Unit 7: VA/US SOL Review

Unit 7: Modern AmericaSOLs 14 & 15

Reshaping American Society

• Supreme Court decisions can reshape American society.

• Brown v. Board of Education– Said that segregated schools are unequal & must

desegregate (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson)– Included a VA case (PE v. Davis, et. al)– In VA, there was massive resistance which included

closing of schools, establishing private academies and white flight from urban school systems.

Key People in the Courts

• Thurgood Marshall - NAACP Legal Defense Team– Became 1st black man on

Supreme Court

• Oliver Hill - on NAACP Legal Defense team in Virginia

Working for Civil Rights

• 1963 March on Washington– “I have a Dream” speech was given at this event

by Martin Luther King Jr.– The events of this March influenced public opinion

for civil rights legislation– The March demonstrated the power of

nonviolent, mass protest

African Americans, working through the court system and mass protest, reshaped public opinion and secured the passage of civil rights legislation

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• The act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender or national origin

• This act desegregated public accommodations• President Lyndon B. Johnson played an

important role in passing the Civil Rights Act

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• This act outlawed literacy tests• Sent Federal registrars to the South to register

voters• Increased African American voters• LBJ also played an important part in passing

this

Did you know?

• NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

• The NAACP challenged segregation in the courts.

• Which court case espoused a “separate but equal” doctrine?– Plessy v. Ferguson

• How many years was it before it was overturned?– 58 years (from 1896 to

1954)

Contemporary America & the US Supreme Court

• The US Supreme Court has included women & minorities such as Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg & Clarence Thomas. The United States Supreme Court protects the individual rights enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court also identified a constitutional basis for a right to privacy that is protected from government interference and invalidates legislative acts & executive actions that the justices agreed exceed the authority granted to government officials by the Constitution of the United States. The civil rights movement of the 1940ss 1950s and 1960s provided a model that other groups have used to extend civil rights & equal justice.

Immigration

Reasons: -Political Freedom -Economic opportunity

Issues Related to Immigration Policy: -Strain on government services -Filling low paying jobs in the US - Border issues -Pathway to citizenship -Bilingual education -Increasing cultural diversity

Contributions:-Diversity in music, the visual arts & literature-Roles in labor force-Achievements in science, engineering, and other fields

Space Program• The 1960s saw a race to the moon with increased support for

American space program from President John Kennedy• US Astronaut John Glenn was the first American to orbit the

Earth• American astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to step

onto the moon’s surface in 1969• Who said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for

mankind?”– Neil Armstrong

• Who was the 1st female American astronaut?– Sally Ride

Examples of Technological Advances

• Space Exploration– Space shuttle– Mars rover– Voyager missions– Hubble telescope

• Robotics

• Communication– Satellite – 24 Hr. News = CNN– Global positioning

system (GPS)– Personal communication

devices – Cellular phones– World Wide Web

Changes in Work, School &Health Care

• Telecommuting• Online course work• Growth of service industries• Outsourcing & offshoring• Breakthroughs in medical research, including

improved medical diagnostic and imaging technologies– Polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk

Reagan & the Republicans

• Reagan & other conservative Republicans advocated for:– Tax cuts– Transfer of responsibilities to state governments– Appointment of judges/ justices who exercised

“judicial restraint”– Reduction in the number and scope of

government programs & regulations– Strengthening of the American military

The Reagan Revolution

• The election of Reagan’s VP, George H. W. Bush as President

• The election of a centrist Democrat, Bill Clinton

• The Republican sweep of congressional elections & statehouses in the 1990s

• The election of George W. Bush

Government & the Economy

• Government promotes a healthy economy characterized by full employment & low inflation through the actions of:– Federal Reserve: monetary policy decisions control

the supply of money & credit to expand or contract economic growth

– President & Congress: fiscal policy decisions determine levels of government taxation & spending; government regulates the economy

International Terrorism• The US has confronted the increase in international

terrorism by formulating domestic & international policies aimed at stopping terrorism. The United States responded to terrorism with heightened security at home (Patriot Act) and diplomatic and military initiatives.

• What is the Patriot Act?– An act signed into law in 2001, after 9/11, expanding the

authority of US law enforcement agencies for the purpose of fighting terrorism in the US & abroad.

Question Time!!!

Show me what you know

So the registrar [at the circuit clerk’s office] gave me the sixteenth section of the Constitution of Mississippi. He pointed it out in the book & told me to look at it and … interpret what I had read. That was impossible. I had tried to give it, but I didn’t even know what it meant, much less to interpret it.

-Fannie Lou Hamer

1. This practice was outlawed with the passage of the ---

A. 15th AmendmentB. Civil Rights Act of 1964C. 19th AmendmentD. Voting Rights Act of 1965

2. Over the last three decades, the American work force has had to acquire & improve skills in ---A. Computer technologyB. Automobile repairC. Heavy machineryD. Medical equipment

3. Modern American schools adapted to serve new immigrants in the US by---A. Limiting vocational programsB. Offering bilingual educationC. Offering extracurricular activitiesD. Requiring physical education

4. Which part of the national government controls the supply of money in the economy?A. CongressB. Treasury DepartmentC. PresidentD. Federal Reserve

Late 1900s

5. Which innovation best completes this diagram?A. RadioB. NewspaperC. Satellite dishD. Compact disc

Televised News ????? Better informed rural population