Unit 5 4 Civil Rights Notes

Civil Rights

Civil Rights
The authors of the 14th amendment (1868) wanted to create a society in which all people were given due process and equal protection of the law.
Due process is the oldest constitutional concept -Dates back to Magna Carta - limiting government also, the Natural Rights philosophy-life, liberty, and property.
Protection against arbitrary acts of government and the 14th amendment DUE PROCESS clause requires the states to respect DUE PROCESS
1. procedural -how officials go about enforcing and interpreting the law
2. substantive - the law itself must be fair.

Civil Rights
Equal Protection means no person or group is to receive special privileges or be deprived of certain rights-the purpose of the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause was to prevent legislatures from passing laws that treat some differently than others.

Civil Rights
HOWEVER, the 14th amendment also provides a basis for INCORPORATION of the Bill of Rights- Originally , the Bill of Rights was intended to limit only the powers of the federal government, now with the 14th amendment, the states will also have to abide by the Bill of Rights

Civil Rights
Constitutional Issues that led to the Civil War:
A> Slavery and Tariffs
1. Democrats wanted a strict interpretation-slavery was a local and state power (given only powers listed)
2. Republicans wanted a broad interpretation-gave the federal government an opportunity to act on the issue of slavery.
3. Framers thought slavery issue would die because they had provided for Congress to abolish it in 1808.

Civil Rights
Dred Scott (1857)
A>Chief Justice Taney said that blacks had to be citizens and that the Constitution did not recognize them as citizens when it was ratified.
B>Therefore, the slaves were protected property under the 5th amendment due process.
C>**The ruling was that the federal government did not have the right to exclude slavery from the new territories because property was protected under the constitution)

Civil Rights
Lincoln’s war objective-was to preserve the union
A>War dragged on-North began to demand an end to slavery.
B> Passed the Emancipation Proclamation -freed slaves in the states that had rebelled
1.Emancipation -symbolic-in that it committed us to ending slavery
C>Civil War marked the beginning of the idea of the supremacy of the national government with powers to promote the general welfare

Civil Rights
Purpose of Reconstruction-rebuild the South-Republicans support in the North and from the blacks/Democrats from the South
A> ( 13, 14, 15th amendments ) are known as the Civil War amendments-to protect the blacks (13th-freedom, 14th-citizenship rights-due process and equal protection, and the 15th –the right to vote). Enforcement was strongly resisted.
B> Vote - Some states did pass to help (Iowa/Minnesota gave blacks vote- 1868)
C> Economically - some southern states demanded economic damages

Civil Rights
D> Politically - Black codes-Southern laws “were to protect” the blacks when ACTUALLY they prevented them from political power.
1. blacks could marry-only blacks
2. blacks could own property-but few would sell it to them
3. blacks could travel-but only after dark, only in baggage cars
4. paid-wages that no one could live on
5. sue-cases were tried by white judges and juries
E> KKK -blacks looked to state and local government for help-law enforcement were white and some part of the Klan

Civil Rights
G> Southern laws were passed to deny the vote (poll tax, literacy tests, grandfather clause)
Poll tax- money you had to pay to vote.
Literacy test- had to take and pass a test to vote.
Grandfather clause- If you or your ancestor “grandfather” voted before 1870, you could vote.
Plessy V. Ferguson (1896)- that equal protection under the law meant that “separate but equal” was constitutional (separate facilities fulfilled the “equal protection” of the law)
*This case legalized segregation (separation of the races in theatres, schools, transportation, every aspect of life).

Civil Rights Policy
Equality debates today-racial, gender, age, disability, sexual-orientation, religion.
(deaf students, gay soldiers, female athletes)
14 th -Equal protection- legislative (laws written must be fair), executive and judicial (the way they are enforced and interpreted must be fair)

Civil Rights Policy
The Court has established standards to determine what is fair
Reasonable Test- burden of proof-on plaintiff.
Intermediate Test- burden of proof-usually on plaintiff. (gender cases)
Strict Scrutiny Test- burden of proof-on government- (government must show they had no other way to achieve their goal)
“ Suspect classification ”-rendered by society to lower class, and political rights have been denied

How the Three Branches have promoted Equality
Executive
Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation)
FDR (Executive Order-forbid racial discrimination in defense industries)
Truman (E.O.-desegregate the troops)
Eisenhower (federal troops in Little Rock)
JFK (use of media to say civil rights movement was a “moral crisis”
LBJ (E.O.-affirmative action)
Reagan- appointed Sandra Day O’Connor
Clinton (policy initiatives-to end racial profiling, discrimination against those with aids, gays in military

Legislative
13, 14, 15 th amendments
Civil Rights Act 1964- prohibits discrimination in public accommodations and in employment. Created the EEOC.
Voting Rights Act of 1965- sent federal examiners to review voter registration processes, outlawed literacy tests,

Judicial
Smith V Allright- outlawed white primaries
Brown- overturned separate but equal.
Heart of Atlanta Motel- outlawed segregation in public accommodations.
Loving V. Virginia- outlawed prohibiting interracial marriages.
Bakke- race can not be used as the only factor for admittance.
Swann- upheld “busing” as an attempt to achieve racial integration.

How the People have promoted equality
Interest Groups and 1 st amendment rights
NAACP
MALDEF
NOW
Filing court cases, marches, letters, pushing for legislation, using the media…

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Unit 5 4 Civil Rights Notes

by David Osman on Jul 10, 2008

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