Download The Amendments - chiles-ap

To the United States Constitution
Amendments 1-10
◦ 1791
◦ Adopted 2 yrs. after the ratification of the US Constitution
after delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed to
the concept of a Bill of Rights as the first 10 amendments
to the Constitution.
◦ Established a basic definition of civil liberties- those rights
that government cannot take away.
◦ Established an individual’s due process rights and uses
similar language from the Declaration of Independence to
protect individuals against the government depriving them
of “life, liberty, and property without due process.”

The bill of rights initially applied only to laws passed
by the federal government. As a result of Supreme
Court cases in the 20th century, the Bill of Rights was
applied to the states through selective incorporation






Establishing a state supported religion
Prohibiting the free exercise of a person’s religion
Abridging freedom of speech
Abridging freedom of press
Respecting the right to peaceably assemble
Respecting the right to petition the government
 Thomas Jefferson called for a “wall of separation
between church and state.”
 The clause was intended to prevent the federal
government from supporting a national religion
 Supreme Court interpretations of the clause deal with
state financial support of religion, school prayer, and
government-supported religious symbols
 The court has been inconsistent in its rulings that deal
with establishment issues, placing limitations on
government support of religion while supporting a
government entity’s right to recognize religion.
 Facts: New York State had a mandatory requirement that
all students must recite a nondenominational prayer that
started with “Almighty God we acknowledge our
dependence on thee…” each day along with the Pledge
 Issue: Whether the establishment clause was violated by
New York State
 Decision: The court struck down the prayer, ruling that it
violated the First Amendment’s separation of church and
state
 Related cases: Lee v. Weisman-1992- clergy at graduation
ceremonies unconstitutional, Sante Fe Independent School
District v. Doe-2000- school-led prayer prior to a football
game unconstitutional.
 Facts: A Pennsylvania law allowed state financial support,
such as textbooks and teacher salaries, for secular subjects
taught in parochial schools
 Issue: Did the Pennsylvania law violate the First Amendment’s
establishment clause?
 Decision: The court ruled that the state violated the
separation of church and state by providing aid to parochial
schools
 The court also developed a three-prong test as criteria for
determining whether the establishment clause has been
violated
 Purpose of the legislation must be secular, not religious
 Primary effect of legislation must neither advance nor inhibit
religion
 The legislation must avoid an excessive entanglement of
government with religion
 This clause was included to allow citizens to practice
religion without government interference
 Free exercise of religion guarantees that one’s beliefs
are protected but raises questions of whether actions
based on those beliefs constitute a violation of the free
exercise clause
 Issues such as working on the Sabbath, the practice of
polygamy, using illegal drugs as part of religious
exercise, pledging allegiance to the flag, and home
schooling because of religious beliefs have been raised
and decided by the Supreme Court.
 Dealt with the practice of polygamy in the territory that
would become Utah
 Reynolds, a Mormon, was a polygamist and was
arrested and convicted for violating a Utah law making
polygamy illegal. Reynolds challenged the law based
on the free exercise clause
 The Supreme Court ruled that the law was constitutional
and the practice of polygamy was not a violation of the
free exercise clause
 Dealt with the practice by Native Americans of using
peyote as part of their religious ritual.
 Oregon refused to grant unemployment benefits because
the Native Americans used illegal drugs and were
dismissed from drug counseling jobs.
 The Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s decision stating that
there was a compelling government interest in regulating
drugs.
 The issue of free speech revolves around the extent and
limits the government can place on free expression
 Speech is classified as expressive and symbolic
 Individuals can bring up lawsuits, called slander, against
entities that use speech to defame one’s character
 Speech can also be limited during times of war if it can be
proved that the speech limits the government’s ability to
conduct its war policies
 Speech can be limited if it is obscene or if the speech
creates a threat to an individual or group
 The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment
applies to the states through selective incorporation.
 Gitlow was a socialist who advocated through speech and
pamphlets strikes and other civil actions that would
accomplish his goals.
 New York State had an anti-anarchy law and Gitlow was
arrested and convicted for his actions
 The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, creating a
“dangerous tendency” test, and in its decisions ruled that
the First Amendment applied to the states by virtue of the
due process clause of the 14th Amendment. This was the
1st time selective incorporation was used by the court.
 Chaplinsky called a city official “a
damn fascist” in a public place. He
was arrested for violating a breach of
the peace.
