US Civil rights Flashcards
What are civil rights?
Protections introduced by the government to ensure that groups of citizens are not discriminated against
What was the Civil Rights movement?
A historical campaign for equal rights for African Americans - originated in the late 19th century but picked up in the 1950s and 1960s during which time a series of new federal laws were passed to ban discrimination
What are civil liberties?
The freedoms enjoyed by individual Americans e.g. the right to freedom of speech
What statement was made in 1776 when 13 American colonies declared their independence from Britain?
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’
How is it easy for a modern reader to criticise this declaration?
Women, native Americans and enslaved people were excluded - ‘unalienable’ rights did not apply to them
In the 18th century they viewed it as revolutionary- not so much now !
Where are civil liberties found?
The Bill of Rights 1791
What body has been fundamental to enhancing the rights of many different social groups?
The Supreme Court
What amendment and specific clause do many civil rights derive from?
14th amendment
Equal protection clause - gave former enslaved people equal protection of the law, but has also been used to protect the rights of other groups
What did Trump’s administration announce in 2018 against illegal immigrants?
A ‘zero tolerance’ policy
More than 50k a day were taken into custody and 3000 children were separated from their parents
Images appeared of children sleeping in cages in detention centres !
When do US civil rights and liberties date back to?
1776 Declaration of Independence
What did it take for slavery to be abolished?
A bloody civil war (1861-65)
What are inalienable rights?
Rights that cannot be taken away (there is debate over this!)
Framers believed humans have inalienable rights (funny how they thought this but did nothing to outline the rights of women and EMs!)
What are entrenched rights?
Rights explicitly mentioned within the Constitution that are protected by the amendment process - can’t be easily removed or altered
What did the framers want to avoid in relation to Britain, and so what did they do to prevent this?
An overly powerful government so set up a codified system of checks and balances and a judiciary in Article 3 where people could go to if they felt their rights were being infringed
Name all of the 10 amendments in the BofR:
- Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition the government for a redress of grievances
- Bear arms
- Right to not have military groups quartered in private homes
- Right to not have unreasonable searches and seizures
- Rights of people accused of a crime
- Right to a fair trial
- Right to a jury trial in civil cases where the claim exceeds a certain $ value
- Right to not face excessive bail or fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment
- Rights that are not enumerated by the Constitution are still held by the people and are protected
- Rights of the states to retain powers that are not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution
What did the 13th amendment do?
Abolish slavery
14th?
gave former enslaved people citizenship
Equal protection clause
15th?
Gave all free men the right to vote (1870) including slaves (3/5)
19th?
gave women the vote (1920)
24th?
gave all Americans the right to vote without needing to pay a tax - prevented African Americans from being disenfranchised
What is the equal rights amendment?
An unratified amendment which would have made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex
National Organisation of Women PG led the campaign
It was passed in 1972 but only ratified by 35 states in the timeframe (needed 38) - deadline for ratification expired in 1982
Had support from 3/4 of people in 2020 and in Jan 2020 Virginia became the 38th state to ratify (but Congress would need to extend the deadline to enact the Amendment)
Opponents argue the amendment would protect abortion and trans rights, and remove economic support from husbands
Give as many landmark rulings you can think of!
