23 Civil Rights Flashcards
(121 cards)
1
Q
Example of how civil rights and liberties are far more restricted for non-citizens?
A
April 2018 - “zero tolerance” policy led to 50,000 arrests of immigrants a day. At least 7 children died in detention
2
Q
Civil rights
A
Protections introduced by government to ensure that groups of citizens are not discriminated against
3
Q
Civil rights movement
A
The historic campaign for equal rights for African-Americans
4
Q
Where, structurally and culturally, does the US’ link to civil rights begin?
A
Declaration of Independence - “all men are created equal” and have “certain unalienable rights”
5
Q
What is the key difference between civil liberties and civil rights?
A
- Civil liberties, generally speaking, are fundamental INDIVIDUAL freedoms FROM things like freedom of speech, religion and association
- Civil rights are enumerated RIGHTS that people have TO something, often held COLLECTIVELY
6
Q
Where are most civil liberties defined?
A
Bill of Rights
7
Q
Bill of Rights timeline?
A
Agreed by COTUS 1789
Ratified 1791
8
Q
Where do many civil rights originate?
A
The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, expanded by successive SCOTUS rulings on various issues. Also contains DUE PROCESS clause which requires the “due process of law” before a citizen can be deprived of liberties/rights.
9
Q
Example of how SCOTUS can use 14th Amendment to expand civil rights?
A
1954 BvT, RvW 1973
10
Q
3 sources of civil rights in the USA?
A
- Constitution
- Judicial review
- Congressional laws
11
Q
Example of a congressional law which expanded civil rights in the US?
A
Voting Rights Act 1965
12
Q
Where, culturally, does the US Constitution’s emphasis on civil rights come from?
A
The legacy of British rule in North America
13
Q
Why is the US Constitution hard to amend?
A
To safeguard the civil rights which the Framers identified as inalienable
14
Q
Why is the idea that a codified constitution like the US’ protects civil rights contentious?
A
Hard to amend and insert new rights, such as the EPA. Also, note how some groups have their rights preserved at the expense of others, e.g. gun owners
15
Q
Entrenched rights
A
Those civil rights which, by virtue of being embedded in the US’ codified constitution, are impervious to manipulation or repeal
16
Q
10 AMENDMENTS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS
A
- Freedom of speech, association and religion
- Right to bear arms as part of a regulated militia
- Right not to have troops stationed in private homes
- Right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures”
- Rights of defendant, including the right to remain silent
- Right to a fair trial and a lawyer
- Right not to trial by jury in civil cases over a certain value ($25)
- Right not to face excessive bail, fines or cruel and unusual punishments
- Miscellaneous rights not accounted for by the Bill of Rights are still recognised and protected
- “Federalism clause” - rights of states and the people below them to retain powers not delegated to the Federal Government by the Constitution
17
Q
Is there a cultural significance to the 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights?
A
There are 10, just like there are 10 commandments
18
Q
Example of the cultural context of the Bill of Rights?
A
3rd Amendment - forced quarter of British soldiers
19
Q
5 subsequent right expanding amendments, WITH DATES, other than the Bill of Rights
A
- 13th Amendment - 1865
- 14th Amendment - 1868
- 15th Amendment - 1870
- 19th Amendment - 1920
- 24th Amendment - 1964
20
Q
13th Amendment
A
Abolished slavery, 1865 (end of civil war)
Response to 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (WHICH WAS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER)
21
Q
14th Amendment
A
- Granted full citizenship
- “Due process” before someone can be punished for something
- “Equal protection” for all citizens before the law
1868
22
Q
15th Amendment
A
Full male voting rights regardless of race
1870
23
Q
19th Amendment
A
1920 - gave women the right to vote on the same basis as men
24
Q
24th Amendment
A
1964 - banned “poll taxes” which preventing African-Americans, who were usually the ones targeted by such taxes, from being able to vote. DID NOT BAN ANYTHING ELSE, e.g. did not ban literacy tests, which were banned by the 1965 Voting Rights Act
25
EXAMPLE OF PRESSURE GROUP AND AMENDMENTS?
