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Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Terms

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13th Amendment
The amendment (1865) that prohibits slavery.
14th Amendment
The post-Civil War amendment (1868) that forbids a state to deprive any persons of life, liberty or property without the due process of law, or deny any person equal protection of the law. It made African American citizens have full rights.
19th Amendment
The Amendment (1920) that forbids a state to deny a person the right to vote because of their sex.
AARP
American Association of Retired Persons, a nonprofit interest group concerned with the welfare of retired Americans. In 1998 the AARP had more than 30 million members (about 45% of Americans aged 50 or over).
affirmative action
A policy in hiring that gives consideration or compensatory treatment to traditionally disadvanteged groups in an effort to overcome the present effects of past discriminations.
age discrimination
Action taken based solely or primarily on a person's age, without regard to actual qualifications or abilities. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects persons age 40 and over from employment discrimination based on age.
American with Disabilities Act (1990)
An act providing protection against discrimination in employment, public service, transportation, and telecommunications for disabled people.
Brown v. Board of Educations of Topeka, Kansas
The US Supreme Court decision established that segregation fo the races in public schools violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
busing
Transportation of public school students from areas where they live, with the goal of eliminating de facto school segregation based on residential patterns.
civil disobedience
Refusal to obey a law, usually on the ground that the law is morally reprehensible, Civil disobedience is often used as a protest tactic to call attention to questionable laws.
civil liberties
Those personal freedoms possessed by all individuals and protected from arbitrary interference by government. They include protection of persons, opinions, and property.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
An act that firbids discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origins, and sex.
Civil Rights Act of 1991
An act that reaffirmed and expanded protection against discrimination in employment.
civil rights movement
A citizen's action movement during the 1950's and 1960's led mainly by African American religious leaders in support of equal rights and the end of racial discrimination and segregation.
comparable worth
The concept that compensation for work performed should be based on the worth of hte job to an employer, and that unrelated factors, such as sex of the employees, should not affect compensation.
criminal law
The collection of laws defining crimes and establishing punishment for violations. The government prosecutes criminal cases because crimes are against the public order.
de facto segregation
Segregation that occurs not because of a deliberate governmental intent to seperate groups, but because of past social and economic conditions and residential patterns. De facto is Latin for "by fact" and refers to racial segregation, but can equally apply to others forms, for example segregation by ethnicity.
de jure segregation
Racial or other forms of segregation that occurs because of laws or administrative decisions by public agencies. De jure means "by law"
double jeopardy
A second prosecution for the same crime once the first one is completed. Prohibited by the US Constitution.
Dred Scot v. Sandford (1857)
A case that held that African Americans could not be considered persons under the Constitution nor were they entitled to the rights and privileges of citizzenship.
Emancipation Proclimation
The announcement issued by President Lincoln freeing slaves.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
A federal commission established by the 1964 Civil Rights Act that 1) sets regulations, investigates, mediates, and brings suit against private empoyers, unions, or community organizations to end employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, and age, and 2) promotes voluntay action to foster equal job opportunities.
Equal Pay Act (1963)
This act requires equal pay for men and women doing similar work.
equal protection clause
A provision of the 14th Amendment, which says that states may not arbitrarily discriminate against persons.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
The amendment proposed in 1972 to establish the equal rights of men and women. The amendment failed to be ratified by the required 38 states.
freedom ride
Civil rights demonstrations in the early 1960's in which interracial activists rode buses together through parts of the southern states to protest racial segregation and discrimination.
gender gap
A phrase frequently used to describe the different voting patterns of men and women. It was widely used to explain the different percentages of votes received by candidates i nthe 1980 presidential election.
gedner discrimination
Discrimination in employment, education, or delivery of social services that denies a person or group of people their right to equal treatment on the basis of their gender. Usually directed toward women.
glass ceiling
The invisible barriers in businesses and government that prevent women and minorities from being promoted into top management positions.
grandfather clause
In the south, created taxes and literarcy laws with the intent of keeping African Americans from voting. The grandfather clause restricted the rights to vote to those who could prove their grandfathers had voted before 1867.
