the meaning of political inequality equal rights

The Meaning of Political Inequality

Equal Rights

© EMC Publishing, LLC

Equality and the LawAll American citizens have equal rights

before the law. The government applies equality through

the law.Denying rights to certain groups of people

is called discrimination.


Equality and the LawDenying rights to citizens who break

society’s rules is considered just and reasonable. Example: Convicted felons are not allowed to vote while in prison.

Treating people differently because of race, religion, gender, or age may or may not be considered just and reasonable.


Equality and Thomas Jefferson


Pressure on the Supreme CourtIn determining whether a law is good, the

U.S. Supreme Court must balance two interests:The constitutional rights of the people

affected by the law, such as minoritiesThe government’s responsibility to pass

necessary lawsIf the Court determines that a law is bad, it

can and should overturn that law.


Three Tiers of Legal ClassificationThe Supreme Court must decide if laws that

treat people differently are constitutional.The Court uses a formula for making those

decisions.That formula places laws that discriminate

into three categories, or tiers:SuspectQuasi-suspectNonsuspect


Suspect ClassificationLaws are classified as suspect if they treat

people differently because of race or threaten a basic human right.

Suspect classification status causes the courts to use strict scrutiny.

The courts uphold suspect legislation if a compelling state interest exists.

Example: The government had a compelling state interest for relocating Japanese Americans to camps during World War II.


Quasi-suspect ClassificationLaws are classified as quasi-suspect if they

treat people differently because of gender.With quasi-suspect laws, legitimate grounds

for treating people differently may or may not exist.

Quasi-suspect laws are subject to an intermediate standard of review.

The courts uphold quasi-suspect legislation if it promotes an important state interest.

Example: During the Vietnam War, women were not required to register for the draft.


Nonsuspect ClassificationLaws are classified as nonsuspect if they

discriminate on the basis of age, wealth, or sexual orientation.

Nonsuspect laws must pass the rational basis test.

The courts allow nonsuspect laws if the government can show it had a good reason for passing them.

Example: The government had a rational basis to require accessibility for people with disabilities.


Different Kinds of EqualityAmericans generally want all people to be

treated equally while having the freedom to be unique.

The government’s job is to ensure fair treatment and equal opportunity for all.

Creating and changing laws has not always resulted in fair and equal outcomes.

Courts continue struggling to secure equal rights for all.

Equal Rights

Rights Denied to African Americans


Black Americans and SlaverySlavery is involuntary servitude, or forcing

people to work against their will.Black Americans were forced into slavery

because of their skin color. This is an example of racism.

Slavery was not just a moral issue, but an economic and political one as well.

The South depended on slave labor for economic stability.


U.S. Government and SlaveryThe U.S. Constitution does not explicitly

allow slavery.In 1857, in Dred Scott v. Sanford, the

Supreme Court ruled that the founders did not intend blacks to be citizens.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in states rebelling against the Union.


U.S. Government and SlaveryIn 1865, the 13th Amendment banned

slavery and the 14th Amendment guaranteed all people the rights of citizenship.

1n 1870, the 15th Amendment extended the right to vote to all adult males.


Segregation and the Jim Crow EraSouthern states used Jim Crow laws to deny

blacks the right to vote.Voters had to pay a poll tax, which some

blacks were too poor to pay.Voters had to pass a literacy test, but many

blacks had been denied an education and could not read.

Grandfather clauses allowed whites who could not read to vote.

The Jim Crow laws were part of a half century of segregation—separate facilities for blacks and whites.


“Separate but Equal” and the Struggle for EqualityIn 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson established the

separate but equal doctrine, which said states could separate the races if facilities for each were equal.

Laws giving blacks their rights were enacted at the national level, but the government was not willing to enforce them.

In 1910, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed to fight for civil rights.


Equal Rights in Public SchoolsIn Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the

Supreme Court ruled that:Separate schools could never be equalSegregation in education was

unconstitutionalPresident Dwight D. Eisenhower sent 1,000

federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to guarantee that children entered school in safety.


The Civil Rights MovementIn 1956, Rosa Parks, a black woman, was

arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for sitting in the front of a bus.

Montgomery law required blacks to sit in the back of the bus.


The Civil Rights MovementParks’s action led blacks to boycott the bus

system in Montgomery.Boycott: People stop purchasing the goods

or services to make a business change its practices.

In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery’s law was unconstitutional.


Two Kinds of DiscriminationDe jure discrimination: Discrimination by

lawLaws treat people differently according to a

certain characteristic.Example: Regulations forced blacks in

Alabama to sit at the back of the bus.De facto discrimination: Discrimination

in factSociety treats people differently because of

past differences.Example: Different races settled in different

areas of New York.