 The Supreme Court upheld his
conviction and in its ruling established
the “fighting words doctrine”- words
that can inflict injury or cause a breach
of the peace can be regulated.
 Facts: Schenck mailed flyers to potential draftees urging them
to defy the draft during World War I. He traveled around the
country speaking out against the war and urged people to
oppose the draft.
 Issue: The United States government accused Schenck of
violating the Espionage Act, which makes it insubordination
and draft resistance illegal. Were Schenck’s actions a violation
of his First Amendment right of free expression and free
speech?
 Decision and significance: The Supreme Court upheld
Schenck’s conviction. Justice Holmes equated Schenck’s
actions to yelling fire in a darkened movie theater. The court
ruled that Schenck created a “clear and present danger” by
advocating his position.
 This doctrine gives the government the right to prosecute
individuals who through expressive or symbolic speech create
a “clear and present danger”
 Facts: Mary Beth Tinker was suspended from school for
wearing a black armband protesting the Vietnam War.
 Issue: Whether the protest represented symbolic speech
under the First Amendment
 Decision: the court ruled that the suspension was
unjustified and that the black armband represented
symbolic speech that was protected under the First
Amendment. The court stated that student’s rights “do not
stop at the schoolhouse gates” but also recognized that
schools had the right to intervene if there was a “material
and substantial” disruption of the school environment.
 This was the first in a number of cases that raised the
issue of whether students attending public schools were
protected by the Bill of Rights.
 Facts: Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for burning a US
flag protesting Ronald Reagan’s policies and his
nomination for a second term outside the Republican
national Convention in Dallas. He was accused and
convicted of breaking a law that prohibited the
“desecration of a venerated object”
 Issue: Whether Johnson’s protest represented symbolic
speech under the First Amendment
 Decision: the court ruled 5-4 that burning the flag for the
purpose of political protest was symbolic speech and
constitutional.
 Significance: Congress failed to pass a constitutional
amendment banning flag burning after a national law that
prohibited flag burning also was ruled unconstitutional.
 The First Amendment guarantee of a free press deals
with the written word and whether there can be
legitimate limitations placed on it by the government
 One issue that is raised is whether the government can
censor the press during a time of war
 A second issue is whether the press can be censored
as a result of the use of obscenities
 A third issue is to what extent an individual is
protected from the abuses of a free press. Libel is
defined as the defamation of an individual ‘s character
in the written word
 John Peter Zenger, a journalist writing for the New Your
Gazette, was highly critical of New York Governor William
Cosby and wrote stinging editorials denouncing the
governor
 Governor Cosby accused Zenger of “seditious libel” and
brought Zenger to trial.
 Alexander Hamilton defended Zenger and a jury found
Zenger not guilty
 As a result of this trial, a foundation was laid that a press
can operate freely and openly even if it meant that public
officials were criticized
 Facts: Daniel Ellsberg leaked a secret Pentagon study of
the Vietnam War that was published by The New York
Times and Washington Post. President Richard Nixon
obtained an injunction against both papers that forced the
papers to stop publication of the material. Nixon claimed
that the release of the Pentagon Papers would hurt
national security during the Vietnam War.
 Issue: Whether the publication of the Pentagon Papers was
protected by the First Amendment’s free press clause
 Decision: the court ruled that The New York Times and
Washington Post had the right to publish the Pentagon
Papers and that the government misused its authority of
“prior restraint” when it asked the courts to censor the
publications.
 The right of people to gather in places and express
their point of view without government interference
 The right of people to freely associate with groups
they choose
 The right to petition government officials for policies
they want
 Assembly and association rights must be balanced
with the time, manner, place, and nature of assembly
 Issue such as whether individuals can freely associate
with the Communist Party (yes); whether the Nazi Party
can march in Skokie, Illinois (yes); and whether
individuals can demonstrate peaceably on public
property (yes) have been decided by the courts.
 The amendment has been interpreted as the people’s
right to bear arms.
 The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been the
primary special-interest group advocating gun rights
and opposing gun control
 Issues such as gun control legislation including a ban
on assault weapons, a waiting period for gun
purchases, and regulation of gun shows have been
dealt with by the Congress.
 Result of British troops staying in the colonist’s homes
without permission during the Revolutionary War
 Union troops occupied southerner’s homes during the
Civil War.
 Deals with privacy rights even though the word
“privacy” is not found in the amendment
 The clause “the right of people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers...” is the basis of the privacy
right.
