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GOVT- Chapter 05
Civil Rights
26
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
02/08/2009

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Term
civil rights
Definition
Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government or individuals
Term
14th Amendment
Definition
1 of the 3 amendments passed after the civil war. "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S;nor shall any state deprive any person of life,liberty, or property without due process of law.
Term
equal protection of the laws
Definition
Part of the 14th Amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent "protection" to all people
Term
13th Amendment
Definition
The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude
Term
Scott VS. Standford
Definition
The 1857 Supreme Court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories.
Term
Plessy VS. Ferguson
Definition
An 1896 Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring "equal but separate accommodations for the White and colored races" was constitutional.
Term
Brown VS. Board of Education
Definition
The 1954 Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation in Topeka,Kansas, was inherently unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. This case marked the end of legal segregation in the U.S.
Term
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Definition
The law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job description.
Term
suffrage
Definition
The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans in the 15th Amendment, to women in the 19th Amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the 26th Amendment
Term
15th Amendment
Definition
The constitutional Amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to African Americans
Term
poll taxes
Definition
Small taxes levied on the right to vote that often fell due at a time of year when poor African American sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. This method was used by most Southern states to exclude African Americans from voting. This was declared void by the 24th amendment
Term
white primary
Definition
One of the means used to discourage African American voting that permitted political parties in the heavily Democratic South to exclude African Americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. The Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional in 1944
Term
24th Amendment
Definition
The constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void in federal elections
Term
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Definition
A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered to vote, and the number of African American elected officials increased dramatically.
Term
Korematsu VS. United States
Definition
a 1944 Supreme Court decision that upheld as constitutional the internment of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent in encampments during WWII
Term
19th Amendment
Definition
The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote
Term
Equal Rights Amendment
Definition
A constitutional amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or by any state on account of sex". Despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from 3/4s of the state legislature.
Term
Reed VS. Reed
Definition
The landmark case in 1971 in which the Supreme Court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination
Term
Craig VS. Boren
Definition
In this 1976 ruling, the Supreme Court established a "medium scrutiny" standard for determining gender discrimination
Term
comparable worth
Definition
The issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill
Term
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Definition
A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment
Term
affirmative action
Definition
A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment of members of some previously disadvantaged group
Term
Regents of the University of California VS. Bakke
Definition
A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race.
Term
Adarand Constructors VS. Pena
Definition
A 1995 Supreme Court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race,even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional.
Term
de jure
Definition
by law
Term
de facto
Definition
reality
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