| A | B |
|---|
| Civil Rights | Became part of the Constitution with the adoption of the 14th Amendment in 1868= Is guaranteed to all citizens through "EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS" (i.e. Equal Protection Clause [part of the 14th Amendment]) |
| Result of the 14th Amendment's "Equal Protection Clause" | Equal Protection Clause (which guaranteed Civil Rights to each citizen through "equal protection of the laws") caused century of political movements/legal efforts to press for racial equality |
| Result of African Americans' quest for civil rights | Inspired many other groups (e.g. members of other racial/ethnic groups, women, people with disabilities, gay men and lesbians) to seek new laws/constitutional guarantees of their civil rights |
| What seemed to provide a guarantee of civil rights for the newly freed enslaved blacks? | 14th Amendment (passed by Congress/ratified by the states in aftermath of the Civil War), together with the 13th Amendment (abolished slavery) and the 15th Amendment (guaranteed voting rights to black men) |
| What did the general language of the 14th Amendment mean? | Meant that its support for civil rights could be far reaching= The simplicity of the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE (of the 14th Amendment) left it open to interpretation |
| Equal Protection Clause | (14th Amendment) "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"= Is the provision of the 14th Amendment guaranteeing citizens "THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS"= This clause has served as the basis for the civil rights of Blacks, women, other groups |
| Supreme Court and Civil Rights aspects of the 14th Amendment | Was no more ready to enforce the civil rights aspects of the 14th Amendment than it was to enforce the civil liberties provisions |
| Civil Rights Act of 1875 | Court declared unconstitutional= Said it sought to protect black from discrimination by PRIVATE businesses, while the 14th Amendment (according to the Court's interpretation) was meant to protect individuals from discrimination ONLY in the case of actions by PUBLIC officials of state and local gov.= (Example of Court's hesitancy to enforce the civil rights aspects of the 14th Amendment) |
| Plessy vs. Ferguson | (1896) Court upheld Louisiana statute that required segregation of the races on trolleys and other public carriers (and, by implication, in all public facilities, including schools)= Homer Plessy (a man defined as "1/8 black") violated a Louisiana law that provided for "equal but separate accommodations" on trains and a $25 fine for any white passenger who sat in a car reserved for blacks or any black passenger who sat in a car reserved for whites= Court ruled that the 14th Amendment's "equal protection of the laws" was not violated by racial distinction as long as the facilities were equal (people generally pretended they were equal as long as some accommodation existed)= In its ruling, Court basically was saying that the use of race as a criterion of exclusion in public matters was not unreasonable (this was the origin of the "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" rule (wasn't reversed until 1954 |
| "Separate But Equal" Rule | Doctrine that public accommodations could be segregated by race but still be equal= Established in "Plessy vs. Ferguson")= Reversed in 1954 |