 A search warrant is necessary if there is probable
cause in order for the police to obtain evidence against
an individual
 The Fourth Amendment is also the first due process
that is included as part of the Bill of Rights. Police
must follow the dictates of this amendment in
gathering evidence against the individual.
 Federal and state governments have attempted to define in a
broad manner the rights of law officials to obtain evidence
 “Probable cause” has come under close scrutiny by the
courts. In cases related to students attending public schools,
reasonable suspicion is the criterion for a search.
 The Fourth Amendment’s protections have been applied to
the states through selective incorporation
 Courts have found exceptions to the “probable cause”
standard. The police can obtain evidence if it is in “plain
view” or if the evidence was obtained as a result of an
emergency
 Issues such as abortion and the extent the government can
use warrantless wiretaps raise privacy issues.
 Wolf v. Colorado was a key incorporation case that
made the 4th Amendment applicable to the states
through the due process clause of the 4th Amendment.
The decision allowed illegally obtained evidence to be
used in states courts.
 Mapp v. Ohio overturned Wolf v. Colorado
 Facts: Dolree Mapp accused police of obtaining evidence
used against her without a valid search warrant
 Issue: Whether illegally obtained evidence can be used in a
trial
 Decision: Mapp v. Ohio established the exclusionary rule:
if the police obtained evidence without a valid search
warrant it would not be admissible in court; characterized
illegal evidence as “fruit of the poisonous tree”
 Facts: Griswold, the Executive Director of Planned
Parenthood of Connecticut, was convicted for violating
a Connecticut law that made it illegal to give
information to married couples regarding birth control.
 Issue: Whether Connecticut’s law violated the 4th
amendment’s right to be “secure in their persons” as a
result of the counseling that was done
 Decision and significance: The Supreme Court ruled
that the law prohibiting obtaining information about
birth control was illegal under the 4th Amendment
 The Court ruled that there was an inferred privacy right
given to people in the 4th amendment.
 Facts: Norma McCorvey, using Roe as a pseudonym, violated
Texas state law that banned all abortions
 Issue: Did Texas state law violate a women’s right to privacy
that was established in Griswold v. Connecticut?
 Decision and significance: The Supreme Court ruled that
women had the constitutional right under the 4th
Amendment to an abortion. The Court determined that in
the 1st trimester women had the right to abortion on
demand. During the 2nd trimester, the state could place
restrictions on abortions, and during the 3rd trimester more
restrictions could be placed on a woman’s decision to have
an abortion.
 Future decisions by the Court gave the state even more
authority to place restrictions on abortions. Congress also
passed a law that banned a procedure called “partial birth
abortions,” and the Supreme Court upheld that law.
 Facts: Pennsylvania law required that women seeking
abortions had to wait 24 hours, that minors had to get
consent from their parents, and that a married women had
to notify her husband she was going to have an abortion.
 Issues: Whether the law violated the 4th Amendment and
whether Roe v. Wade should be overturned
 Decision and significance: The Court upheld the 24 hour
waiting period and parental approval (with judicial bypass
if challenged) but struck down spousal approval.
 Roe v. Wade was upheld and the Casey case became the
new precedent for the future cases dealing with this issue.
 In New Jersey v. T.L.O. a 14 yr. old minor was accused
of violating a school policy that prohibited smoking in
the bathrooms. The principal search her pocketbook
for evidence without a search warrant and found illegal
drug paraphernalia.
 The Supreme Court ruled that the principal had the
authority to conduct the search without a warrant
because there was reasonable suspicion
 In Vernonia School District v. Acton, the school district
imposed a random drug test for all school athletes.
 The Supreme Court ruled that the school did not violate
the privacy rights of the students. A future case
extended the school’s right to randomly drug test any
student who was involved in an extracurricular activity.
 Originally passed by Congress in response to the terrorist
attacks carried out on 9/11; It was reauthorized in 2006
 The Act has provisions that expand the government’s role
in dealing with domestic terrorism including surveillance
and wiretapping
 Gives the government the right to conduct secret searches
and phone and Internet surveillance as well as access to
private records if there is evidence of possible terrorist
activity.
 Permits the imprisonment of noncitizens without due
process if there is evidence they are involved in terrorist
plots
 Raises the issue of whether the 4th amendment’s
protections can be diminished in the name of national
security
 These rights include
 An indictment obtained by the police that charges a
person with a crime
 A protection against double jeopardy (being tried for
the same crime twice)
 The right of an individual not to testify against himself,
also called “taking the 5th”
 The guarantee of due process before a person’s life,
liberty , or property can be taken
 Just compensation by the government if property is
taken from an individual, called eminent domain.
