American Government

American Government Chapter 21 Civil Rights: Equal Justice Under Law

Section 1 • Diversity and Discrimination in the American Society

A Heterogeneous Society • Heterogeneous • To Greek words hetero and genos • different – race, family, or kind • AKA… composed of a mix of ingredients • U.S. has consistently been predominantly white • However, U.S. has become increasingly more heterogeneous over the last few decades due to an influx of immigrants • aliens legally admitted as permanent residents

Race-Based Discrimination • African Americans • 2nd largest minority group in U.S. • Been victims of consistent and deliberate, unjust treatment • Most Constitution guarantees of equality for all people came from and for African Americans

Race-Based Discrimination (Con’t) • Native Americans • Many killed by European diseases and wars • Forced to live on or near reservations • currently life expectancy 10 years less than national average

Race-Based Discrimination (Con’t) • Hispanic Americans • Spanish-speaking background • Largest minority group in U.S. • Basic Groups • Mexican Americans • Puerto Ricans • Cuban Americans • Central and South Americans • Many are refugees • One who seeks protection from war, prosecution, or danger

Race-Based Discrimination (Con’t) • Asian Americans • Forced to assimilate • process by which people of one culture merge into and become part of another culture • Many came in 1800’s to work in mines and build railroads in the West

Discrimination Against Women • Women are not minority in U.S. • Law and public policy have generally not given women equal rights • Eventually gain suffrage • Only 1% of the nations top public offices have been held by women since 1789

Discrimination Against Women (Con’t) • Fewer than 20% of doctors, lawyers, and college professors are women • Women earn on average less than men • Some claim there is a glass ceiling

Section 2 • Equality Before the Law

Equal Protection Clause • Everyone is different and democratic ideals demand government treat all people alike • “No state shall… deny to any person within it jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” 14th Amendment • Reasonable Classification • There must be some discrimination (Classification) • However it cannot be unreasonable • Most acts by government have been found constitutional by Supreme Court

Equal Protection Clause (Con’t) • The Rational Basis Test • It asks: Does the classification in question bear a reasonable relationship to the achievement of some proper governmental purpose? • Must have a “Public Good” goal

Equal Protection Clause (Con’t) • Strict Scrutiny Test • Higher Standard if: • Involves “fundamental rights” such as votes, travel inter-state, and 1st Amendment • “Suspect Classifications” as race, sec, or national origin • Much harder for states to discriminate

Segregation in America • The separation of one group from another • Jim Crow Laws • laws that separate people based on race • In both public and private facilities • Separate-but-equal doctrine • Plessy V. Ferguson • Held that the Equal Protection Clause supported separate facilities as long as the separate facilities were equal

Segregation in America (Con’t) • Brown v. Board of Education • Court held that segregation by race in public education is unconstitutional • Some states tried to block integration • The process of bringing a group into the mainstream of society • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Allowed Justice Department to file suits against desegregation acts

De Jure, De Facto Segregation • Segregation by law or legal sanction • Now abolished • De Facto Segregation • Segregation, not based on law, but normally housing patterns • Busing and redrawing district lines have worked to avoid de facto segregation • Segregation in other fields • In public arenas segregation is illegal as well

Classification by Sex • 14th Amendment, according to the Supreme Court, also gives Equal Protection to women • However, women are not drafted

Section 3 • Federal Civil Rights Laws

Civil Rights: Reconstruction to Today • 1870’s to late 1950’s, Congress did not pass a meaningful civil rights legislation • Changed by pressures in 1957 • From Civil Rights movement by people like Martin L. King Jr.

Civil Rights: Reconstruction to Today (Con’t) • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Passed after an 83 day debate • Outlaws discrimination in a number of areas • No person may be denied access or refused service in various “public accommodations” • No Discrimination if the program receives public funding, otherwise federal funds will be cut • Employers and Unions cannot discriminate • Against race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or physical disability

Civil Rights: Reconstruction to Today (Con’t) • Civil Rights Act of 1968 • Called open housing act • Can not sell or rent on the grounds as laid out in Civil Rights Act of 1964

Affirmative Action • Policy requires that most employers take positive steps to remedy the effects of past discriminations • Private businesses must try to make their work force reflect the makeup of the local population • Reverse Discrimination • Critics say affirmative action is unconstitutional • Discriminate against the majority group

Affirmative Action (Con’t) • The Bakke Case • Regents of University of California v. Bakke in 1978 • 16 out of 100 spots reserved for non-whites and Supreme Court found the quotas to be unconstitutional • Though race could be a factor among many other factors • Later Cases • Quotas can be used in extreme situations • Recent court cases have made it harder to prove discrimination

Affirmative Action (Con’t) • The Adarand Case • Adarand Constructors v. Pena, 1995 • Found any preferential treatment based on race unconstitutional • “Whenever the government treats any person unequally because of his or her race, that person has suffered an injury.” • Justice Sandra Day O’ Connor

Affirmative Action (Con’t) • Affirmative Action on the Ballot • California voters voted to get rid of most affirmative action programs • circuit court agreed and Supreme Court refused to see case

Section 4 • American Citizenship

Question of Citizenship • 14th Amendment declares that a person can become an American citizen either by birth or by naturalization

Citizenship By Birth • Citizenship by birth is determined by either Jus Soli or Jus Sanguinis • Jus Soli is anyone born on U.S. soil, or U.S. territory • Jus Sanguinis is anyone who becomes citizen based on law • Parents are U.S. citizens

Citizenship By Naturalization • The legal process by which a person becomes a citizen of another country at sometime after birth • Individual Naturalization • An alien becomes a citizen individually • a citizen or national of a foreign state living in this country • Collective Naturalization • Naturalization en masse • When an entire group has been naturalized

Loss of Citizenship • Everyone has the voluntarily ability to get rid of his or her citizenship • Expatriation • The legal process by which a loss of citizenship occurs • Denaturalization • When a naturalized citizen loses their citizenship through a court order, because they became a citizen by fraud or deception • Marriage does not help one gain or lose citizenship

A Nation of Immigrants • Regulation of Immigration • Courts have ruled the power to control the nation’s border is an inherent power of the United States • U.S. had mostly open borders from independence to 1890’s • New restrictions continually since

A Nation of Immigrants (Con’t) • Present Immigration Policies • Immigration Act of 1990 governs the admittance of aliens to U.S. • 675,000 allowed each year • Deportation • A legal process in which aliens are legally required to leave the U.S. • Illegally achieved evidence could be used because it is a civil law

Undocumented Aliens • A Troublesome Situation • Nearly 10-12 Million illegal aliens reside in the U.S. • Current Law • A crime to hire illegal aliens • Undocumented aliens given one year of amnesty to become a citizen

American Government