Civil Rights Flashcards
Civil Liberties
Basic freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
Civil Rights
Protections against discrimination. Ensure equal treatment under the law.
Protection of civil rights and liberties: Constitution and Bill of Rights, Amendments
Constitution
- Complex amendment process. Prevents rights from being easily removed.
Bill Of Rights
- First 10 Amendments
- 13th banned slavery
- 14th gave citizenship to former slaves
- 15th all men right to vote
- 19th women same rights to vote as men
- 24th right to vote without paying tax
Protection of civil rights and liberties: Landmark Rulings
Brown v Board of Education (1954) 9-0
- Racial segregation in schools violated 14th amendment
Roe v Wade (1973) 7-2
- Allowed abortion for women
Obergefell v Hodges (2015) 5-4
- Allowed same sex marriage
The role of pressure groups in promoting and supporting rights
- Fundraising to pay for campaigns to influence public
- Public campaigning
- Political campaigning including lobbying
- Legal campaigning including sponsoring legal cases
NAACP Brown V Board of Education 1954
Civil rights movement
- Late 1940s, led by pressure groups, campaigners, religious groups.
- Achieved landmark SC victories, Brown v Board of Education 1954
- MLK “I have a dream speech”
Incarceration rates
2018
- 12% of the US population but 33% of prisoners African-American.
- 63% of adults and 30% of prisoners white.
Felony disenfranchisement
- 2016, 1 in every 13 African Americans, no longer eligible to vote because of a previous criminal conviction
2020, 1 in 16
The protection of civil rights in the UK and the USA acts
US
- Bill of rights and Civil Rights Act 1964
UK
- Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010
Comparison of methods, influence and effectiveness of civil rights campaigns US vs UK
Methods
- US pressure groups use SC more often, spend more
- Since HRA in UK pressure gorups increased use of SC
Effectiveness
- Civil rights campaigns have changed public attitudes in both countries
