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US CIVIL RIGHTS - Coggle Diagram
US CIVIL RIGHTS
PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
the constitution:
framers of constitution aimed to protect citizens from an overly powerful govt.
checks and balances limit the powers of each branch of govt.
US SC was established in Article 3 of the constitution, giving citizens a court of final appeal if they feel that their rights have been infinged.
by designing an entrenched constitution, with a complex amendment process, the framers aim to prevent citizens' rights from being removed by future govts or legislatures.
the bill of rights:
the 10 amendments in this were intended to protect the civil liberties of us citizens from the actions of govt.
examples include:
1st amendment: freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly.
2nd amendment: the right to keep and bear arms.
6th amendment: right to fair trial.
8th amendment: prohibits cruel and unfair punishment.
subsequent amendments to the constitution:
in 1791, when it was first ratified, the bill of rights only applied to free persons, not enslaved persons, and women were not treated equally.
further amendments to the constitution were required to ensure the rights of all americans were protected:
13th amendment: abolished slavery.
14th amendment: gave formerly enslaved people full citizenship.
19th amendment: gave women the right to vote.
24th amendment: right to vote without paying a tax.
landmark rulings of the supreme court:
SC interprets the constitution in relation to modern civil rights and liberties cases.
landmark rulings have fundamentally changed the civil rights of americans.
1954 Brown v. Board of education Topeka: struck down doctrine of 'separate but equal'.
1973 Roe v. Wade: ruled women had the right to abortion in the early stages of pregnancy - overturned in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organisation.
2015 Obergefell v. Hodges: ruled same-sex couples had the right to marry.
ROLE OF PRESSURE GROUPS IN PROMOTING AND SUPPORTING RIGHTS
the right of citizens to form pressure groups is covered in the first amendment.
liberal pressure groups have tended to work for the rights of black people, women and the LGBTQ+ community whilst conservative groups have worked for religious rights, the rights of the unborn child and gun rights.
groups raise funds and pay for campaign to influence the public, politicians and judiciary.
these include internet campaigns, social media, organising rallies and marches and tv advertising.
political campaigning involves lobbying congress, state legislatures and federal and state govts, and making donations to electoral candidates.
legal campaign includes sponsoring legal cases and writing amicus curiae briefs.
pressure groups play a key role in promoting and supporting rights, although in recent years social movements have received considerable public and media attention including:
Black Lives Matter
the Women's March
hashtag MeToo
anti lockdown movement during covid.
EXAMPLES OF PRESSURE GROUPS THAT PROMOTE AND SUPPORT RIGHTS IN THE USA
the naacp:
the national association for the advancement of coloured people.
usa's oldest civil rights group with more than half a mill members.
achieved major successes in 50s and 60s as part of civil rights movement.
used conventional campaign methods whereas MLK and other civil rights leaders employed direct action.
legal work:
funded SC case of Brown v. Board of Education Topeka 1954 and provided legal representation and aid for civil rights protestors arrested by the govt.
mobilisation:
helped plan 1963 march on washington which included MLK's historic speech and ran black american voter registration.
lobbying:
lobbied congress to pass civil rights acts of 1957, 64 and 68 and voting rights act of 1965.
21st century:
focused on equal economic, education, health, criminal jsutice and voting rights for black people including social media and hashtag wearedonedying.
2020 national voter mobilisation campaign contributed to a record black voter turnout and election of the first VP of colour.
nra:
the national rifle association.
one of most influential groups in lobbying us politics.
has around 5 mill grassroots members, generating more than $100mill in membership fees each year.
spent $30mill on supporting trumps presidential campaign in 2016 - was disappointed at the ban on bump stocks in 2019 from his administration.
credited with great influence on the republican party - in 2018 only 6 republicans in congress hadn't received funding from them.
almost all their election funding went to the republicans in 2020 with the Democrats getting under $7,000.
used influence in congress to resist attempts at gun control legislation following mass school shootings like the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.
legal and financial problems forced it to reduce election spending from $54mill in 2016 to $29mill in 2020.
most americans support stricter gun laws - though figure fell from 60% in 2019 to 53% in 2021.
american civil liberties union:
ACLU.
has over 1.75mill members and a staff of 300 lawyers who defend civil liberties in courts.
defends civil liberties of all americans including the rights of american nazis or the kkk.
argue that liberties must be protected for those with views that many people find abhorrent, or nothing will stop govt from taking away civil liberties entirely.
numerous successes - incl their support of the NAACP in the Brown v. Board of Education SC case and the legalisation of abortion in the Roe v. Wade case.
