  • Rights of accused persons in criminal cases
  • ‘council for his defence’
  • ‘informed of nature and case of accusation’
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22
Q

Define the 7th Amendment:

A
  • rights in civil cases
  • can only appeal cases higher up in the courts
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23
Q

Define the 8th Amendment:

A
  • excessive bail, fines and punishment not allowed
  • ‘cruel and unusual punishment’
  • death penalty?
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24
Q

Define the 9th Amendment:

A
  • other rights kept by the people
  • enumerated rights cannot be taken away
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25
Q

Define the 10th Amendment:

A
  • Undelegated powers are kept by the state and the people
  • any powers not delegated are given to federal states
26
Q

Define the 11th Amendment:

A
  • 1798
  • Us judiciary cannot hear cases against someone not in the state
27
Q

Define the 12th Amendment:

A
  • 1804
  • Rids any faults or mistakes in the electoral college
  • establishes clear FPTP
28
Q

Define the13th Amendment:

A
  • 1865
  • abolished slavery
  • protected rights of slaves, but were not considered citizens
29
Q

Define the 14th Amendment:

A
  • 1865
  • All citizens are entitled to equal protection under the Law
  • despite race or religion
  • but cases like Plessy vs. Ferguson undermines this
  • grants citizenship to naturalised citizens
30
Q

Define the 15th Amendment:

A
  • 1870
  • extended franchise, right to vote shall not be denied based on race or colour
  • African American men are enfranchised
31
Q

Define the 16th Amendment:

A
  • 1913
  • Congress can set taxes
  • everyone must pay tax
32
Q

Define the 17th Amendment:

A
  • 1913
  • Senate is 2 Senators per state
  • have 6 year terms
  • are directly elected
33
Q

Define the 18th Amendment:

A
  • 1919
  • prohibiting the making, selling and consuming alcohol
34
Q

Define the 19th Amendment:

A
  • 1920
  • franchise extended to women
  • all above 21
  • no property requirements
35
Q

Define the 20th Amendment:

A
  • 1933
  • Presidential pass over time
  • Election 5th Nov, Inauguration 20th January
  • changes Congressional seats per election
36
Q

Define the 21st Amendment:

A
  • 1933
  • repealed 18th Amendment
37
Q

Define the 22nd Amendment:

A
  • 1951
  • no president can serve more then 2 terms in the role
  • limits executive power
38
Q

Define the 23rd Amendment:

A
  • 1961
  • district has an equal number of electors
39
Q

Define the 24th Amendment:

A
  • 1964
  • rights of citizens will not infringed by the failure to pay tax
  • right to vote despite financial position
40
Q

Define the 25th Amendment:

A
  • 1967
  • If President is removed, dies or resigns VP is President
  • no need for a Congress vote
  • defines Presidential disability
41
Q

Define the 26th Amendment:

A
  • 1971
  • voting age reduced to 18+
  • if you can fight in war you can vote
42
Q

Define the 27th Amendment:

A
  • 1992
  • deals with pay rises or decreases for members of Congress
  • cannot vote on their own wages
43
Q

Define the Equal Rights Amendment:

A
  • Proposed in 1923
  • wanted to grant equality no matter the sex of a person
  • in 1972 it was passed by the Senate, after 49yrs of male opposition
  • women’s, Christian groups who did not want military drafting or abortion
  • deadline to pass it was extended then and for a second time
  • recent update= 3 new states have ratified, but unlikely to pass with a Republican Senate
44
Q

How do Constitutional Amendment take place?

A
  • 2/3 of Congress vote for it
  • 3/4 of states to ratify it
45
Q

What did Biden say about the ERA?

A
  • that the Equal Rights Amendment should be law
  • due to 38 states have now ratified it
46
Q

Case study - Black Rights in the USA

A
47
Q

The development of Black rights in the USA

A
48
Q

What 4 factors had contributed to the Development of Black Rights in the USA?

A
  • Supreme Court action
  • Pressure Group action
  • Constitutional Amendments
  • Laws
49
Q

What were Black Civil Rights like before and during the Civil war?

A
  • Dread Scott vs. Stanford decision, black people cannot be US citizens
  • CJ Taney said they were, ‘beings of an inferior order’
  • reinforced that black people are property not citizens
  • Civil War, north (anti-slavery) south (pro-slavery)
50
Q

What happened in 1865?

A

the Thirteen Amendment, abolished slavery

51
Q

What were Black Civil Rights like during the Reconstruction and rise of Segregation era?

A
  • Reconstruction (1865-1877)
  • 13-15th amendment, gave black people legal protection
  • rise of white supremacist groups, KluKluxKlan
  • White southern law makers, ‘Jim Crow Laws’, institutionalised segregation
52
Q

Give examples of some of the Jim Crow Laws:

A
  • blacks and whites couldn’t interact in public places
  • hospitals, parks and transportation segregated and usually worse for blacks
  • disenfranchised black voters through Poll Tax, literacy tests and outright intimidation
53
Q

What was Plessy vs. Ferguson and why was it significant?

A
  • inforced, ‘seperate but equal’ clause
54
Q

Who made Thurgood Marshall the first black SC judge and when?

A
  • John F. Kennedy in 1961
55
Q

Wat was the Voter Rights Act 1964?

A
  • prohibited discrimination based on race, sex or religion in employment, housing and education
  • aimed to eliminate institutional barriers
  • established Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, investigating discrimination in the workplace
56
Q

What was the impact of the VRA on the Democrat party?

A
  • It was passed by them, so it led to the loss of white, mc voters
57
Q

What constitutional Amendments followed to protect Black Civil Rights?

A
  • 19t Amen women vote
  • 24th Amen abolished poll tax
  • 27th Amen lowered Voting age to 18, enfranchising young black activists
58
Q

What Protest Groups have started to resolve issues of social injustice?

A
  1. BLM- founded 2013 after death of Trayvon Martin, addressing police brutality especially after George Floyd’s death
  2. Million Man March- held in 1995 but revived 2000, AA men advocating for racial solidarity
  3. The Dream Defenders- based on MLK speech, 2012 also in response to death of Trayvon Martin
  4. Colour for Change- 2005, addressing racial mass incarceration and police brutality
59
Q

Are minority rights well protected in the USA?

A
  • emerging in the 1950s and 1960s, beginning to be protected
  • Figures: MLK jr, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X (civil rights movement)
  • B vs BOE, separate but equal cause, so a legislative end to segregation
60
Q

How do Civil Rights in the USA compare to the UK?

A

-HRA 1998 protects ALL persons
- ones in USA were gradual and added a new group/ clause each time
- e.g. UK Equal Rights Act, USA Obergefell vs Hodges

61
Q

What happened in 2017 in Charlottesville?

A
  • the ‘unite the right’ rally, group ‘anti-fa’ (anti-fascist)
  • white nationalists protesting against the removal of Confederate Stature of Robert E. Lee (relation to slavery)
  • violence escalated= alt right man drove his car into a crowd of protestors to the rally
  • Trump did not send in the national guard for this, but did for BLM protests
  • showed dangers of far right
62
Q

What is affirmative action?

A

Politics- USA Y2 (5 decks)

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