A.P. GOVERNMENT: CHAPTER 5 – CIVIL RIGHTS AND PUBLIC POLICY
Lineberry Chapter Objectives:
1. Understand how civil rights have been used to extend more equality to groups that historically
have been subject to discrimination.
2. Analyze different interpretations of equality, such as equality of opportunity contrasted with
equality of results.
3. Explain how the 14th Amendment guarantee of “equal protection of the laws” has been applied to the idea of equality.
4. Examine how the Supreme Court has used different levels of judicial scrutiny for racial, ethnic,
and gender classifications.
5. Explain how the Supreme Court provided a constitutional justification for segregation in the
1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson.
6. Summarize the reasoning of the Court in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education
and use this case to show how the Court set aside its earlier precedent in Plessy.
7. Determine how the distinction between de jure and de facto segregation has sometimes been
been blurred by past practices.
8. Explain how sit-ins, marches, and civil disobedience were used as key strategies of the civil
rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
9. Show the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and explain why efforts for civil rights legislation were finally successful in the mid-1960s.
10. Trace the attempts of southern states to deny African Americans the right to vote even after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.
11. Identify the major public policy milestones in the movement toward gender equality.
12. Determine the ways in which Americans with disabilities have become the successors to the
civil rights movement.
- Explain why gay and lesbian activists may face the toughest battle for equality of any of
America’s minority groups.
- Evaluate the opposing positions of those who favor affirmative action and those who claim that
these policies simply create reverse discrimination.
AP GOVERNMENT CHAPTER 5 LECTURE AND CLASS DISCUSSION
I. Background Information:
A. The purpose of laws are to make distinctions between groups of people and types of acceptable behavior. Laws are proposed and enacted by government legislatures to provide social behavior in the best interests of the population while retaining social harmony, stability, and avoiding chaos.
B. However, sometimes it is necessary to treat certain groups of people differently due to a variety of reasons. The more heterogeneous and cross-cutting the population the more laws and differences that need to be made.
C. A rationale should exist for making these differences between groups of people and not simply be arbitrary, or subject to undue influence by political, social, or economic elites. However, as society changes so does their sense of values and reasoning for treating certain groups differently.
D. Suspect classifications refers to the typing of certain groups of people differently due to various factors such as: age, race, health, physical attributes, environment, regionality, economic status, gender, etc.. The Supreme Court has ruled that laws which tend to differentiate people on the basis of these factors are subject to the rational test basis and the 14th Amendment.
E. The study of civil rights movements in American history and politics is quite apparent in showing causal relationships. Despite the belief of majority rule with majority rights, American history has been subject to periodic episodes of public hysteria and irrational perceptions which have served to discriminate at times against specific groups of people.
F. American history is cluttered with periods of civil rights movements; most recently we have experienced movements by Afro-Americans, feminists, young adults, native Americans, homosexuals, etc..Such movements tend to be exacerbated during periods of perceived threats or crises which are subject to irrationality or hysteria by the majority.
G. Such periods of irrationality have occurred to justify the Civil War, the Indian Wars, various immigration acts, communist or sedition acts, Jim Crow laws, Japanese-American camps during W.W II, acts of gender discrimination, or various acts during times of perceived threats to national security due to potential terrorism, etc..
H. Paradox: Does the greatest threat to our constitutional style of gov't. come from the majority who feel they are protecting society from an amoral minority ? Is it reasonable to temporarily suspend the rights ofa minority in order to protect society at-large ?
(e.g.) Roadchecks for all cars to get drunk drivers off streets, let police forego search warrants in order to bust suspected crackhouses, Bottomline: Often the greatest threat to our constitutional safeguards comes from the majority at the expense of the minority. (e.g.) various sedition acts, Nisei imprisonment, HUAC hearings on communism, F.B.I. infiltration of civil rights and anti- war groups ….THE PATRIOT Act following 9/11
HISTORICALLY, THE U.S. TENDS TO RESTRICT RIGHTS DURING
PERIODS OF PERCEIVED THREATS ONLY TO RELAX RESTRICTIONS LATER.