literarcy test
A reading or "understanding" test that a voter had to pass before voting. Literarcy tests were frequently used to prevent African Americans from voting. Literarcy tests were banned by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was expanded in 1970, 75, & 82.
mandatory set-aside
An aspect of affirmative action programs in which a specific number of construction contracts are allocated to minority-owned businesses. Ruled illegal in 1989.
minority
A racial, religious, political, national, or other group regarded as different from the larger group of which it is part.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
An organization formed in 1909 to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of African Americans and other minority group citizens of the United States. It is the oldest, largest, and strongest civil rights organization in the US.
nonviolent protest tactics
Peaceful actions to gain political or social ends.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
The case that upheld a state law requiring segregation of the races in public transportation. The Court ruled that a state could provide seperate but equal facilities for African Americans.
poll tax
A tax a person must pay in order to vote. The 24th Amendment to the Constitution out-lawed poll taxes in natinal elections. A 1966 Supreme Court ruling declared poll taxes illegal in all elections.
prior restraint
Preventing an action before it even happened. Prior restraint relies on censorship instead of subsequent punishment.
private discrimination
Discrimination done by individuals in their private capacity. This type of discrimination is not prohibited by the 14th Amendment, and Congress cannot prohibit it unless it affects interstate commerce or there is some state involvement. This is in contrast to discrimination by a state agency or governmental body, which is prohibited.
racial equality
The equal treatment of all persons regardless of their race.
racial segregation
The seperation of the races in public and private facilities.
reconstruction amendments
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, which remove various barriers to freedom for former slaves. These were adopted during the Reconstruction period, and their ratification was required of the former states of the Confederacy for readmission to the Union. Their meaning and reach, particularly the 14th Amendment has changed greatly since their adoption.
Reconstruction period (1865-1877)
The period following the Civil War during which the states of the Confederacy were controlled by the federal government.
reverse discrimination
Discrimination against those who do not have minority status within a community. Reverse discrimination may result from affirmative action programs that require preferential treatment for minority members of society.
Romer v. Evans (1996)
A Supreme Court ruling benefiting gay and lesbian rights. In this case, the Court struck down a Colorado constitutional amendment that denied protection from discrimination to homosexuals. The Court held that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment didn't make homosexuals "unequal to everyone else."
school desegregation
The elimination of the seperation of races in public schools; racial integration.
seperate but equal doctrine
In 1896, the US Supreme Court held that racial segregation, or "Jim Crow" laws, were constitutional under the "seperate-but-equal doctrine." This doctrine held that is was all right to segregate the races as long as both races had access to equal services and facilities. Which led to segregation in schools, transportation, housing, and elsewhere.
sexual harassment
Unwelcome physical or verbal behavior or abuse of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment interferes with the receiver's job performance, creaates a hostile environment, or is accompanied by a direct or indirect threat to the person's continued employment or opportunity for promotion.
sit-in
An organized protest demonstration in which participants seat themselves and refuse to move.
slavery
The practice of owning people as property.
social movement
Activation of a segment of the public for political, economic, or social change.
strict scrutiny
A test used by the Supreme Court for issues such as affirmative action. Legislation in these areas is highly suspect and will be closely watched and allowed to stand only if it's "narrowly tailored" and serves a "compelling government interest."
suffrage
The right to vote, also called the franchise. To allow a person to vote is to enfranchise them. Throughout its history, the United States has enfrachised more and more of its population.
The IX of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
The provisions of the Civil Rights Act that prohibit recipients of federal education aid from discriminating in services provided people on the basis of gender.
Voting Rights Act (1965)
The act that eliminated restrictions on voting that had been used to discriminate against African Americans and other minority groups.
wage discrimination
Paying different people different wages for the same or similar job based on their sex, race, or other discriminatory factors.
white flight
Movement of large numbersof white people from cities to suburbs. This movement was precipitated by the desegregation of public facilities.
white primary
A state primary with voting rights granted only to whites. The Supreme Court outlawed white primaries in 1944.
"with all deliberate speed"
Reference made in the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education about undertaking racial integration of schools quickly. The term "deliberate" was used as a loophole by some officials who wanted to delay desegregation.
women's suffrage
Women's right to vote.

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