21st century:
won court rulings to protect the right to the privacy of gay peoples, and against the teaching of intelligent design in science lessons in schools.
mounted multiple legal challenges to the national security measures introduced after 9/11 but these were of limited effectiveness.
filed more than 400 lawsuits against the trump administration.
challenged trumps 2017 travel ban on muslim countries - resulting in a temporary block on the ban, which was then modified by govt and ruled constitutional by the SC.
won a victory in the Bostock v. Clayton County 2020 SC ruling which made employment discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation unconstitutional.
pro-choice groups:
support a women's right to choose.
incl planned parenthood, NARAL, pro-choice america and NOW.
pro-life groups:
support the 'right to life' of the unborn foetus or embryo.
incl pro-life action leage, americans united for life and the national right to life.
THE IMPACT OF CIVIL RIGHTS ON US POLITICS: RACE
the civil rights movement:
direct action - boycotts and sit-ins.
brutality of police and many white citizens exposed through response to campaigners.
murder of black americans - like emmett till in 1955 - demonstrated failings of the criminal justice system to convict those responsible.
Brown v. Board of Education Topeka 1954.
MLK's famous speech.
congress passed civil rights act 1957, 64 and 68 and voting rights act 1965.
24th amendment (1964) protected black americans from discrimination in voting.
the Indian Civil Rights Act 1968 extended the bill of rights to indigenous americans in tribal govts.
election of obama in 2008 as first black president of usa.
affirmative action:
positive discrimination by employers or universities or federal or state govts to favour racial minorities.
liberals believed this was fair as it took account of economic and social disadvantages faced by many minorities.
conservatives argued it was a form of reverse discrimination and infringed the right of white americans not to be discriminated against.
it is banned in 9 us states.
in Fisher v. Uni of Texas 2016, the SC ruled it was legal provided that certain criteria were met.
current sc case against harvard uni for their use of race in admissions.
voting rights:
1965 voting rights act made it much easier for black americans to vote by removing most restrictions in southern states.
turnour among black americans increased signficantly, particularly in states where discrimination was highest - mississippi turnout increased from 7% in 1964 to 67% in 1969.
politicians began to tailor policies to attract the support of black voters and black politicians were elected.
Shelby County v. Holder 2013 SC case allowed states to impose restrictions on voting again arguing that the country had changed.
more than 20 states introduced restrictions including stricter voter identification requirements - hispanic and black american voter turnout dropped in states with strict identification laws whilst white turnout was barely affected.
black voter turnout fell by 7% in 2016 contributing to Hillary Clinton's defeat.
a huge voter mobilisation campaign by the democrats in 2020 produced record black american turnout and was crucial to bidens victory.
bidens For The People Act proposed a raft of new voting rights, incl same day registration, automatic voter registration and early voting - but was blocked by republican filibuster in june 2020.
incarceration rates:
modern civil rights campaigners argue that the criminal justice system is failing to provide equal rights.
incarceration rate for black americans is more than 5 times that of white americans.
a black man born in 2001 has a one in three chance of spending part of his life in prison whilst a white man of the same age has a one in 17 chance.
felony disenfranchisement meant that in 2020 one in every 16 black americans of voting age was no longer eligible to vote due to a previous criminal conviction - 3.7 times greater than for other americans.
black lives matter:
movement began in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting dead unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
subsequent police shootings of unarmed black americans resulted in street protests, some of which turned violent, such as Ferguson unrest in 2014.
numerous videos were posted online of police brutality towards unarmed black americans.
black americans 2.5% more likely to be killed by police than white americans.
indigenous americans are ethnicity most likely to be killed by police.
the movement has a campaign against systemic racism also.
the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin in 2020 sparked on of the biggest protests in us history the summer of 2020.
an estimated 23 mill people demonstrated across the country despite the covid pandemic.
some protestors engaged in violence against the police and looting.
some authorities targeted protestors with curfews, tear gas, smoke grenades and rubber bullets.
trumps threat to send in the military via twitter was criticised for being inflammatory.
the alt-right and domestic terrorism:
political movement made up of individuals who hold a range of far-right beliefs, including white supremacists, neo-nazis and neo-confederates.
black americans, hispanic americans and jews were killed in targeted shootings from 2015 onwards.
trump was associated with some leading alt-right figures.
he failed to condemn the far right after a liberal protestor was deliberately run over and killed at a rally in 2017 stating that there was violence 'on many sides'.
far right extremists cause 2/3 of terrorist activity in us in 2020.
hate crimes against asian americans increased 150% in 2020 after trump described covid as the 'china virus'.
far right armed militias pose a grave threat to democracy - swastikas and confederate flags were brandished at the 2021 capitol riots.