I. Application of policy-process & costs vs. benefits to civil rights movts.
** M.I.C.E. from Chapter 15 (of old textbook)
1. Majoritarian politics = broad costs & broad benefits
2. Interest-group politics = narrow costs & narrow benefits
3. Client politics = broad costs & narrow benefits
4. Entrepreneurial politics = narrow costs & broad benefits
** Memorize this !!! After we apply the concept to civil rights, we will apply it to chapters 15-22
J. The Black Civil Rights Movement background information
1. Gains during Reconstruction are short-lived and dissolve after military leaves South in 1876.
2. Plessy decision legalizes use of Jim Crow laws after 1896.
3. NAACP forms in 1909 under W.E.B. Dubois and unsuccessfully lobbies Congress & president. Legal arm forms in early 1930s under Charles Huston and begins non-partisan challenge upon courts under narrower interpretation of 14th Amendment.
4. From 1938-1948 NAACP wins several cases showing unequal educational facilities at graduate level. Very slow & frustrating process.
5. Brown victory is considered historical start of civil rights movt., though revised opinion cites desegregation "with all deliberate speed" which provides loophole for Southern states to act slowly.
6. Once 'separate but equal' in education is shown unconstitutional in education precedent is set to show it illegal in other public areas.
7. Development of non-violent tactics under Dr. King gradually brings public empathy & shows inhumanity of segregation policies in states. (e.g.) Montgomery bus boycott, Greensburo lunch counter sit-ins, voter registration drives, march from Selma to Montgomery, Little Rock, Birmingham violence, & nationally televised 1963 March on Washington rally climaxing w/ King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
8. Several states in deep South use various means to intimidate blacks from registering to vote (e.g.) poll taxes, literacy tests, threats of violence, closing registration offices, malapportioned voting districts. After deaths of three voting registration volunteers and embarrassing scene at '64 Democratic Convention when black delegation from Miss. is refused, the federal government is forced to get involved.
a. 1964 - 24th Amendment passed which abolished poll taxes
b. 1965 - Civil Rights Act abolished literacy tests and allowed federal voter registrars to intervene, if needed
c. 1964 - Wesburyv.Saunders - Supreme Court rules that all local voting districts within a state must be apportioned equally
d. Johnson succeeds JFK and Democrats gain several seats in Congress in '64 elections. Johnson later initiates "Great Society" programs and actively lobbies for civil rights acts despite opposition from several southern senators who serve as committee chairs.
K. Policy-process application to Black Civil Rights Movement
1. Initially, majoritarian politics doesn't work for Black Mov't. due to composing only 12% of national population and low voter turnout.
2. Rather leaders try to 'spin' movement's perception as entrepreneurial politics focusing on narrow costs to the public but that broader civil liberties will benefit everyone eventually.
3. Dr. King's use of non-violent confrontation and civil disobedience via marches, sit-ins, and boycotts often results in violent retaliation by local/state authorities which gain national press coverage. Result: national population sees the unfairness of discrimination and Jim Crow resulting in greater public pressure upon Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy for federal intervention.
L. Civil Rights Movement in the North vs. the South:
1. de facto segregation in North - people opt to segregate themselves either out of comfort, economic necessity, etc.
2. de jure segregation in South - segregation by law or policy
3. movement initiates in South but spreads to North in mid-60s - de jure segregation is easier to gain support for, show injustices, and partially solved by getting new laws passed
4. Majority of blacks in South tend to live in rural areas while in the North they are concentrated in urban cities, tactics & goals will vary