National Organisation for Women (NOW) lobbied for Equal Rights Amendment. Passed by COTUS in 1972 and ratified by 35 states, but did not meet the deadline of 38 states within the time limit
26
Evidence ERA has been redeemed?
1. 2020 - House of Representatives voted to extend certification deadline. Enough states have now ratified it to make it law under this proposal
2. But the Senate has not made moves to do so
3. Around 3/4 of Americans support ERA
27
Who opposed ERA and why?
Phyllis Schlafly, conservative activist
1. Would remove Social Security benefits for only married women
2. Would make women eligible for the draft
28
MOST LANDMARK SCOTUS CASES IN CIVIL RIGHTS LAW FOCUS ON...
The Equal Protection clause
29
Which SCOTUS case banned restrictions on sales of houses to African American families via racial covenants?
1948 Shelley v Kraemer
30
Which SCOTUS case struck down segregation?
1954 Brown v Topeka
31
Which SCOTUS case sought to reduce electoral discrimination in terms of voting access in urban and rural districts?
1964 Reynold v Sims (SUED ALABAMA)
32
When did the SCOTUS strike down state bans on contraceptives in marriage?
1965 Griswold v Connecticut
33
Where does the phrase "Miranda rights" come from and what are they?
Miranda v Arizona 1966
Under the 5th Amendment, suspects have a right to be informed of their 5th Amendment rights
34
When were state laws on interracial marriage declared unconstitutional?
1967 Loving v Virginia
35
Example of how some courts are more active than others?
Warren Court - achieved many landmark rulings, including BvT, Reynold v Sims, Griswold v Connecticut...
Any cases between 1953-1969
36
When was affirmative action declared constitutional in some circumstances?
1978 Regents of University of California v Bakke
37
When was homosexuality legalised nationwide?
Lawrence v Texas 2003
38
When was the individual right to bear arms confirmed?
2008 DC v Heller
39
When was homosexual marriage approved?
2015 Obergefell v Hodges
40
What case did the SCOTUS receive in 2018 that strikingly resembled a case going on at the same time in the UK?
Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
Right to refuse to make a cake for a LGBT wedding
41
What case did the SCOTUS rule on that gave employees the right not to be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation?
2020 Altitude Express v Zarda
42
Which case banned transgender employment discrimination?
2020 RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v Equal Opportunity Employment Commission
43
Which case allowed parents to access state aid to send their children to a religious school?
2020 Espinosa v Montana Department of Revenue
44
Landmark ruling
A Supreme Court judgement that establishes a new legal principle or otherwise fundamentally changes the way in which the Constitution is interpreted. Essentially an INFORMAL AMENDMENT
45
When looking for whether a SCOTUS case defends civil rights or civil liberties...
Consider that cases concerning civil liberties more often draw upon the Bill of Rights, and cases concerning civil rights tend to draw on the 14th Amendment
46
4 key acts of COTUS that protected civil rights?
1. Civil Rights Act 1957 - created the US Commission on Civil Rights to investigate rights violations
2. Civil Rights Act 1964 - outlawed public segregation and prohibited employer discrimination
3. Civil Rights Act 1968 - combat systemic racism in the housing market and reduce community segregation after the MLK riots
4. Voting Rights Act 1965 - banned literacy tests and allowed the federal oversight. VERY EFFECTIVE - see turnout
47
Why are constitutional amendments or SCOTUS judgements better than acts of COTUS for protecting rights and liberties and the key evaluation?
Acts cannot be overturned by later COTUSs - amendments are safe
How useful an amendment is is entirely down to how the SCOTUS interprets it. For instance, until 1954 the 14th Amendment didn't ban segregation. And in some cases, the Court overrules itself e.g. 1973 RvW with 2022 Jackson v Dobbs
48
2 ways in which pressure groups enhance civil rights and liberties?
1. Their foundation in and of itself is an expression the 1st Amendment civil liberty
2. They campaign, often at SCOTUS or COTUS level, for expansions of rights and liberties
49
4 tactics pressure groups can use in their aim of increasing civil rights and liberties?
1. Fundraising for campaigns
2. Lobbying the judiciary, including supporting SCOTUS nominees
3. Lobbying Congress
4. Direct action
50
Biggest defender of civil liberties in the US?
ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union
51
3 facts about the ACLU?
1. Largest civil liberties group in the USA e.g. 1.5m members and 500 staff attorneys
2. Involved in more SCOTUS cases than any other organisation
3. Fights for the civil liberties of ALL Americans. E.g. in 1978 successfully litigated for neo-Nazis to march through an area of Chicago populated by many Holocaust survivors. 1 in 6 in Skokie were Holocaust survivors. NSPA's lawyer was Jewish.
52
Evidence the Skokie case cost the ACLU?
Lost 25% of their membership in Illinois
53
Example of a case the ACLU was involved in?
Brown v Topeka, where they joined the NAACP, and also Roe v Wade
54
Evidence ACLU had occasional deficiencies?
Post-9/11 filed lawsuits against unusual punishment at Guantanamo Bay under the 8th Amendment but the practice continued
55
Evidence ACLU has business with Trump?
By July 2020 had filed more than 230 lawsuits against Trump administration. Wins included the 2017 overturning of the travel ban (or rather getting it extended)
56
What landmark case on LGBT rights was the ACLU involved in?
2020 R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v Equal Opportunity Employment Commission - defended a woman who was fired for being transgender
57
Evidence ACLU doesn't just concern itself with liberties?
The 2020 case was about rights
58
Oldest civil rights pressure group in the US?
The NAACP, founded in 1909
59
4 things the NAACP did during the Civil Rights Era?
1. Lobbied COTUS to pass 1957, 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Acts
2. Provided counsel to arrested CRM protesters
3. Carried out voter registration drives
4. Led the charge in various SCOTUS cases, most notably Brown v Topeka
60
Who was the NAACP's Chief Counsel in Brown v Topeka? Why is this significant?
Thurgood Marshall
In 1967 he became the first African American Supreme Court justice
61
3 things the NAACP did during the 21st century and eval?
1. Launched the #WeAreDoneDying campaign in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and excessively high African American death rates from COVID-19
2. Voter mobilisation in the 2020 election to get Harris elected
3. Increasing youth engagement
62
Social movement
A movement with a large following amongst the general public fighting for social change
63
Example of a recent social movement?
The Women's March in 2017 - about 1.6% of the US population participated in a march somewhere in the US
64
Example of how social movements can target civil liberties and NOT civil rights?
Anti-lockdown movement
65
Evidence of the success of the anti-lockdown movement in 2020?
1. May 2020 - around 2 million were associated with the movements
2. April 2020 - armed protesters stormed the Michigan State Capitol
3. October 2020 - FBI arrests members of a militia planning to kidnap Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer
66
When was slavery abolished?
1865, with the 13th Amendment
67
The AQA specification requires students to study the extent to which civil rights and liberties have been achieved in one area. The area selected is...
Race
68
How were the rights further expanded for African Americans after the 13th Amendment?
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment and Civil Rights Act 1875
69
How did Southern states react to 19th century attempts to achieve racial equality?
Passing Jim Crow laws, which were legitimated in the 1896 Plessy v Ferguson case
70
How should we describe the treatment of Native Americans during the first decades of America's existence and eval?
Genocide.
Approximate 90% fall in population within first century of contact - the "Great Dying"
71
Evidence Native American rights were more delayed? 3 facts?
1. Some Native Americans gained citizenship in the 19th century but wholesale rights were not granted until 1924
2. It was not until 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act that Native American communities were given coverage under the US Constitution for the Bill of Rights
3. The poverty rate on "reservations" remain twice the national average
72
When did the Civil Rights Movement begin?
1940s
73
What crime, like the murder of George Floyd in 2020, helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century?
1955 - murder of 14 year-old Emmitt Till. Men all acquitted. They subsequently admitted to the crime
74
What protests started off the Civil Rights Movement?
1. Boycotts by African-American communities of key businesses in the South, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Rosa Parks
2. Sit-ins
3. Freedom riders
75
What huge protest helped to spread the message of the Civil Rights Movement?
1963 - March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom - MLK gives his I have a dream speech
76
How was the CRM modelled?
Off of the Indian independence movement - peaceful civil disobedience
77
3 ways the CRM was immediately successful?
