Chap 5: Civil Rights Flashcards
(41 cards)
Civil Rights
guarantees of equal opportunity and protection through obligations imposed on government to protect individuals
Social Movements
sustained campaigns brought by and on behalf of disadvantaged populations in support of a political or social goal
collective action
process of a group of people organizing and acting based on a shared goal
equal protection clause
provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens “the equal protection of the laws.” This clause has been the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups
burden of proof
responsibility of an individual, organization, or government to provide sufficient evidence in support of a claim in court
2 important distinctions between civil rights/liberties
the way they are established
the way they are protected
*civil liberties are basic personal freedoms outlined in the constitution/civil rights are ever evolving and changing
*civil liberties require a limitation on gov’t power/civil rights require an expansion of gov’t power to secure certian freedoms
inside strategy
strategy used by social movements to achive protection for a civil right by working withing the political system - securing presedential executive order, passing legislation, winning a court case
outside strategy
strategy used by social movements when political intervention is impossible
organizing to transform public opinion - sit-ins, protests
discrimination
the use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion
13th ammendment
abolished slavery (1865)
14th ammendment
guaranteed equal protection and due process (1868)
15th ammendment
guaranteed voting rights for African American men (1870)
Jim Crow Laws
laws enacted by southern states following Reconstruction that discriminated against African Americans
separate but equal
doctrine that established that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be considered equal
Brown v Board of Ed
1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine as fundamentally unequal; this case eliminated state power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions
*focused exclusively on public education/other areas of life were still segregated
strict scrutiny
test used by the Supreme Court in racial discrimination cases and other cases involving civil liberties and civil rights that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional
de jure
literally, “by law”; refers to legally enforced practices
de facto
literally, “by fact”; refers to practices that occur even when there is no legal enforcement
Civil RIghts Act of 1964
landmark legislation that ended segregation in public spaces and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, sex, and national origin
the long civil rights movement
black people’s journey from being taken and enslaved to achieving political and legal equality in the 20th century
dred scott v sandford
enslaved person who sued for his freedom when transported by owner to Illinois and Wisconsin (which outlawed slavery). Supreme court ruled against him because he was property and not a US citizen so laws did not apply to him (1857)
Reconstruction Ammendments
Ammendments 13-15
Plessy v Ferguson
1896
Supreme Court approves Jim Crow Laws
Court upholds Louisiana law enforcing racial segregation in public spaces
Homer Plessy (1/8 black) sits in “whites-only” train car and found guilty of violating law
creat
established doctring separate-but-equal
NAACP
national association for the advancement of colored people (1909)
W.E.B Du Bois founding member
Formed to fight against rising racial violence against Black People
Oranized mass demonstration, wrote news stories, lobbied Congress for passing of anti-lynching bill, won landmark Supreme Court case against mob violence
most notably fought for education civil rights