M. Rhetorical question: Were women deliberately left out the Constitution?
1. Yes = document uses either masculine or neutral pronouns, women were considered third-class citizens at the time, their support was not needed for ratification, even the 14th Amendment does not make reference to discrimination based upon gender
2. No = document equally discriminated against other groups, social standards for the time must be taken into context, 14th Amendment refers to "all persons," thus regardless of gender
N. Brief history of the women's movement in the United States
1. 1848 - Seneca Convention held - considered origin of the suffragette (women's voting rights) movement
2. 1850-1910 - several western states give women the right to vote in state and local elections - standards & populations vary
3. 1870-1910 - women's voting rights amendment proposed several times but consistently defeated in both House and Senate
4. 1916 - first woman elected to congress - Rep. J. Rankin (MT)
5. 1916-1918 - women assist in war effort, many occupy jobs formally held solely by men - social standards slowly change
6. 1920 - 19th Amendment is ratified, women vote in first federal election - despite formation of League for Women Voters, turnout remains relatively low until 1960 - women tend to vote in same manner as husbands
7. 1930-1970 - Government (incl. Supreme Court) continues to treat women paternally passing laws which 'protect' them
8. 1960s - National Organization for Women formed, first activist interest group - major issue is legalization of birth control
9. 1963 - Betty Friedan publishes "The Feminine Mystique" - considered the birth of the feminist movement
10. 1965 - Griswoldv.Connecticut - state laws prohibiting birth control means ruled unconstitutional, right to privacy implied
11. 1970s - number of women in workplace increasing, dual income households on rise, segregated gender colleges decreasing - 'baby boom' over 'baby bust' begins with more women working and
marrying later
12. 1971 - Reedv.Reed - Supreme Court rules an Idaho law illegal that automatically gives husband preference in administering control over a child's estate
13. 1973 - RoevWade - Landmark decision legalizing abortion during first trimester - mobilizes feminist movement
14. 1972 - Equal Rights Amendment passed in Congress and sent to states - would simply prohibit discrimination based on gender
15. 1972-76 - feminist movement splits into left & right wings – both sides agree on concept of equal work for equal pay (women are receiving 56% of male pay for same salaried work), but right wing
fears losing some paternal protections (e.g.) wartime draft, etc.
16. 1978 - 35 states have passed ERA, but 3 have since rescinded - Congress (illegally?) passes a 3 year extension, but amendment still fails
17. 1981 - Rostkerv.Goldberg - Supreme Court rules that women can be legally exempt from the draft during wartime
18. 1984 - Geraldine Ferraro selected as the Democratic v-p nominee in hopes of mobilizing female vote in presidential election
19. 1992 - PlannedParenthoodv.Casey - Supreme Court narrowly rules 5-4 to not reverse Roe, though does allow states to place some restrictions on abortions as long as they don't place an "undue burden" upon women
20. 1992 - Female voters outnumber male voters in presidential election for first time ever! Clinton adopts several women's campaign issues (i.e.) tougher rape and sexual harassment laws,
child care tax deductions, pro-abortion, pro equal pay, etc.)
21. 1993 - Clinton passes Parental Leave Act which allows one parent (mother or father) to leave their job for up to 3 months without being fired in order to raise a newborn baby.
22. 1994-98 - Women make advances in congressional membership and top level bureaucratic positions, but still make up only 9% of private sector upper management positions
23. 1997-98 - movement becomes further split after Clinton's sexual harassment/impeachment scandals - N.O.W. accused of hypocrisy
- 1999 - Elizabeth Dole runs for president, while Hillary wins Senate seat
- 2000 – women compose 13% of Senate and 17% of House
O. The media coined the term "soccer mom" during the 1996 presidential election as served as a simplistic composite of the median voter (working mother, drives the kids to after school activities in the family van) - Women went on to make up 56% of the voter turnout. Expect women's issues to play a major role in all future national elections.