 Due process established in the Constitution through
habeas corpus protection. Habeas corpus is the Latin for
“presenting the body.” Its application to the law is that an
individual cannot be detained without being charged with
a crime
 Habeas corpus can be suspended by Congress during war
 Habeas corpus rights also guarantee individuals the right
to appeal a conviction
 Due process guarantees that an individual is protected
from unfair treatment by the government from arrest
through conviction
 The 6th, 7th, and 8th Amendments to the Constitution give
individuals protections related to obtaining a lawyer, the
trial process, and the sentencing if a person is found
guilty.
 Facts: Ernesto Miranda was charged and convicted of rape
and kidnapping. During his interrogation he was not told
what the consequences would be if he answered
questions. He was never told he could ask for a lawyer
during the questioning. Ultimately he signed a confession.
 Issue: Whether Miranda’s due process rights were violated
as a result of the interrogation techniques used by the
police.
 Decision and significance: The Court in a landmark
decision ruled that Miranda’s confession was illegally
obtained. It also ruled that the police had to inform an
individual at the time of arrest the rights from the 5th
Amendment including the right to remain silent, that
anything said could be used in court, that there is a right
to consult with a lawyer, and a lawyer will be provided if
the accused could not afford one.
 Gives the individual the protections guaranteed
during a trial:
 A speedy and public trial by an impartial jury
 The trial taking place in the geographic location where
the crime was committed
 The Court informing the accused of the nature of the
charges
 The accused having the right to confront witnesses
 The right of the accused to call witnesses for the
defense
 The right of the accused to obtain a lawyer
 Facts: Earl Gideon was accused and convicted of
robbery, a felony under Florida law. He could not afford
a lawyer and was forced to defend himself.
 Issue: Whether Gideon’s 5th Amendment due process
rights AND 6th Amendment right of assistance of
counsel were violated
 Decision: The Court ruled that Florida had to provide
Gideon with an attorney. While in prison Gideon did
legal research and submitted to the Supreme Court a
“pauper’s brief,” an appeal written by a person who
could not afford a lawyer.
 Significance: As a result of this case, the accused were
guaranteed the right to an attorney.
 The 7th Amendment guarantees the right of a trial by
jury for civil trials
 The 7th Amendment has NOT been applied to the states
through selective incorporation
 The 8th Amendment establishes bail procedures giving
the accused the right to post bail that is based on the
nature of the crime and the history of the accused
 The 8th Amendment also protects the accused against
“cruel and unusual punishment”
 Death penalty cases dealing with when the death
penalty can be imposed and whether the death penalty
represents cruel and unusual punishment have been
brought before the courts.
 Facts: Tony Gregg was convicted of armed robbery and
murder and sentenced to death by a Georgia jury.
Georgia’s death penalty was previously ruled
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Furman v.
Georgia in 1972.
 Issue: Whether the death penalty was cruel and unusual
punishment and whether the jury process followed the
procedures set forth by the Furman decision.
 Decision and significance: The Court ruled that the
death penalty did not represent cruel and unusual
punishment. It also declared that the jury procedure
that imposed the sentence was constitutional because
the trial and sentencing were conducted separately.
 The 9th Amendment guarantees that those
undefined rights not listed anywhere in the
Constitution cannot be taken away from the
people.
 Even though the right to privacy is not a listed
right found in the Bill of Rights, the 9th
Amendment protects that fundamental right.
 Issues such as “the right to die, “ either by
euthanasia or assisted suicide, and abortion
have been brought before the courts.
 Facts: Nancy Beth Cruzan was left in a coma after a car
accident and was diagnosed by physicians as being in a
“persistent vegetative state.” Cruzan’s parents wanted the
hospital to stop life support but the hospital refused.
 Issue: Did the 9th Amendment give Cruzan the “right to
die?”
 Decision and significance: Because there was no evidence
that Cruzan would have chosen to end her life, the Court
ruled that the hospital had the authority to continue
treatment. However, the Supreme Court declared that if an
individual signed a “living will,” the hospital would have to
respect the individual’s choice to end life support.
 In a related case, the Supreme Court ruled that doctorassisted suicide is not a protected right. However, Oregon
voters using the initiative process approved assisted
suicide for its residents.
