Unit 6

Civil Rights

Section 1: Citizenship and Immigration

• ***Citizens only can vote, hold elected office, and serve on juries. The Constitution and Congress have established the ways people may become U.S. citizens and the ways their citizenship may be lost.

Becoming a United States Citizen

• Being born to US citizens• Being born in the US or in

a US territory• Jus sanguinis—if 1 parent

is a US citizen and you are born in a foreign country

A. By Birth

Becoming a United States Citizen

• Be a lawful resident of the US for 5 continuous years

• 18 years old• Completes a citizenship application• Is able to speak, read, and write English• Demonstrates good moral character, belief

in the principles of the Constitution, and knowledge of US history and government

• Supports the order and happiness of the United States

• Takes an oath of allegiance to the United States at a swearing-in ceremony

B. Through naturalization

—legal way immigrants become US

citizens

• Video of naturalization in New York City

Denaturalization—Losing Citizenship

• Is this possible?• If so, what would a person have to do to be

denaturalized?

Denaturalization

Person became a US

citizen by fraud

Expatriation—when a person

voluntarily gives up their

citizenship

Lied about background or provides other false

info during the naturalization process

A person is naturalized as

a citizen or pledging

allegiance to another country

Section 2: Diversity and Equal Protection

• Concern over the number of newcomers coming into the US has led to efforts to restrict immigration. The US has both benefited and suffered from immigration over the years.

Immigration Policies—they have changed over the years

• A. Unrestricted immigration• Before late 1800’s—anybody could come to the US

– Land– Jobs– Freedom

• Competition for land and jobs led to tension around 1900.

• B. Immigration Restrictions• Hostility toward immigrants led Congress over time to restrict

immigration• 1882—Congress passed a tax on those who entered the country • 1882—Congress passed law that denied entry for convicted

criminals• 1882—Congress passed law that banned all Chinese (California

—Chinese immigrants took less money to do jobs—this took jobs away from the natives)

• 1900—restricted Japanese immigration• 1921 and 1924—set limits for immigrants on each country

– Amounts favored western European countries

• C. Immigration Policy Today– 1950’s—100 per Asian country allowed– 1965: Immigration and Nationality Act

» 290,000/year» 120,000/Western Europe» 170,000/other countries

– 1990: Immigration Act—675,000– Today: many more from Asian and Latin American countries

allowed in

• Current Immigration Policy in the United States

Pro/Con of Illegal Immigration

• D. Illegal immigration• Millions of illegals in US today• Illegal aliens—do not have immigration papers

– Deported if caught• Amnesty—general pardon that gov gives to people who

have broken a law– Gov has allowed illegal immigrants amnesty—if they can prove they

have been here for a certain length, they can be given citizenship• 1996: Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant

Responsibility Act of 1996—increased border patrol and provided for stronger penalties for creating and using false ID papers

A Nation of Diversity–Benefits•Mix of people, culture, and traditions• Foods, music, literature, and celebrations•Creativity•Chinatown, Polish Village, Little Italy

• –Challenges•Prejudice in hiring, firing, promotions•Discrimination

Section 3: Struggle for Civil Rights

• ***Civil rights: powers or privileges that governments grant to individuals to guarantee their equal treatment under the law

Equal Protection of the Law

• state gov may not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”

• THIS IS THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE!!!!!!!

A. 14th Amendment

• at times, gov. can distinct between people

• Ex: charge people to come into a park. Non-park users do not pay

B. Reasonable distinction

When is discrimination considered reasonable? 2 guidelines

A. Rational basis testIf gov has a rational reason Ex:

drinking age

B. Strict Scrutiny TestInvolve cases where gov makes

distinctions between people based on race or national origin

This usually does not happenExample: Korematsu vs. the

Unted States

Links

• Strict Scrutiny• Korematsu vs. the United States• Korematsu vs. United States video

Civil Rights and Equal Protection

• Civil rights movement—the struggle by minorities and women to gain in practice the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution

2 types of segregation

• Segregation by law• Ex: Jim Crow LawsA. De Jure

Segregation

• segregation in fact. No law—but it’s still there

• Ex: Integrated public school in the 1970s

B. De Facto Segregation

Court cases

A. Plessy vs. Ferguson

1896

Rail cars

Separate but equal was found to be OK by the Supreme Court

B. Brown vs. Board of Education

1954

Schools

Separate but equal was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme

Court

Court case links

• Plessy vs. Ferguson• Brown vs. Board of Education

Why did the Court reverse its decision?

• It was a different time period and people’s attitudes on race changed

• There were 9 new justices on the Supreme Court

• This case proves that the Constitution is a living document—it changes and grows with the times!!!!!

Section 4: Civil Rights Laws

• ***Civil rights movement did not end with victories in court. Marches, speeches, protests and close work with lawmakers have helped keep civil rights movement going

Civil Rights Laws

A. Civil Rights Act

of 1866

• sought to give all races the right to vote

Civil Rights Act

of 1875

• outlawed racial discrimination in public places

These laws were not enforced, especially in the South.

Nonviolent Protests

• 1955 Rosa Parks– Montgomery, Alabama bus boycotts

• 1960 sit-ins– Greensboro, NC Woolworth store– They refused to serve African-Americans at the store– Lasted for months

• Congress of Racial Equality, 1961– Freedom Rides

» Bus trips from the North to the South to protest segregation» Sometimes, they were attacked by mobs

• March on Washington– August, 1963– Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech

Changes Take Hold• 1964 Civil Rights Act

– Forbade segregation in public places» Schools started to integrate

– Called for an end to discrimination in the work place» Hiring, firing, promotions

• Voting Rights Act of 1965– Helped African-Americans equal opportunity of voting– No more literacy tests or poll taxes

• Civil Rights Acts of 1968 and 1991– Prohibited discrimination based on race, national origin, and

religion in advertising, financing, sale, and rental of housing– Strengthened protections against discrimination in the workplace

Extending Civil Rights

– Hispanic-Americans• Equal rights for this group• Also, more are represented in elected office

– American Indians– Asian Americans– People with Disabilities– Women• Equal Pay Act