1. 1957, 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Acts
2. 1964 24th Amendment passed, banning race discrimination in voting from poll taxes
3. 1965 Voting Rights Act
78
What is affirmative action?
A form of positive discrimination, whereby measures are put in place to increase accessibility for people from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds
79
When was affirmative action introduced?
1960s by the Democrats
80
What is the party divide on affirmative action?
Generally speaking, Democrats support it and Republicans oppose it
81
Is Affirmative Action popular with voters?
Evidence suggests not
1. As of 2021, it is banned in 9 states.
2. 2020 - California voters reject Proposition 16, which would've removed the 1996 ban on public sector Affirmative Action
82
Who frequently interferes in the legality of Affirmative Action?
SCOTUS
83
What has SCOTUS' stance on Affirmative Action been?
2016 Fisher v University of Texas - ruled it was legal providing certain criteria were met
2020 - Trump filed an amicus curiae brief saying that Harvard's use of AA was illegal. The federal court ruled in Harvard's favour
84
Evidence Trump's approach to the SCOTUS could have caused attitudes on AA to change?
2023 - SCOTUS rules in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard and other cases that racial AA in college admissions is illegal
85
Example of how the executive can lobby SCOTUS?
2020 - Trump presents SCOTUS with amicus curiae brief against affirmative action
86
Evidence more recent developments show AA in danger from the executive?
2025 - first day in office Trump issues an executive order banning executive branch DEI
87
Evidence "conservative" justices don't always exercise judicial restraint?
2023 - overturned nearly 60 years of precedent to ban DEI
88
Which federal law expanded voting civil rights?
Voting Rights Act 1965
89
Evidence 1965 Voting Rights Act was effective?
Turnout grew dramatically in many states - take Mississippi as an example, where turnout increased from 7% in 1964 to 67% in 1969 due to VRA 1965
90
Which SCOTUS case allowed states to impose some restrictions on voting, invalidating parts of the 1965 VRA?
2013 Shelby County v Holder invalidates Section 4(b) of the VRA 1965
91
Example of a pressure group targeting the SCOTUS in CR cases other than ACLU or NAACP?
Students for Fair Admissions
92
Evidence Shelby County v Holder was decisive?
This ruling nullified parts of SECTION 5 of the VRA, which had stated that some states needed more preclearance than others to change their voting laws. All states under Section 5 requirements had a history of racial segregation
1. More than 25 states introduce restrictions
2. Whilst white turnout remained largely the same in 2016, nationwide black turnout fell by about 7%
93
How much did black turnout fall by in 2016 and why is this significant?
7%
Widely speculated to be due to increased voter restrictions in place in 25 states after 2013 Shelby County v Holder. Perhaps also because an African-American candidate was not running
94
Evidence black turnout somewhat recovered by 2020?
Decisive to victory, particularly in Georgia. 91% of black women voted Biden. Huge turnout drive from African-American community leaders, the NAACP and the Democrats
95
3 facts which show how race is a problem in the US criminal justice system?
In 2018:
1. 1/3 of prisoners black, 13% of American population
2. 30% of prisoners white, 63% of America white
3. Incarceration rate for African Americans almost 5x that of white Americans
96
3 things to consider when discussing racial civil rights in America?
1. Affirmative action
2. Incarceration rates
3. Struggle for voting rights/felony disenfranchisement
97
Are African Americans arrested more because they commit more crimes?
Whilst the FBI suggests that those from disadvantaged ethnic minority groups are often more likely to commit minor crimes such as shoplifting, often due to their relative poverty, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that this phenomenon alone could explain African-American prisoner overrepresentation in its entirety
98
Evidence African-Americans are not more likely to commit crime as a cause of increased incarceration rates?
1. Despite a similar rate of drug use, African-Americans are 6x more likely than white Americans to be incarcerated on drugs charges
2. In NYC in COVID-19, 80% of social distancing violations were for African-Americans
99
Key facts about how a black American man is more likely to spend time in prison than a white counterpart?
1. Born in 2001, black men have about a 1 in 3 chance of spending time in prison. For white men of the same year it is about 1 in 17
2. More than half of all low-income African-American men have spent time in prison
100
Why do African-American incarceration rates have a further worse impact on voting?
