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Civil Rights. Jamie Monogan University of Georgia September 10, 2014. Objectives. By the end of this meeting, participants should be able to: Distinguish civil rights from civil liberties. Identify major civil rights policies the president, the courts, and Congress adopted.
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Civil Rights Jamie Monogan University of Georgia September 10, 2014
Objectives By the end of this meeting, participants should be able to: • Distinguish civil rights from civil liberties. • Identify major civil rights policies the president, the courts, and Congress adopted.
Civil Rights and Liberties • Civil rights: • Allow individuals to participate in government • Ensure all individuals receive due process and equal treatment under the law • Grant freedom from oppression • Civil liberties • Freedom from government interference in certain individual actions
CONCEPT MAP Rights ensure that claims upon government are fulfilled, and that people are treated fairly and equally. Liberties ensure freedom from improper government interference.
Constitutional Provisions for Rights and Liberties • Bill of Rights • Civil War Amendments • 13th, 14th, 15th • New voting groups • 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th • Judicial interpretation • 9th Amendment and Privacy
Rights and Liberties Failures • Alien and Sedition Acts • Slavery and African Americans • Jim Crow era • Immigrants • Japanese internment
Court Legitimacy • Courts can protect against “tyranny of the majority” but must rely on elected branches for enforcement • Unpopular decisions are rare • School prayer • School desegregation • Courts have also failed to uphold rights • Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) • Major rulings of the Civil Rights Movement: • Smith v. Allwright (1944) • Sweatt v. Painter (1950) • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) • Overruled Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Civil Rights Movement • Main focus: African American rights • Particularly unjust laws in southern states • Key laws: • Civil Rights Act (1957) • Civil Rights Act (1960) • Civil Rights Act (1964) • Voting Rights Act (1965)
Affirmative Action • Attempt to redress past wrongs • University admissions, federal contracts, state and city jobs • Increases diversity • Reverses discrimination? • Court rulings have been mixed • Regents v. Bakke (1978) • Bollinger cases (2003) • Fisher v. University of Texas (2013)
Gay Rights • Some cities and states now ban discrimination based on sexual orientation • Same-sex marriage and civil unions • Civil rights of marriage • Religious values • Full faith and credit clause • Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 • Military service • Outright ban until 1993 • “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (1993–2010) • Repealed in 2010
Assignments • Chapter 4 concept map exercise, due tonight at 11:59pm. • Login to ELC to complete. • Friday: Bullock & Gaddie, Chapter 9. • Monday: Kollman, pp. 117-135. • Wednesday: First Exam.