Day 10

chapter five

difference between civil liberties and civil rights
civil liberties are what the government cannot do
civil rights are inseparable and inalienable what the government must provide and protect

not everyone was equal, despite the statement that equality is of paramount importance

african americans were brought in as slaves, property
they had no rights
when the constitution was written, they had a 3/5s compromise, dehumanizing and depersonalizing them

quakers said we look like hypocrites, we need to abolish slavery

dred scott vs stanford
moved from slave state to free state
slavery protected by constitutions, no slaves had any rights

reconstruction" three civil war amendments: 13, 14, 15

13th amendment abolished slavery, no more servitude
14th defined citizenship, under that definition african americans were now humans and citizens
abolished slavery and overturned the dred scott case
extended the bill of rights to all parts of the united states
15th enfranchised african americans, gave them the right to vote
however, this still did not give females teh right to vote
1865 (end of civil war) to 1875 saw the birth of the civil rights acts

despite the 13 14 15 amendment, there was a number of cases called the civil rights cases in 1883
1896 saw plessy vs. fergusson
both of these concerned the prevailing discrimination against african americans
the arguments were over whether private individuals can discriminate or only the government
it was decided that private individuals can discriminate in 1883

plessy vs. fergusson legalized segregation

supreme court agreed with lousiana that it was okay to seperate as long as conditions were equal
this established de jure segregation, apartheid, jim crow

de jure - by law
de facto -residential
-cultural
-institutional
-structural

the values and attitudes were embedded into the fabric of society

jim crow laws were backed by the constitution
this allowed lawmakers to established white supremacy

democratic party was the party of the south
they were for slavery, for breaking away from the union
the great depression allowed the dems to reinvent themselves as progressives
reactionary party pre-depression
dems insisted on white primaries
because the democratic party was extra-constitutional, and a private club, they could exclude blacks from participating

grandfather clause
those who wanted to vote would have to prove that their grandfather had been a citizen before 1867
why choose 1867? because in 1868 the 14th amendment was put into the constitution, and gave citizenship to african americans
they decided that it was an imposition on them, and found a way around it
poll tax; you have to pay a tax in order to vote
literacy test; one of the slave laws was to prevent african americans to learn to read and write
it was against the law to teach african americans to read and write
communications were seen as dangerous
they would use physical, extra-legal means (lynching) to demonstrate to others to stop participating

until 1954, naacp, in niagra falls, was a constant struggle
eventually the plessy vs. fergusson was overturned with a new interpretation of the 14th amendment
brown 1 in 1954 calling for integration and the abandonment of apartheid
brown 2 with all deliberate speed, you don;t have to rush, but work towards it

rosa parks refused to give up her place on the bus, and the civil rights movement was launched
martin luther king jr was chosen to lead the campaign, using a policy of non-violence
used mahatma ghandi's theory
during the cold war, a war of ideology
kennedy had introduced the civil rights act, but it was languishing because two senators were filibustering, strom thurmond and jesse helms
a filibuster can be broken in the senate by cloture, 3/5 vote by the senators (60 votes)
lynden got enough senators to break the filibuster
then the civil rights act of 1964 was passed

pg 155, the provisions of the civil rights act

voting rights act of 1965
ended literacy test, federal marshalls were sent to make sure it was of personal choice and not extra-legal means

malcolm x advocated teh idea that blacks should not fight, but if they were hit, they should hit back
this was a different tack then king's policy of non-violence

affirmative action becomes a problem of fragmenting groups, pitting them against each other
consciousness in a society will lead to change
your world shapes your perspectives
it's who controls the institutions that makes the decisions
ghettos and barrios prevent the integration of all groups into society
the next generation's challenge is to deal with fragmenting
greenwood was a very prosperous city, run by black professionals and businesspeople

women's struggle
women equated their position to slavery, but the delegates from america (two women) were not allowed in
seneca falls 1848, they rewrote the constitution
women's declaration of independence
formation of women's association
1880 they joined all the women's right's organizations together
in 1920, the 19th amendment was put into the constitution, allowing women to vote
in 1923 they introduced the equal rights amendment
in 1963 betty friedman introduced the feminine mystique, introduced the idea that women felt they were treated as second-class citizens

introduction of ms. magazine, to talk about the language used
they fought against the term that miss and mrs were conditionally important when attached to men
equal pay for equal work - this is the law, passed in 1963
comparable work - all jobs and all work can be done by either sex
for the society to be free, you have to liberate the master and the slave, so that the master will not look for a slave

there were conservative women that opposed era
the argument was that if you introduced the era, you would introduce lesbianism and abortion
also was the issue of benefits of being a women
the draft was also an issue, and war veterans
other groups cited the disintegration of the american family
difference between sex and gender

all of sexual harassment comes down to power
the glass ceiling is a promotion problem
illegal immigration and education
definition of hispanics are caucasian, but most are not caucasian, they're mestizos


creoles
mestizos
mulatos
blacks
indians

there's a fragmentation within the hispanic community?

democratics and republicans are worried about which party the immigrants would choose
in the thirties it was possible to define hispanics as caucasian
now they are defined as people of color

asians are not all one group
pacific islanders
pacific rim
dark skinned asians

if all of these groups were to join, how would the groups vote?

bilingual education wouldn;t be a problem if we all agreed that a second language is a necessity to graduate
nafta has spanish and french as a requirement
nafta and ftaa to integrate