Brown (1954)
Roe (1973)
Obergefell (2015)
Heller (2008)
Miranda v Arizona (1966)
Citizens United v FEC (2010)
Shelley v Kramer (1948) - restrictive covenants that banned the sale of homes to African Americans ruled unconstitutional
Griswold v Connecticut (1965) right to use contraceptives within marriage
Loving v Virginia (1967) interracial marriage
Regents of University of California v Bakke (1978) - affirmative action could be constitutional in certain cases
Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) - right of a business owner to refuse service on the basis of religious beliefs (refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage)
3 examples of pressure groups that have promoted civil rights in the USA:
ACLU
NAACP
Anti-lockdown movement
ACLU: What did they do? (give some general facts too! e.g. membership etc)
1.5 million members + a staff of 300 lawyers
Is involved in more SC cases than any other non-government organisation
ACLU defends the civil liberties of ALL members of society, even white surpemacist Nazis and the KKK! (in 1978 the ACLU defended the rights of a neo-Nazi group to march through an area in Chicago where many Holocaust survivors lived - 😳)
Contributed to Brown v Board and Roe v Wade
In the 21st century they won court rulings that protected the rights of gay people and against the teaching of intelligent design in science lessons
Despite attempting to bring legal challenges to the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists and torture methods such as water boarding, they were unsuccessful as the Bush Obama and Trump administration continued, and also expanded the use of drones and targeted killings overseas (ie Osama bin Laden)
ACLU had filed more than 230 lawsuits against Trump (including his muslim ban)
ACLU defended the rights of trans people when a woman was fired for being transgender
NAACP: What did they do?
Founded in 1909 - the oldest civil rights pressure group
Half a million members
Largely led by lawyer Thurgood Marshall
Successes included the Civil Rights Act 1964 (outlaws discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex and national origin) - sex was only included 2 days before the bill was passed !
Another success = Voting Rights Act 1965
Conventional campaign methods were used, different to MLK use of direct action
21st century: focus on ensuring AAs receive equal economic, education, health, criminal justice and voting rights - 2020 social media movement #WeAreDoneDying to campaign against institutional racism (due to disproportionate amount of AA deaths from Covid 19 and George Floyd) - also ran a national voter mobilisation programme
The role of a social movement: The anti-lockdown movement key facts:
Was a campaign for civil liberties rather than civil rights
Protestors argues that state governors’ stay-at-home orders violated their constitutional civil liberties
By May 2020 it was estimated 2 million were associated with the movement with demonstrations in more than half of states
Protestors entered the Capitol in Michigan and Oct 2020 the FBI arrested members of a militia who were planning to kidnap Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer
Far-right and white supremacist protesters
Race: When was slavery legal in Southern states until?
1865 (the North won and slavery was abolished)
However, how did Southern states respond to combat the 13th amendment? In what case did the SC uphold this?
‘Jim Crow laws’ that ensured racial segregation
Plessy v Ferguson (1896) upheld ‘separate but equal’
What is the treatment of the indigenous Native Americans by European settlers in America widely described as?
Genocide - why? - because over centuries they were slaughtered and forced from their land, and assimilation was imposed on them
How much did the Native American population of North America fall from between 1492 and the end of the 19th century?
5-15 million to 238,000
What did the Indian Civil Rights Act 1968 do?
Extended protections of the BofR to Native Americans in tribal governments
How many Native Americans live in the USA today? Where do they tend to live?
5 million
Around 1 million live across 326 reservations across the country where unemployment is high and there are limited educational opportunities (poverty rate over 2x the national average)
Civil rights movement: When did it begin?
Late 1940s
What killing really drove on the movement?
Murder of 14 year old boy Emmett Till in 1955 by white men - these men were acquitted by an all-white jury although they admitted the crime !!!
Clear failing + discrimination of the CJS
What was the name of MLK’s speech?
‘I have a dream’ in 1963 where people would ‘not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’
When was MLK Jr assassinated?
1968
What did the modelling of black leadership arguably lead to?
The 2008 election of the first black US president, Barack Obama
Which amendment protected African Americans from discrimination in voting?
The 24th (1964)
What is affirmative action?
Positive discrimination to favour racial minorities by employers, universities, federal or state governments
When did it start?
The 1960s under the Democrats
Give 2 presidents that support affirmative action and 2 that oppose it:
Obama and Biden
Bush and Trump
What do Bush and Trump argue?
That it ends up infringing on the rights of other groups
How many states is affirmative action banned in? Give one state that bans public-sector affirmative action:
9
California
Which case did the SC rule racial affirmative action was legal provided certain criteria was met?
Regents of Uni of California v Bakke (1978)
Fisher v University of Texas (2016)
However due to the 6-3 conservative majority what did the Supreme Court rule in 2023 SFFA v Harvard and UNC?