 The 10th amendment codifies the definition of
federalism- delegated powers are given to the
federal government and those powers not denied to
the states are reserved to the states and the people.
 Delegated powers are those defined by Article I of
the Constitution. Powers denied to the states are
those powers specifically given to the federal
government such as the Congress’s power to
declare war.
 Reserved powers are those powers not listed in the
Constitution such as the authority of the states to
pass laws in such areas as education, general health,
and welfare.
 Establishes state sovereignty, protecting states from
lawsuits against them from citizens of their own
state, citizens from other states, or other states or
foreign countries
 Congressional laws such as the Americans with
Disabilities Act and the violence Against Women Act
as well as state public employee laws and issues
raised by Native American tribes against states have
been decided by the Supreme Court
 In many cases, specific provisions of laws have been
struck down because individuals have attempted to
sue states. The Court ruled that the state
sovereignty provisions of the 11th Amendment
protects the state against these lawsuits.
 These three were amendments adopted as a
result of the Civil War
 The 13th (1865) abolishes slavery
 The 14th (1868) defines citizenship, forbids the state
from denying its citizens the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution, equal protection under the law, and due
process of life, liberty, and property.
 The 15th (1870) gives the right to vote to former slaves
and prohibits the states from denying the right to vote
based on race.
 Original intent of the 14th was to provide equal
protection for the freed slaves and give Congress the
ability to pass legislation to support this goal
 Congress passed Civil Rights Act of 1875, which
prohibited discrimination in public accommodations.
The Supreme Court ruled that this legislation was
unconstitutional. Cannot prohibit individual conduct
only the conduct of states.
 States passed Black Codes and Jim Crow laws
establishing segregation doctrine for the former slaves
 The 14th amendment protections were extended to
non-citizen immigrants in the 1880s
 The 14th due process provisions were not applied to the
states until the 1920s through the process of selective
incorporation.
 Selective incorporation is defined as the Supreme Court
using the due process clause of the 14th amendment to
apply the Bill of Rights to the states.
 The Court interpreted that only the “fundamental”
rights of the Bill of Rights would apply to the states.
 Gitlow v. New York (1925) was the first case the
Supreme Court decided that applied the 1st amendment
to the states.
 Wolf v. Colorado (1949) applied the 14th amendment to
the states
 Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and
Miranda v. Arizona further extended the Bill of Rights
to the states by guaranteeing specific rights.
 Facts: Dred Scott was a slave who was taken to a free
state that was made free as a result of the Missouri
Compromise. He claimed that he was no longer a slave
as a result of the fact that he lived in a free state.
 Issue: Whether Scott was a slave because he was living
in a free territory
 Decision and significance: Roger Taney, writing the
majority decision, ruled that Scott was a slave because
he did not enjoy protections guaranteed to citizens in
Article III of the constitution and that slaves were
property
 The Court also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional. This ruling became a catalyst for the
start of the Civil War
 Facts: Homer Plessy challenged a Louisiana state law
that banned blacks from the first-class section in a
train. Even though Plessy had only “10 percent”
African-American ancestry, he was denied a first class
ticket.
 Issue: Whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal
protection clause made Louisiana’s law unconstitutional
 Decision and significance: the Supreme Court ruled that
the law was valid because the law did not violate the
equal protection clause since Louisiana was providing
separate but equal accommodations
 The significance of this decision was that the “separate
but equal” doctrine became the acceptable treatment
for African-Americans
 African Americans had to fight segregation resulting from
Jim Crow Laws and the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v.
Ferguson
 The equal protection clause of the 14th was the
constitutional argument used in court cases
 President Truman sent a signal that segregation was
wrong when he ordered the Army to integrate in 1948.
 The 1950s saw African Americans participate in civil
disobedience. The Supreme Court changed the course of
the civil rights movement in the landmark case Brown v.
Board of Education in 1954. Rosa Parks refused to sit in
the back of a bus in 1955, an act of defiance that
triggered the civil rights movement.
 Congress responded to the call by the Reverend Martin
Luther King at the 1963 March on Washington by passing
the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
 Facts: Linda Brown was refused admission to an all-white
school because the Topeka Board of Education made the
case that the school she was attending had separate but
equal facilities. Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer for the
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People) argued the case for Brown
 Issue: Whether Topeka’s segregation policies violated the
14th Amendment’s equal protection clause
 Decision: In a landmark unanimous decision, the Supreme
Court ruled that “separate but equal was inherently
unequal” It ordered an end to school segregation “with all
deliberate speed.”
