Chapter 5: Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness Flashcards by Katherine Tatalovich

What are equal rights (civic rights)?

The right of every person to equal protection under the laws and equal access to society’s opportunities and public facilities

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What clause in the 14th amendment forbids any state to deny equal protection of the laws to any individual within its jurisdiction that was ratified into the 14th amendment after the civil war in 1868?

What court case in 1896 was ruled to not violate the amendment but it really did?

The equal protection clause

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) - where separate and unequal treatment of african americans such as segregation from white buses, restaurants, and schools.

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How did the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) lead to substainial judicial intervention on behalf of African Americans and set precedent for extened equal protection of other groups?

Linda Carol Brown, a black child from Topeka, Kansas, was denied admission to an all white elementary school that she passed every to her black school that was much farther than the white school.

The supreme court, unanimously, said that the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause declared that segregation of public schools were inherently unequal. Many southern state citizens disagreed with the decision.

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What supreme court cases are regarded as the supreme court’s most important decisions?

Marbury v. Madision (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

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What court case ubheld the busing of children out of their neighborhoods for the purpose of achieving racially integrated schools?

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Educaiton (1971)

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When was forced busing ended in Seattle and Louisville school systems?

2007

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True or False?

As a result of white flight to private and suburban schools and the end of racial busing, America’s schools have become less racially diverse. In fact, America’s schools are now more racially segregated than they were when busing started?

True

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What is the reasonable-basis test?

A test applied by courts to laws that treat individuals unequally, may be deemed constitutional if its purpose is held to be reasonably related to a legitimate government interest; assumed unconstitutional unless no sound rationale argument for the law is made; not suspect category

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What is an example of the reasonable basis test?

21 year olds legally being able to drink alcohol but 20 year olds can’t

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The ____ amendment’s ________ - ____________ clause does not require government to treat all groups or calsses of people ________ in all circumstances.

14th; equal-protection clause; equally

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What does the reasonable basis test apply to? not apply to?

Applies to age and income

Doesn’t apply to race, ethnicity or gender

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The supreme court decided that race and national origin are _________ ________________ that are laws that classify people differently on the basis of race or ethniciy which are assumed to have discrimination as their purpose.

Suspect classifications

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What does the strict-scrutiny test assume about the law?

What does it apply to?

That the law is unconstitutional unless the government can provide a compelling argument for it; assumed unconstitutional in absence of overwhelming justification.

Race and Ethnicity

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In ________ _ ___________ - _______________ ________ _________ __ _____________ (1971), the supreme court upheld the _________ of children out of their neighborhoods for the purpose of achiveing __________ _______________ __________.

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education; busing; racially integrated schools

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What does the Intermediate scrutiny test apply to?

How do laws fare in the almost suspect category for the Intermediate scrutiny test?

Gender

Laws are assumed unconstitutional unless the law a clearly compelling and justified purpose or argument.

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Even though suspect classifications appeared implicitly in earlier cases like the Brown case, for what case did the court choose to use the actual words?

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

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What was the conflict in Loving v. Virginia (1967) between Richard Loving - white man, Mildred Jeter - African American and Native American woman, and the state of Virginia?

Richard Loving and Midred Jeter went to Washington D.C to get married and returned to Virginia where their home was invaded by police and they were arrested, based on Virginia’s argument that the ban of interracial marriage didn’t violate the equal-protections clause because the penalty for both Loving and Jeter was the same.

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How did the Supreme court rule in Loving v. Virginia (1971)?

Against the State of Virginia, stating that the Virginia law was against the principle of equality at the heart of the 14th amendment; that the virginia law was based on racial discrimination and that any action like that was unconstitutional

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What category were gender classifications placed in the 1970’s by the Supreme court when women asserted more forcefully for their rights?

The Supreme court put it into the intermediate (almost suspect) category; held that men and women could be treated differently if the policy in question was greatly related to the achievement of “important government objectives”. Scrutinized but constititutionally valid if government could show it.

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How did the court uphold gender classification in the intermediate (almost suspect) category in the Rostker v Goldberg (1980) case?

Male-only draft registration laws served the objective of excluding women from involuntary combat duty.

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What was a leading case in the supreme court’s striking down of gender-based law in 1996 related to VMI?

United States v. Virginia (1996) - invalidated male-only admissions policy of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), stating that Virginia failed to provide a persuasive argument for the policy.

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How old was the Virginia Military Institute (VMI)?

157 years old

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Did the 14th amendment prohibit discrimination by the government and private parties?