That affirmative action is unconstitutional as it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment
So effectively affirmative action will no longer be used !
What did Joe Biden say about the court’s decision?
That he largely condemns it
He points out that affirmative action is used only AFTER a pool of candidates who meet the educational criteria and so is not unfair
Voting rights: After the VRA (1965) how much did African American turnout increase between 1964 and 1969 in Mississippi?
7% to 67%
However, what did the SC rule in Shelby County v Holder (2013)?
That states could impose restrictions on voting
More than 25 states have introduced voter restrictions since 2010, including strict voter identification requirements
How many percentage points did black voter turnout fall by in 2016? What was the impact of this?
7 percentage points - contributed to Hillary Clinton’s defeat
After the NAACP and the Democratic Party worked hard to mobilise black voters, turnout increased. This was vital to Biden’s victory.
For example, what percentage of black 18-30 year olds voted for Biden vs Trump? (men and women)
Men: 88% Biden 9% Trump
Women: 91% Biden 8% Trump
The incarceration rate for African Americans is _ times more the rate of white people
5
In 2022 __% of prisoners were African American vs only __% of the total population
32%
12%
By contrast, just __% of prisoners are white when whites make up __% of the adult population
30%
63%
While one possible explanation could be a higher rate of crime committed by African Americans (perhaps because they are more likely to be economically deprived), this does not explain different _____
incarceration rates (being convicted of the crime)
While African Americans and whites have roughly the same rates of drug use, AAs are __ more likely to be incarcerated for drug charges than whites
6 times
A black man born in 2001 has a 1 in _ chance of spending time in prison over his lifetime, vs 1 in _ for a white man
1 in 3
1 in 17
What is felony disenfranchisement?
The loss of the right to vote by people who have been convicted of a felony (may be temporary or permanent but this differs between states)
How many states prohibit people convicted of a felony from voting?
48
How many states extend this ban until after the sentence, probation and parole periods have ended?
11
Felony disenfranchisement is increasing because of the increasing prison population.
In 2016 1 in __ African Americans of voting age were no longer able to vote because of a previous criminal conviction
13
However, what PG victory was reached in 2018?
Voters in Florida passed a ballot initiative restoring the right to vote to people who had fully completed their sentences
This restored the vote to around 1.4 million people, many of which were AA!
However, what did legal challenges mean for the 2020 election?
They could not vote
How much has felony disenfranchisement decreased from 2016 to 2020?
By 15%
Now 1 in 16 rather than 1 in 13
Summary of BLM:
Started in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted (let off) for killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin
Trending on twitter
Obama spoke of the movement, expressing his frustration of racial bias in society
Black Americans 2.5 more likely to be killed by the police
George Floyd 2020 - 9 mins 29 seconds
‘I can’t breathe’
Estimated 23 million people took part in the movement despite the COVID pandemic
Rioting, looting and arson was met with police resentment of tear gas and rubber bullets
Impact - Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder , crowds toppled statues of figures connected to slavery and colonialism
Who are the alt-right and what are they responsible for?
Far-right extremists and white supremacists responsible for 2/3 of terrorist activity in the USA in 2020
This type of domestic terrorism is increasing: How many people were killed by the far right in 2018?
How many groups are there now?
50 and groups have increased by 50% to 148
What did they do to African American churches? And AA people in 2015?
Burned them down
9 shot down in a massacre in 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina
In 2018 what PG wrote to the House Committee on Homeland Security highlighting the danger of these groups?
The NAACP
Which president is the alt-right and alt-right leaders associated with?
What other groups are under threat?
Trump (who would have guessed!) - ‘Unite the right’ rallies in Charlottesville 2017
‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’ during BLM protests
Also a threat to Hispanics who have been targeted with his border wall
Jews also targeted work 12 killed in two synagogues in 2018 and 2019
Hate crimes against Asian-Americans rose by 150% in large cities in the USA 2020 - ‘Chinese virus’
The alt-right is a threat to democracy !!! - link with the storming of the Capitol
