US civil rights Flashcards
What are civil rights?
-additional protections that ensure that groups of citizens are not discriminated against
-roots are from the declaration of independence that establishes the ‘unalienable’ rights to ‘Life, Liberty + the pursuit of happiness’
-many civil rights originate from the 14th amendment of ‘equal protection’ (originally referred to slavery but has been used in a variety of cases i.e Brown v Topeka & Roe v Wade)
-can also be created by law from congress i.e Voting rights act 1965 outlawed discrimination against AAs that prevented them from voting
What are civil liberties?
-fundamental individual freedoms i.e freedom of speech/religion
-generally intended to give individuals freedom from govt authority
-many are detailed in the bill of rights
Why did the framers create a codified constitution?
-a complex amendment process ensures that inalienable rights are entrenched and prevents them from being easily removed by future govts/legislatures
3 examples of amendments in the BOR(1791)
-1st amendment= freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly + petition
-2nd amendment= right to bear arms
-6th amendment= right to fair trial
Examples of subsequent amendments that extended rights to other groups of Americans
-13th amendment(1865)= abolished slavery
-14th amendment(1868)= gave former enslaved people full citizenship–} ‘equal protection’ under law and the govt cannot remove a citizen’s life or freedoms without ‘due process’
-15th amendment(1870)= gave men of all races the right to vote, including former enslaved people
What was the equal rights amendment?
-it was an unratified + controversial proposed amendment that would’ve made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex
-campaign was led by the National Organisation of Women(NOW) and the ERA was passed by congress in 1972 + ratified by 35 state
-opposition from conservatives meant that it didn’t meet the necessary 3/4 state ratification
-in 2020, the Dem controlled HOR voted to extend its deadline, meaning that it would reach the threshold as 3 states ratified at a later date but Republican controlled senate didn’t approve
Examples of landmark cases
-Brown v Topeka(1954)= Right of students not to be segregated by race
-Miranda v Arizona(1966)= right of suspects to be informed of their 5th amendment rights(i.e right to remain silent) before being questioned by police
-Roe v Wade(1973)= right to an abortion in the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy
-Regents of Uni of California v Bakke(1978)= affirmative action in university applications processes could be constitutional in certain cases
-DC v Heller(2008)= Individual right to bear arms
How do pressure groups support civil rights?
-right of citizens to form pressure groups is protected under the 1st amendment
-liberal groups have used this to work for the rights of POC, women etc whereas conservative groups have campaigned for religious rights, gun rights etc
-use a variety of methods including fundraising, lobbying + online campagins
Pressure groups: American civil liberties union
-has more than 1.5 million members + a staff of over 300 lawyers, with affiliates in every state
-more involved in the SC than any other non-govt organisation
-works to protect ALL liberties including helping a neo-Nazi group to march through an area in Chicago where many holocaust survivors lived in 1978
-objectives align with liberals + they have been involved in landmark cases i.e brought Obergefell v Hodges(2015) to the SC
-its challenge to Trump’s 2017 ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries led to a federal court blocking the ban, which was then modified by govt
Pressure groups: National association for the advancement of coloured people (NAACP)
-the USA’s oldest civil rights pressure group, has more than half a million members today
-achieved major successes in the civil right movement:
-provided legal representation for protestors arrested by govt
-lobbied govt to pass the civil rights acts(‘57, ‘64, ‘68) + the voting rights act(1965)
-special counsel, Thurgood Marshall led Brown v Topeka(1954) and Shelley v Kramer 1948(ruled the ban of selling homes to AAs unconstitutional)
-launched social media movement #WeAreDoneDying to campaign against institutional racism in May 2020
How have social movements promoted & supported rights?
-BLM campaigned for racial equality, #metoo movement campaigned for an end to sexual harassment and assault
Example of civil liberties conflicting with civil rights
-far right protestors formed the ‘anti-lockdown movement’ in 2020, which argued that state governors’ stay-at-home orders violated their civil liberties
-it was estimated that around 2 million people were associated with the movement
-protestors breached lockdown rules with crowded demonstrations + armed protestors entered the Michigan Capitol in April 2020 (threatened Michigan governor with kidnapping)
How was racism still not fully dealt with after the constitutional amendments?
-Southern states passed the ‘Jim Crow’ laws(around 1870s and 80s), designed to maintain racial segregation, voting restrictions, bans on interracial marriage etc
-Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act 1890, which required separate railway cars for Black and white passengers–} led to the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case, where the Supreme Court upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
The civil rights movement
-began in the late 40s and had major impact–} Brown v Topeka(1954), which led to the ending of segregation in the South
-many cases of lynching + killings i.e the murder of 14 year old Emmet Till in 1955 by white men, who were acquitted by an all-white jury
-MLK led a non-violent campaign, helping popularise the civil rights movement
-he won the Nobel Peace Prize, but his assassination in 1968 was another example of persistent racial violence
-growing support in govt–} congress passed Civil Rights acts of 1957, 64 and 68
Affirmative action
-positive form of discrimination, which makes it easier for POCs to get a job/go to university
-polarising issue= most Democrats support it, including Obama + Biden–} Obama filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Texas university’s admissions policies in Fisher v University v Texas, whereas Trump argued that race-conscious policies could violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