1. All but 2 US states prevent felons (serious criminals) from voting
2. 11 states extend this ban until after the sentence, probation and parole has finished
101
When did felony disenfranchisement really reach its worst?
2016 - 1 in every 13 African-Americans of voting age was no longer able to vote because of a previous criminal conviction
102
Evidence felony disenfranchisement lessened slightly after 2016?
2018 - Florida - the state with the highest rate of felony disenfranchisement - passed a ballot initiative to give expired sentences the right to vote. This gave the right to vote to around 1.4 million, disproportionately ethnic minority
103
Evidence death row is disproportionately ethnic minority?
African Americans represent over 40% of those on death row
104
Evidence which shows felony disenfranchisement was lessened by 2020?
Approx. 15% reduction 2016 - 2020
105
Evidence felony disenfranchisement is still a problem for African Americans?
3.7x more likely to be felony disenfranchised
106
What does the 2018 Florida measure show?
Successful ballot initiative
107
Evidence pressure groups can sometimes unite?
2018 - ACLU, NAACP and Christian Coalition of America all fighting the same side
108
When did BLM start?
2013, after George Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting dead Trayvon Martin
109
Evidence BLM often had problems with civil unrest?
2014 - after more shootings, Ferguson, Missouri experiences major unrest
110
Evidence police brutality is a big problem in the US? And in the UK?
Black Americans 2.5x more likely than White Americans to be killed by the police. In the UK the equivalent figure is 2x
111
2 major crimes in 2020 that gave rise to the biggest wave of BLM protests?
Ahmad Aubery murder 2020, George Floyd murder 2020 - officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 10 minutes
112
How many people attended BLM marches?
Estimated 23 million
113
Evidence BLM was partially successful?
1. Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder
2. Confederate Flag banned in the Navy
3. Plans for police reform
114
What 2 challenges did BLM face in 2020?
1. Inflammatory rhetoric from Trump - "when the looting starts, the shooting starts"
2. Violence in major urban centres e.g. capture of 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis, 2020
115
3 pieces of evidence which show that white nationalist terrorism is on the rise?
1. 2/3 of terrorism in the US in 2020 was far-right
2. Southern Poverty Law Center - 50% increase in white nationalist groups in 2018
3. 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville - Trump equivocal.
116
What action did the NAACP take in response to rising white nationalist and neo-Nazism during the Trump presidency?
1. 2018 - wrote to the House Committee on Homeland Security to highlight the dangers posed to African-Americans by domestic terrorism.
2. Held an emergency tele-town hall in 2019
117
2 other ethnic minority groups threatened by the rise of the American far-right?
1. El Paso shooting in Walmart 2019 - 23 people dead, Hispanics targeted by the shooting
2. 2018 and 2019 - two synagogue shootings, leaving 12 dead, and the attacks in May 2025 which killed 2 Israeli embassy staff
3. 150% rise in Asian-American hate crimes in large American cities in 2020 - Trump called it the "China virus"
118
Explain and analyse three ways in which landmark rulings of the Supreme Court have protected civil rights and liberties in the USA.
1. De-segregation
2. Gay marriage
3. 2nd Amendment cases
119
Explain and analyse three ways in which political issues concerning rights and liberties have had an impact on US politics.
1. CRM and Nixon 1968
2. 2nd Amendment - liberties - parties divided
3. 8th Amendment - Guantanamo Bay - judiciary vs executive
120
Explain and analyse three ways that pressure groups have contributed to the development of civil rights and liberties in the USA.
1. Direct action - CRM. Cite BLM as a failure? Favourite of outsider groups
2. Judiciary - Students for Fair Admissions, Citizens United
3. Lobbying - American financial giants post-2008. Favourite of insider groups
121
How does the debate around transgender involvement in the US military show how the US government's relationship with civil rights is changing?
Until 2016, transgender people couldn't serve. In 2017, Trump issues a memorandum to the Pentagon, banning transgender involvement "in any capacity". In 2019, following delaying lawsuits, a mitigated ban was imposed. This was repealed by Biden in 2021 by executive order
Notice how this was all done by the EXECUTIVE