 Significance: even though the Court ordered an end to
school segregation, the change to integration took
decades.
 De facto segregation is segregation of schools,
housing, and other facilities through circumstance not
as a result of law
 De facto segregation is not illegal. However, Congress
has passed legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and the courts have made rulings that made
aspects of this practice illegal.
 De jure segregation is segregation resulting from laws
passed by state governments such as Jim Crow laws
and decisions made by the Supreme Court such as
Plessy v. Ferguson
 De jure segregation is illegal as a result of laws passed
by Congress and court decisions.
 Became the main spokesperson for the civil rights
movement in the 1950s and 1960s, advocating civil
disobedience as the means to achieve the goals
 Led Montgomery Bus boycott in 1955
 Founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
in 1957; named the first president of the conference
 Led the March on Washington in 1963 and gave the
famous “I have a dream” speech before hundreds of
thousands of marchers.
 Named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
 Led a voting rights demonstration in Selma, Alabama in
1965
 Was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee by
James Earl Ray
 Sent to Congress by John F. Kennedy after the March on
Washington
 Signed into law by Lyndon Johnson after a Senate
filibuster
 Made discrimination in public accommodations such as
hotels and restaurants illegal based on race, religion, or
national origin
 Made discrimination in employment illegal based on
race, religion, or national origin
 Created the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) that had the responsibility of
reporting and investigating complaints of job
discrimination.
 Title VII of the Act made discrimination against women
illegal
 Facts: the Heart of Atlanta Motel was located just off an
interstate highway running through Atlanta. The motel
owner refused to abide by the provisions of the civil Rights
Act of 1964 and would not allow African-American
patrons.
 Issue: Whether the Congress had the authority to pass the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 by using the elastic clause of the
Constitution that expanded the interpretation of the
interstate commerce.
 Decision: The Supreme Court ruled that the motel owner
violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that the act itself
was constitutional.
 Significance: the Court in its decision upheld the act on
the basis of Congress’s authority to regulate interstate
commerce- “in relation to the interstate flow of goods and
people”
 Southern states had passed laws such as poll
taxes and literacy tests that resulted in
minorities not being able to vote.
 In 1964 there were almost three million
African-Americans who were not registered to
vote in 11 southern states
 The 24th amendment to the US Constitution
banned all poll taxes in federal primary and
general elections
 As a result of this amendment, Congress began
its oversight into attempts to block AfricanAmericans from voting
 Gave the attorney general the power to determine
which states were in violation of discriminating
against African American voters
 If a state had fewer than half the eligible voters
registered, the attorney general could send in
federal officials to facilitate voter registration
 As a result of this act, African-American voter
registration more than doubled in the South in the
first 5 yrs. of the act
 The act was challenged and ruled constitutional by
the Supreme court
 The act’s provisions were used to challenge
“majority-minority” redistricting that resulted when
state legislatures drew congressional districts that
were gerrymandered in favor of minority groups.
 Equal Opportunity Act of 1964 gave funding for
education and work training to fight poverty;
part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great
Society program
 The Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned
discrimination in housing based on race
 The Civil Rights Act of 1991 strengthened the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 by providing damages
to individuals employed who were intentionally
discriminated against
 The Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act of 1988 bans discrimination in federal
funding in relief operations.
 Affirmative Action is giving equal opportunity to
individuals to attend schools, obtain employment,
and housing that were denied as a result of race
 The theory behind affirmative action programs is
that the government is creating a level playing field
and making up for past inequities
 A goal of affirmative action programs is the creation
of diversity in society
 Affirmative action programs can be race-based but
cannot utilize quotas to achieve its goals
 Originally, affirmative action programs were aimed
at African-Americans but they were later expanded
to include other minority groups.
 Facts: Alan Bakke, a white student, applied to admission
in the University of California’s medical school. His scores
on the admission tests were not high enough to get
admitted but higher than the standard used by the school
to accept a quota of minority students. Bakke claimed
that there was reverse discrimination
 Issue: whether the 14th amendment’s equal protection
clause applied to Bakke even though he was not part of a
minority. Whether the practice of setting aside 18 percent
of its seats for minority students was constitutional
 Decision: The Supreme Court ruled that Bakke should
have been admitted to the school. The Court also decided
that quotas were constitutional but that race could be
used as a factor for admission to colleges and
universities.
