Voting Rights Cartoon: Read the cartoon and answer the following questions. (7 pts)

  1. Are there symbols in the cartoon? What are they and what do they represent? (3 pts)
  2. What is the cartoonist’s opinion about the topic portrayed in the cartoon? (2 pts)
  3. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist’s opinion? Explain your answer. (2 pts)

Use your textbook and lecture to answer the following questions. (116 pts)

  1. What are the three key types of inequality in America? (3 pts.)

Objective 5.1

  1. What are civil rights? Where did the American notion of equality come from, and what does it imply in terms of rewards and opportunities? What is the basis for the “equal protection of the laws” standard that became the principal tool in the struggle for civil rights? (4 pts)
  1. Using Table 5.1, identify the three standards the Supreme Court uses to evaluate whether a classification in a law or regulation is constitutionally permissible. Discuss what test the Court applies for each standard and whether the rule maker or the challenger has the burden of proof. Give an example of a law that could be subject to each standard of review. Do you agree with this three-tiered approach? Why or why not?(11 pts)(p. 156-157)

Objective 5.2

  1. Briefly describe the Supreme Court decision in the DredScott v. Sandfordcase and explain its significance. (2 pts.)
  1. Explain “Jim Crow” laws. (1 pt)
  1. In what case was the principle of “separate but equal” used to justify segregation? (1 pt.)
  1. How does de jure segregation differ from de facto segregation? How did McLaurinv. Oklahoma State Regents (1950) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) seek to end de jure segregation in education? How did the events following these rulings demonstrate that de facto segregation was alive and well? (6 pts.)
  1. What were some of the methods used by southern states to deny African Americans the right to vote after passage of the Fifteenth Amendment? How did the Court respond to these measures? (4 pts.)
  1. Explain the term “grandfather clause” and why it was passed by Oklahoma and other southern states? (2 pts.)
  1. Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Why were they necessary, given that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted decades beforehand? (3 pts)
  1. What is nonviolent resistance (also known as civil disobedience)? Provide some examples of the use of nonviolent resistance in advancing civil rights in the United States. How successful have these techniques been? How well would these techniques transfer to current efforts to expand civil rights for gays and lesbians? (8 pts)(pp158-165)

Objective 5.3

  1. What progress has been made in achieving rights for Native Americans? What movements and activities have helped to improved their status? (4 pts) (pp 165-166)
  1. What Supreme Court case that extended protection against discrimination to Hispanics? (1 pt)
  1. What is the largest minority group in the United States? (1 pt.)
  1. How did the U.S. government treat Japanese Americans during World War II and Arab Americans following 9/11 in similar ways? What did the Supreme Court decision in Korematsuv. United States (1944) and the 2004 Supreme Court decision regarding Arab American detainees say about America’s willingness to suspend civil rights in times of war or crisis? (4 pts)

Objective 5.4

  1. Contrast the attitudes toward a woman’s traditional role in the first and second wave of feminism. How were the attitudes of the first wave reflected in public policy that focused on protectionism? When the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced, why did supporters claim it was needed, and why did many reject it? How did the attitudes of the second wave lead to the Supreme Court ruling of Reed v. Reed in 1971? Why was it a landmark case? What kinds of women’s issues are now being addressed that were not apparent in the first wave of feminism?(10 pts)
  1. List and briefly explain the significance of four Supreme Court cases or acts dealing with sex-based discrimination.(8 pts) (Pp. 170-175)
  1. Some claim that the women’s movement has succeeded: Women consist of close to half of the workforce and are rapidly increasing their percentages as elected officials at all levels. Others claim that the women’s movement has failed, or is a long way from succeeding, since women are still predominantly stuck in low-paying jobs, and even among the same job categories, women earn less than men. Also, having a relatively small number of the seats in Congress cannot be called real success. Which view do you believe to be correct? Explain your answer. (2 pts)
  2. Do you think the gender gap in earnings will continue to shrink as your generation moves into the work force? Explain your answer. (2 pts)
  1. What did the Supreme Court rule about the male-only draft in the 1981 case of Rostkerv. Goldberg? How did it justify its decision? Today women are objecting to being excluded from combat. Discuss how the de facto segregation of men and women in the military compares to the de jure segregation. What are the arguments for and against putting women into combat? (6 pts)

Objective 5.5

  1. List the new activist groups who now realize that policies that were enacted to protect racial minorities and women can also be applied to other groups. (3 pts)
  1. What is age discrimination? Discuss some laws and court cases that have supported civil rights for older people. Why might this issue become more highlighted in the near future? (7 pts)
  1. What rights are guaranteed to disabled Americans under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? What infrastructure changes must be made to ensure these rights? What has the Supreme Court said about where disabled people have the right to live? (7 pts)
  1. The record on gay rights has been mixed. Discuss some of the setbacks in the struggle for gay rights, and identify some signs that attitudes are changing. A prominent issue today is same-sex marriage. How do state laws stand on that issue, and how does the American public feel about it? (7 pts)
  1. The 2003 Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas was significant in that it did what?(1 pt)

Objectives 5.6

  1. According to the Supreme Court decisions in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and the two University of Michigan cases noted in the chapter, what sorts of affirmative action programs for admission to public universities are permissible, and what sorts are not? (2 pts.)
  1. Affirmative action has been used in an effort to bring about increased employment, promotion, or admission for members of groups who have suffered from discrimination. Some argue that affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination. Briefly express your opinion regarding affirmative action. (2 pts.)

Objective 5.7

  1. How have civil rights affected democratic government and the scope of government in the United States? What are the basic conflicts between civil rights and democracy? (4 pts)

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