Chapter Five Equal Rights

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Chapter FiveEqual Rights
Instructor Kevin Sexton Course U.S. Political
Systems Southeast Missouri State University
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Equal Doesnt Always Mean Equal
People sometime use the word EQUAL in ways that
are misleading.

Which is equal 2 1.9999999999999999999 Or 2
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When we talk about equality we are not talking
about being treated exactly the same. It is
sometimes impossible, and not always prudent to
treat all people exactly the same.

IN FACT, IT IS SOMETIMES LEGAL TO
DISCRIMINATE
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Equal Doesnt Always Mean Equal (Continued)
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, repeatedly that
government does not have to treat everyone the
same. Because there are sometimes situations that
prevent treating everyone exactly the same (ie.
Myself and Bill Clinton being charged with the
same crime).
To try and show when certain discriminatory
practices/laws are Constitutional, the U.S.
Supreme Court has created three distinct TESTS or
STANDARDS. REASONABLE-BASIS INTERMEDIATE
SCRUTINY STRICT-SCRUTINY
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Civil Rights versus Civil Liberties

• Civil Rights
• Are protections provided
• BY the government.
• Civil Liberties
• Are protections provided
• FROM the government

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Civil RightsEqual Treatment
A more specific explanation of CIVIL RIGHTS is
that CIVIL RIGHTS are the means by which
the Government can ensure all people
receive equal treatment under the law.
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Civil Rights Are Not Only The Rights Provided To
African Americans
We will look primarily at the African Americans
fight for Civil Rights because

• They were the 1st to fight for their civil
  rights.
• AND
• All other groups after them followed their
  example in their fight.

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Civil Rights After The Civil War
Were All American Citizens Treated Equally Under
The Law, Even After The Civil War? NO! Black
Codes were a perfect example of how the
white Majority continued to tyrannize the black
minority. Congress responded to the black codes
with passage of the countys first major Civil
Rights legislation. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866
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Equal Protection Clause
In 1868 The 14th Amendment was passed. As we
know, the 14th Amendment declared that the STATES
had To guarantee each citizen due process of
law, It also stated that the STATES has to
provide each of its Citizens EQUAL PROTECTION
UNDER THE LAW. The treatment of the freed
slaves improved. But as we will see in the next
slide, the improvements were temporary.
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Civil Rights During Reconstruction
Reconstruction The Period After the Civil War
when the Southern states were subject to a
MILITARY OCCUPATION by the Federal Army.
During this period of time, most whites were
prevented from voting. For this reason many
freedmen, freed slaves, were elected to many
offices, from mayor and other local offices, to
the U.S. Congress. This period, although it was
very brief was the first time during U.S.
history that African Americans had any true level
of Equality.
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These Civil Rights were short-lived!WHY?
The Election of 1876
No candidate got a majority of the votes in the
ELECTORAL COLLEGE. Therefore Congress got to
chose the president, from the top three vote
getters. The Republicans went to the Southern
Democrats and promised to end reconstruction IF Th
ey supported Rutherford B. Hayes for the
presidency. The Southern Democrats supported
Hayes AND Rutherford B. Hayes become president
the federal army was removed from the
south. The white majority regained much of the
power over the freed slaves that they enjoyed
before the Civil War and the passage of the 13th,
14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
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State Sponsored Discrimination
As the federal army left, all of the protection
that it provided the Freed slaves also left. The
equal protection clause said all citizens
needed to be Treated equally. What the southern
states did was pass A series of election laws
that appeared to treat all citizens equally, but
in fact prevented most if not all freed slaves
from voting.
Examples Poll Tax Grandfather
Clause White Primaries
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Jim Crow
Voting was not the only right of African
Americans that was limited. African Americans
were restricted in where they could
Go To School Eat Live Sit When On Public
Transportation
The laws segregating the races were known as JIM
CROW LAWS
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How Could These Laws Survive?What About The 14th
Amendment?
The states were not the only one that continued
to hold prejudiced views of African
Americans. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down
several very Important decisions in the late
1800s. State Action Doctrine Separate But
Equal Doctrine
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State Action Doctrine
1883 decision by the Supreme Court which stated
that Only the actions of state and local
governments must Conform to the equal protection
clause of the 14th amendment. Congress could
tell the state and local governments that
they Could not discriminate against individuals,
but Congress could Not tell private individuals
that they couldnt discriminate. Allowed
discrimination in many forms to legally continue
well Into the 1960s and 1970s.
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Separate But Equal
Plessy v Ferguson, 1896

• 8 to 1 Supreme Court Vote
• As long as facilities are provided, it did not
  matter that the
• facilities were separate.
• Established the Separate but Equal doctrine.

THIS WOULD BE THE STANDARD FOR THE NEXT 58 YEARS
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Overcoming Plessy v Ferguson
In 1909 the civil rights organization, the
National Association for The Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) was founded. This would
the primary group that carried out the movement
that has come to be known as The Civil Rights
Movement. The NAACP made a decision, early in
the movement to attempt to change the
discrimination and prejudice by taking their case
to the Courts.
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Why use the US Courts instead of Congress?
They chose to use the US Courts because
They felt that the electoral strength of the
African American was to small to make truly
effective changes. AND It would be much easier
to convince one level of the courts (US Supreme)
of their position, than to try And convince 48
state legislatures or even The two house of the
US Congress And The President of the United
States
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Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
(1954)

• Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Which Reversed
• the separate but equal doctrine
• The decision of the Court based on the fact that
  the segregation
• created a sense of inferiority among black
  children.

Developed the concept that we operate by
today. Separate Is Inherently Unequal
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Civil Rights After Brown
Did discrimination end with the Brown
decision? NO. Why? Federalism and the level of
state and local control over elections and voting
rights. Over the next 15-20 years Congress would
get involved in the issues of voting and
elections with the passage of some key pieces of
Civil Rights legislation.
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Key Civil Rights Legislation

• Civil Rights Act of 1957
• Established U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
• Made it a federal crime to prevent a person from
  voting.
• Civil Rights Act of 1960
• Allowed the federal government to appoint
  referees to
• register voters denied the right to vote by a
  pattern or
• practice of discrimination.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Defined literacy as having a 6th grade
  education.
• Barred discrimination on basis of color, race,
  religion, of
• nationality in most public businesses.
• Barred discrimination for employment based on
  above reasons.
• Established Equal Employment Opportunity
  Commission to
• enforce employment discrimination rules.

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Key Civil Rights Legislation(Continued)

• Voting Rights Act of 1965
• allowed for appointment of voting examiners in
  place of local
• officials in all areas were less than 50 of
  eligible voters
• actually voted in the 1964 presidential
  election.
• outlawed the use of literacy tests and other
  similar practices
• designed to prevent African Americans from
  voting.
• Age Discrimination Act of 1967
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• barred discrimination solely on the basis of
  disability.
• Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988
• applied anti-sex discrimination standards to
  programs getting
• federal funds.

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Discrimination is GONE?
De Jure discrimination is illegal. (government
sponsored discrimination or segregation) BUT De
Facto Discrimination CONTINUES. (discrimination
or segregation based the decisions of private
individuals)
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A shift in the Civil Rights Movement
There has been a shift in the focus of the Civil
Rights Movement in the United States The shift
has been from A focus on Equal Opportunity to
A focus on Equal Outcome