Fighting De Jure LegislationMartin Luther King Jr. used nonviolent

tactics to reverse segregation legislation.The Civil Rights Act of 1964:

Reinforced voting lawsHelped eliminate segregation in schoolsDenied federal money to programs that

discriminatedProhibited discrimination in public facilities and

employmentSet up the EEOC to investigate claims of

discrimination in jobs


Fighting De Facto DiscriminationAffirmative action: The conscious effort

to improve opportunities for disadvantaged people

Quota system: Limitation of a group to a specific number of participants in relation to the wholeExample: Out of every 100 places for

incoming students, the University of California, Davis, reserves 16 places for minority students, regardless of whether their work is equal to that of other students.

Reverse discrimination: Discrimination against the majority in an attempt to help the minority

Equal Rights

Rights Denied to Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans


Discrimination and Native AmericansThe United States did not preserve the

cultural, spiritual, and political traditions of Native Americans.

Congress forced Native Americansonto reservations (public landsset aside for Native Americans).

Moving to reservations destroyedthe Native Americans’ social andeconomic structures.

This often led to alcoholism,poverty, and unemployment for Native Americans.


Native American Challenges TodayNative Americans face three main

challenges:One-fifth live in poverty.High school graduation rate is only 51

percent.Alcoholism is a problem.

Casinos have not substantially reduced poverty.

The political situation has improved:An executive order protects sacred religious

sites.Increased representation in Washington,

D.C., may improve legislation for Native Americans.


Hispanic AmericansHispanic Americans, or Latinos, are the largest

minority group in America—13 percent of the population.

Most Hispanics comefrom Mexico, followedby Puerto Rico, andCentral America.

Many Hispanics speakSpanish as theirprimary language andEnglish as their secondlanguage.


The Language BarrierThe United States ranks sixth in the

world in the number of people who speak Spanish as their first language.

Difficulty arises when citizens cannot communicate with each other.

A single national language allows all citizens to discuss state issues, ballot decisions, and candidate speeches.

English-only movement: Movement to make English the official language of the United States


Illegal ImmigrationMuch controversy exists over

illegal immigration, especially those crossing the border from Mexico.

Illegal immigrants often want the same civil rights as legalcitizens.

The U.S. government tries either to legalize or deport illegal immigrants.

Question: Should illegal immigrants have the same rights as legal citizens?


Hispanics in U.S. PoliticsIn the 1960s, Cesar Chavez organized farm

workers and served as an icon for Hispanic civil rights.

Hispanics have organized to fight for political rights, and Hispanic voter registration has increased by 50 percent.

A total of 23 Hispanic representatives and 3 Hispanic senators were elected to the 110th Congress.

New Mexico had the first Hispanic governor.

Alberto Gonzales was the first Hispanic U.S. attorney general.


Asian ImmigrationAsian Americans come from China, Japan,

Korea, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Early assimilation was difficult for Asian Americans.

Today, Asian Americans typically do well in school and earn more money as adult citizens.


Japanese Americans during World War IIIn 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt

ordered Japanese and Japanese Americans to internment camps (government camps).They had to abandon or sell their

property.Two-thirds were legal

American citizens.In 1988, President Ronald

Reagan returned $1.25 billion to survivors of the ordeal.

Equal Rights

Rights Denied to Women


Traditional Roles of WomenIn the 1800s, women could not:

Sign contractsOwn propertyVote

One senator argued thatwomen should not votebecause they had a“higher and holier mission…at home.”


Women’s SuffrageSuffrage is the right to vote.The National Woman Suffrage

Association movement began in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.

The Wyoming Territory granted women the right to vote in 1869.

From 1870 to 1910, women waged campaigns in 33 states but gained the vote in only two: Colorado and Idaho.


Gaining Voter StatusIn 1890, the National American Woman

Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed.

By 1912, NAWSA had helped women get the vote in several states.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution, giving women nationwide the right to vote.


Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

attempted to:Ban discrimination on the basis of genderGuarantee women the equal protection of the

lawsSupporters wanted equal treatment

for women and men in all areas.Opponents wanted women and

men to be treated according to more traditional roles.

The ERA was approved by Congress in 1972 but was never ratified by the states.


Gender Discrimination TodayThe government treats gender

discrimination as quasi-suspect.As a result, laws that treat men and women

differently:Are subject to intermediate standard of

reviewMust serve an important government

purposeWomen today earn 76 cents for every dollar

earned by men.Some argue that a “glass ceiling” prevents

women from rising to the top ranks in business.


Discrimination Around the World

In Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban ruled that women had to wear a burqa, a garment that covered them from head to toe with only a mesh opening for breathing.

Turkish women were granted the right to get a job without their husbands’ consent in 2002.

In Kuwait, women received the right to vote in 2005.


Women in U.S. Politics TodayWomen spend more money on campaigns

than men, but fewer women are interested in running for office.

Women are underrepresented in Congress and state legislatures.

Female representation is on the rise:In 1971, women made up 2 percent of

Congress.In 2006, women made up 16.3 percent of

Congress.The growing number of female candidates

may expand future electoral opportunities for women.

the meaning of political inequality equal rights

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quasisuspect laws

nonsuspect laws

quasisuspect legislation

suspect classification

constitutional rights

certain groups of people