P. Have women gained economic equality since the advent of the feminist movement?
YES = women now compose 45% of the total workforce, have some job place protections w/ sexual harassment and discrimination laws, made only 56% of male pay in 1970, have benefited from affirmative action programs esp. in government jobs
NO = salaried workers only make 74% of similar male workers, a 'glass ceiling' exists as women only compose 9% of upper level management, growth of single moms, deadbeat dads, and
poor child support enforcement in many states
Q. Comparisons of Black Civil Rights Movement w/ Women's Movement and application of M.I.C.E. policy-making process
similarities
1. both groups are considered socially unequal, thus discrimination is justified by existing social standards
2. both are ignored by the federal government as neither group has sufficient voting clout or mass public support
3. both groups experience activist radical splits within movement that push them to the left and hurt majoritarian appeal
a. blacks - black nationalism of Malcolm X, militancy by the Black Panthers
b. women - radical feminists, ERA conflict, lesbian movement policy-process application
4. MLK must change public perception from client (broad costs to the public with only narrow benefits going to blacks) to majoritarian (broad costs to public but with broad expansion of civil rights and justice for all). National media exposure on just the South often tends to give interest group view
(narrow costs just to the South and narrow benefits to southern blacks).
5. Women's Movement starts out to be entrepreneurial (broad benefits for women with narrow costs going to employer) with focus on equal pay, even women who are not working might want to in the future and support movement. ERA Amendment gradually moves perception to majoritarian and later client (broad costs for all women with narrow benefits to leftist feminists) as ERA is seen as more of as a threat than protection by many traditional housewives.
R. Affirmation action programs were first proposed by President Johnson as part of his Great Society program, however they have grown to include all minorities. The purpose of affirmative action is to make up for past discrimination and provide greater opportunities for minorities through government incentives. Frequently the government uses grants as a condition to encourage more hiring, contracting, etc., of minorities.
S. Quotas refer to the percentage of spots put aside solely for minorities. Bakke case brings about the problem of reverse discrimination against majority. Supreme Court rules that race may be
considered but cannot be the primary factor, in addition quotas cannot be grossly disproportionate.
T. Problems with affirmative action:
1. disagreeable to the majority who feel it undermines equality of opportunity and promotes equality of result, conversely minorities feel just the opposite
2. conservatives see it as another example of excessive liberal government intervention and continued social engineering
3. just when do you stop such programs? when is equality reached?
Benefits of affirmative action:
a. increases in minorities attending college, minority owned
businesses, growth of minorities in many professional areas, etc.
b. encourages cultural diversity and further desegregates society
U.. Major cases used by NAACP Legal, Inc. leading up to Brown
1. Missouriexrel.v.Canada (1938) - Supreme Court invalidates Univ. of Missouri policy to prohibit blacks from attending, rather college pays to have blacks attend a law school elsewhere
where segregation was not enforced
2. Sipuelv.BoardofRegentsofUniv. ofOklahoma (1948) – overruled policy of refusing admission of qualified black women to law school based solely on race
3. McLaurinv.PainterandSweattv.Painter (1950) - law schools attempt to set up separate black law schools with inferior faculty, library, courses, classrooms, etc.
4. Brownv.TheBoardofEducation, Topeka, Kansas (1954) – Court rules that segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even when the physical facility and other
'tangible' factors may be equal, the minority children are deprived of equal educational opportunity. Earl Warren wrote in the 9-0 opinion, "that in the field of public education the
doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place."
*** Once concept of 'separate but equal' is reversed in education dozens of other cases arise challenging the practice in other public facilities (i.e.) restaurants, water fountains, parks, etc.
II. Terms: Be able to define and apply the following:
A. segregation / de facto segregation / de jure segregation
B. discrimination / reverse discrimination
C. Plessyv.Ferguson / 'separate but equal doctrine'
D. equal protection clause
E. rational basis test
F. Brown I and II / "with all deliberate speed"
G. judicial remedy / forced busing / Charlotte-Mecklenburg
H. desegregation / integration
I. civil disobedience / passive resistance / boycotts / sit-ins / 'freedom rides'
J. Civil Rights Acts of 1964, 1965, & 1968
K. NAACP/ SCLC / SNCC
L. suffrage movement / 19th Amendment / League for Women Voters
M. gender gap / 'soccer moms'
N. NOW / NARAL / Planned Parenthood
O. comparable worth / equal pay for equal work / ERA
P. feminist movement / radical feminists
Q. Parental Leave Act
R. Griswoldv.Connecticut, Reedv.Reed, Roev.Wade