 Green v. County School Board of Kent County, Va. (1968)
required affirmative action program to achieve school
integration
 City of Richmond v. JA Croson Co. (1989) struck down a
Richmond, VA affirmative action program because the
state did not show “compelling interest” in creating one
 Metro Broadcasting Inc. v. FCC upheld the FCC’s decision
to award a broadcasting license to a minority group in
order to create diversity
 Gratz v. Bollinger, Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) the Court
upheld the Bakke principle of race-based affirmative
action by striking down the undergraduate admissions
program at the University of Michigan undergraduate
school in Gratz and upholding the graduate program at
the University of Michigan Law School.
 Women were not originally given political equality in the US
constitution
 In 1848, at the Seneca Falls convention, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton led the fight for political suffrage through The
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
 The 19th amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote
 Women achieved more equality in the workplace during
World War II as illustrated by the “Rosie the Riveter” poster
 Equal pay has been an ongoing struggle for women
attempting to break through what has been called “the glass
ceiling.”
 The ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the
Constitution failed.
 Congress passed Title IX of the Education Act of 1972,
creating more equity in federally funded education programs
and the Equal Pay Act of 1973
 The 19th amendment gives women the right to
vote and gives Congress the authority to pass
legislation to enforce this
 Women have become a major voting bloc since
they received the right to vote. More women
than men vote in presidential elections
 There has been a “gender gap” in the support of
presidential candidates with more women than
men supporting Democratic candidates
 Females candidates for political office have also
increased since 1920 with a dramatic increase
taking place after 1992
 The amendment’s goal was to establish a
constitutional guarantee of equality for women
similar to the original intent of the 14th amendment
‘s equal protection clause that gave equality to
African-Americans
 The House passed the amendment in 1971 and the
Senate ratified it in 1972. It then was sent to the
state legislatures where the amendment needed
3/4ths of the states to pass it by 1982
 The National Organization of Women (NOW) was one
the primary interest groups urging adoption
 Opponents claimed that the amendment was
unnecessary because the 14th amendment had
provisions that gave equal protection to citizens
 The Equal Rights Amendment failed by three states
 Act provided that there could not be discrimination
based on gender in any federally funded program
 As a result of Title IX there became parity between
men and women in high school and college athletic
and curricular programs.
 School systems had to appoint a Title IX coordinator
to endure enforcement of the regulations
 School systems had to conduct a self-evaluation and
correct any inequities that existed in their programs
 Due to Title IX, there have been major advances
made by women in athletics and in achieving higher
educational degrees.
 “breaking the glass ceiling” refers to women
and minorities being able to break through
what are considered unofficial barriers in
business, the workplace, politics, and society
 Historically, women have not been given
positions such as chief executive officers. They
have not been given positions on Board of
Directors and have earned less money than men
working in the same job.
 Over the past 20 years there have been major
gains made by women as corporate officers,
business owners, and elective office holders.





1996
Facts: The Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a state
supported school receiving federal funds, had a male
only admissions policy. The U.S., on behalf of women
applicants, brought suit against Virginia because
women were forced to attend an all-female school,
the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership.
Issue: Did VMI’s admission policy violate the 14th
amendment’s equal protection clause?
Decision: Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority
decision ruling that the school’s female policy was
discriminatory and that VMI had to accept women to
their school.
Significance: The decision further broadened the 14th
amendment’s equal protection clause




People having disabilities make up 20% of the
American population
They include people having physical, mental, and
emotional disabilities
The GI Bill of Rights (1944) and the Education of
All Handicapped Children Act (1975), now called
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
provided protection for returning disabled
soldiers and disabled children attending schools
The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act
(1990) had 63 Senate co-sponsors including
wounded veterans Bob Dole, John Kerry, and John
McCain







1990
Defined disability as “a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities”
Required employees, schools, transportation systems, public
buildings to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of
handicapped individuals by providing such things as ramps,
elevators, and other appropriate accommodations
Made it illegal for employers to discriminate against the
handicapped requiring employers to protect the rights of the
disabled by providing accommodations for those workers
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces the law
Law had generated litigation (lawsuits) against employers and
municipalities regarding what accommodations must be made to
the disabled
States have had to provide funding to make public
accommodations available


Gay Americans have fought for equal
protections under the law through legislation
in Congress and state legislatures and
through court fights and they have been
elected to state and national offices
Bowersv. Hardwick (1993)