American Government

1. American Government PS1301 – 164 Civil Rights

2. Outline • Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties • Basis in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution • Civil Rights Movement • Other types of policy • Affirmative action • Emerging civil rights

3. September 11 and Civil Rights • What impact have the terrorist attacks had on civil rights in the United States? • Debate on racial profiling • What are the issues and why are they important?

4. What’s the difference? • Civil Rights: • Protections enforced by government power. • Positive rights—require government action to ensure observance. • Government must act to guarantee equal rights: ie., 14th & 15th amendment, Brown V. Board of Education. • Civil rights issues arise under “equal protection of the laws” clause of Constitution.

5. What’s the Difference • Civil Liberties: • Constitutional protections from improper government encroachment. • Negative Rights: Restricts governmental actions. • Ex. Bill of Rights: Chalk full of “Thou shall nots”. • Civil liberty issues arise under the “due process of law” clause of the constitution.

6. Modern Day Civil Rights • Modern day “civil rights” include safeguards against any effort by government or dominant groups in a community to subjugate another group and take unfair, mostly economic, advantage of it. • The concept has advanced well beyond the “civic” rights of colonial America.

7. Contemporary Interpretation • Civil rights refers to the equality of all people, regardless of: – Race, ethnicity, or national origin – Religion – Gender – Sexual orientation – Age – Disability – Disease (e.g., HIV/AIDS, cancer) – Weight, etc.

8. Civil Rights and the 14th Amendment • •“All persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States … No state shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” • The basic concept is political and legal equality

9. But does not guarantee complete equality Discrimination on the basis of achievement & behavior is allowable • – Universities may reward academic merit • – Employers may hire the best qualified • – Laws may punish people who are felons • – Income taxes may discriminate on the basis of a • person’s income

10. Civil Rights Movement • The 1964 Civil Rights Act • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 • This aggressive law authorized the Justice Department to suspend restrictive electoral tests in southern states that had a history of low black turnout. • Federal officers could be sent into the state to register voters directly. • States also had to obtain clearance from the Justice Department before changing their election laws.

11. Other examples of Civil Rights Policy - Affirmative Action • Affirmative action was the means used by the government to redress past discrimination in employment. • This policy requires any employers or government agencies that have practiced discrimination to compensate minorities by giving them special consideration in their selection for employment and education.

12. Affirmative Action • This policy is most controversial when applied to • Government contracting, • University admissions to increase minority enrollment, • Employment policies to promote minority presence and advancement in business and the professions. • Notion of quotas quickly rejected by the Court and the public. Still, controversy persists.

13. Affirmative Action • The contentious politics for and against affirmative action have revolved around “preferential” criteria. • This criteria gives minorities some advantage in university admissions, employment, and government contracts without imposing numerical quotas. • While a majority of Americans support special assistance for minorities subjected to past discrimination, a majority also draws the line at affirmative action.

14. Emerging Rights • Americans with Disabilities Act bars discrimination in employment, transportation, public accommodation, and telecommunications against persons with physical and mental disabilities. • Elderly with help of the American Association of Retired Persons have worked to end mandatory retirement. • Can you name some other groups waiting in the wings?

15. Emerging Rights • Two recent cases illustrate problems courts confront in trying to implement the ADA. • In 1999 the Court ruled that an airline that only hired pilots with 20/20 vision could reject those who required corrective lenses. They had filed their suit under ADA utilizing their eyesight as a disability. But the Court said that because it could be corrected it was not a disability, so the law did not apply.

16. Emerging Rights • In 2001, the Court decided that a golfer with an atrophied leg could use a golf cart on the PGA tour despite a rule forbidding one. (PGA Tour, Inc vs. Casey Martin) • Walking, the Court said, was not “fundamental” to the game.