| Term | Definition |
|---|
| civil rights | policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by the government officials or individuals |
| 14th amendment | "citizenship" no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunites of citizens of the united states |
| equal protection of the laws | part of the 14th amendment emphasizing that laws must provide equivalent protection to all people |
| scott v. sanford | (1857) supreme court ruling that a slave who escaped to a free state enjoyed no right as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories |
| 13th amendment | abolished slavery |
| plessy v. ferguson | (1896) justified segregation by the ruling that a Louisiana law requiring "equal but seperate" accomodaton. ruled constitutional |
| brown v. board of education | (1954) holding that school segregation in Kansas was inherently unconstitutional because it violated the 14th admendment guarantee of equal protection |
| suffrage | the legal right to vote |
| 15th amendment | Extends suffrage to african americans |
| Poll tax | levied taxes on the right to vote |
| white primary | whites allowed to vote on political parties which african americans were not allowed to |
| 24th amendment | voided poll taxes |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | prohibited any government from using voting procedures that denied a person the vote on the basis of race or color |
| korematsu v. unted states | ruled constitutional the interment of more than 100,000 americans of japanese descent in encampments during WWII |
| 19th Amendment | guarantees women the right to vote |
| Equal Rights Amendment | equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any account of sex |
| reed v. reed | the first time the supreme court upheld a claim of gender discrimination |
| craig v. boren | established the "medium scrutiny" standard for determining gender descrimination |
| comparable worth | issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill |
| americans with disabilities act of 1990 | law passed that requires employers and public facilities to make reasonable acomodations for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment |
| affirmative action | a policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment of members of some previously disadvanteged group |
| regents of the university of california v. bakke | 1978 state university couldn't admit less qualified individuals solely based on race; no quotas |
| adarand consturctors v. pena | 1995 federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunites for minorities |
| equal opportunites | american society tends to emphasize |
| equal protection of the law | allows states to treat citizens differently if the classification is reasonable |
| jim crow laws | imposed legal segregation on african americans in the south after the civil war |
| civil rights act of 1964 | racial discrimination in public places became illegal |
| native americans | not protected by public protections against discrimination |
| protectionism | public policy towards women |
| the civil rights and women's equity in employment act of 1991 | shifted the burden of proof in justifying hiring and promotion practices to employers |
| gay people | group with the toughest battle |
| reverse discrimination | how some people see affirmative action |
Combine with other sets
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