It prohibited government discrimination but not discrimination by private parties - because of this, private parties would openly discriminate

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What did the 1964 Civil Rights Act legislation entitle all persons to and prohibit of medium-size and large firms along with government?

Entitled all persons to equal access to public accommodations; prohibited discrimination on basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin in hiring, promotion, wages of employees of medium-size and larger firms.

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What few forms of job discrimination were still lawful under the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

Church-related school could take religion into account in hiring teachers

What did the 1964 Civil Rights Act aim to change?

The fact that the 14th amendment prohibited discrimination by the government but not by private parties.

Where did the Civil Rights Act proved more effective? less effective?

More effective in reducing discrimination in access to public accommodations; less effective in reducing job discrimination - harder to prove happened

What amendment gave Black American’s the right to vote? Did racial voting barriers exist after the ratification?

The ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870 Yes

Ratification of the 24th amendment in ____ outlawed the ____ ___ - fee individuals paid in order to register to vote. What was also banned due to the ratification?

1964; poll tax; literacy tests

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit? Was the impact immediate?

Discrimination in voting and registration - immediate impact on Black American participation - in south by 20 percent

When did the Supreme court declare that whites-only primary elections were unconstitutional?

Mid-1940’s

What did the provision (Section 4) of the Voting Rights Act include?

Ability to determine which states and counties were subject to federal oversight - like are’s use of various devices keeping Black citizens from voting.

What did the preclearance provision (Section 5) of the Voting Rights Act require of designated states and counties?

To obtain permission from federal officials before making changes like redrawing electoral districts or altering registration requirements

What provision of the Voting Rights act did the supreme court invalidate in 2013?

The Section 4 provision of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) - majority held that the formula for ID states and counties subject to federal oversight was based on “obsolete statistics” and congress had to update it so it could be applied.

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibit?

Discrimination based on person’s race, religion, ethnicity, or sex in housing.

True or False? An exception to the 1968 Civil Rights Act is allowed for owners of samll, multifamily dwellings who reside on the premises.

True

How did banks contribute to housing segregation?

By redlining - refusing to grant mortgage loans in certain neighborhoods, typically those with large Black populations.

Did the 1968 Civil Rights Act prohibit redlining?

Yes, but many segregated neighborhoods created already still exist

Who was the burden of proof placed on when job discrimination occured?

The person who was denied the job; typically women, or ethnic minority groups

What is Affirmative action?

The deliberate efforts to provide full and equal employment, education, and other opportunities for members of traditionally disadvantaged groups - used to remedy job and other discriminatory behavior

What organizations does Affirmative action apply to? Who bears the burden of proof?

Universities, agencies, construction firms that recieved federal funding or contracts - required to establish programs designed to ensure all applicants are treated fairly; the burden of proof is on the organization to prove that discrepency is necessity.

What type of discrimination is Dejure Discrimination based on? Ex?

Law; state laws requiring Black and white children to attend separate schools during the pre-Brown period.

What is the condition whereby historically disadvantaged groups have fewer opportunities because of prejudice and financial constraints?

De Facto Discrimination

True or False? Affirmative action doesn’t normally spark controversy.

False

In what case did the Supreme court delivery its first affirmative action ruling, holding that a California medical school iolated the equal-protection rights of Alan Bakke, a white male applicant, by reserving a fixed number of admissions (quota) for minority applicants.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Can colleges use quotas to admit minority students?

What key case narrowed the scope of affirmative action with federal funding?

The Adarand v. Pena (1995) case - court invalidated federal policy reserving 10% of federally funded construction projects for minority owned firms — stated that firms couldn’t benefit from the fact that minority owned firms were discriminated against in the past.

Can colleges account race in the admissions process for a more diverse school? What case was this upheld in?

Yes Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) - University of Michigan Law school’s admissions policy taking into account race along with other factors in admissions process. Reaffirmed in Fisher v. University of Texas - were university policy for guaranteed admission for students in top 10% of their Texas high school graduating class,

Rosa Parks incident in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955

Study in chapter 5

Who was a major Black rights civil rights movement leader?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

True or False? More than half balck children grow up in a single parent household, 35% black children live belower the poverty line, 12% for white children.

True

When was Barack Obama elected?

2008 and 2012

True or false? A wife’s adultery was declared by the Supreme court in 1904 to be a violation of the husband’s property rights.

True

What was the first large and well organized attempt to promote women’s rights?

1848 Seneca Falls, New York. - Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Did the 15th amendment apply to women when written after the civil war?

What amendment ratification gave women the right to vote? When?

The ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920

When was the Equal Rights Amendment approved by congress and submitted to the states for ratification, did it succeed?

1972; failed in 3 states to receive the required 3/4ths majority within Congress’s time limit

1. What did the Equal Pay act of 1963 prohibit? 2. What did Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 prohibit? 3. What did teh Equal credit act of 1974 prohibit?

1. Sex discrimination in salary and wages by some categories of employers 2. Sex discrimination in education 3. Sex discrimination in granting financial credit

True or False? Today, more women are enrooled in college, are more likely to complete their degree, and get better grades than men.

True

True or False? Women earn less than men, average hourly pay for full-time female employees is 82 percent of male employees.

True

What does the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provide?

Up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member, upon return, employee ordinarily must be given orginial or equivalent job position with equivalent pay and benefits.

Read about Feminization of poverty

Chapter 5

What is the U.S largest racial or ethnic minority group?

Hispanics

Who led the strikes that were the well-organized national boycott of California grapes and lettuce which forced the state to pass a law giving migrant workers the right to bargain collectively?

Cesar Chaves - grew up in Mexican American migrant family

True or False? “Hispanics make up the largest proportion of ‘Dreamers,’ who are undocumented immigrants brought into the country as young children.”

What program did the Obama administration establish to protect immigrants from deportation, specifically Hispanics, that the Trump administration failed to rescind due to the supreme court in 2020 when they declared the Trump administration had not, required by law, provided an adequate justification for its policy?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA)

True or False? Because Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to live in a 2 parent family, often with 2 incomes, fewer hispanics than black families live below the poverty line?

True

Who was the first Hispanic to serve on the supreme court?

Sonia Sotomayor, appointed in 2009

How many Hispanics are registered to vote today?

Only about half the hispanic population

Which group of people has suffered the worst population decline in such a short period in human history?

Native Americans: 5 - 10 million when white settlers first arrived, now, less than a million

When did native american’s organize civil rights advocacy?

In 1972 with Native American leaders organizing the “Trail of Broken Treaties”

In 1974, in what way did the legislation that congress passed help native americans.

Granted Native americans living on reservations greater control over federal programs affecting them

True or False? Congress enacted the Indian Civil Rights Act, giving Native american’s on reservations constitutional guarantees similar to those held by other americans

True

Do state governments have direct authority over federal reservations? How is the federal governments authority defined?

No; federal government’s authority is defined by terms of its treaty with each tribe

Can native americans now be taught in their native language compared to earlier practice where english was required of native american students in schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs?

Yes

When the need for labor declined, Congress in 1892 suspended _____ immigration on grounds that ______ ____ ___________ people.

Asian; Asians were inferior

When did Congress lift restrictions on Asian Immigration as part of its broader civil rights agenda, along with hispanic immigration?

1965

How did the Supreme court ruling in Lau v. Nichols affect the bilingual instruction in schools?

Supreme court ruled that placing children with english as a second language in school without special assistance violated the civil rights act because it denied them the opportunity to obtain a proper education, prompting many schools to implement bilingual instruction even though it wasn’t mandated.

True or False? Asian Americans are the nations fastest growing ethnic group and now number about 18 million, 6% of US population. They have the highest percentage of 2 parent families of any racial group, which, in combo with educational attainment, leads them to have the highest median family income, exceeding $60,000, $10,000 more than white families and double than of median black or hispanic families.

True

True or False? Many Asian Americans serve in congress.

False - only a dozen asian american’s currently serve in congress.

What did the Age Discrimination act of 1975 and Age discrimination in employment act of 1967 prohibit?

Discrimination against older workers in hiring for jobs in which age is not a critical factor in job performance.

True or False? Commercial airline pilots are required by law to retire at 65 years of age and must pas rigorous physical exam to continue flying after age 60.

True

Are government agencies required to take reasonable steps like installing access ramps to make public buildings and services available to those with disabilities.

Yes

What act passed by congress in 1975 required that schools provide all children, however sever their disability, with a free and appropriate education?

The education of all handicapped children act of 1975

What case did the supreme court in 2015 expand to include all states, claiming that the bans on same sex marriage violated the 14th amendment’s guarantees of equal protection and due process, starting with the right that massachusetts passed permiting same sex marriage in 2004?

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

When did the supreme court rule in a 6-3 decision that sexual discrimination ban in the 1964 Civil rights act includes a ban on sexual orientation.

2020

What did Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal call discrimination?

“America’s curse” - its actually civilization’s curse

Chapter 5: Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness Flashcards

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