FIve Principles of Politics - Political Science Notes

FIve principles of Politics Making Sense of Government and Politics ● Two fundamental questions about government and politics -What do we observe? An empirical question -Why? A fundamental concern of science ● Requires building a theory around principles -A third type of question is normative ● Two objectives -What is government and politics? -Introduce our five principles of politics Complexity of American Government Is No Accident ● Division of power among institutions was intended to allow competing interests access to power while preventing any one group from monopolizing power ● The American framework of government associates complexity with liberty and political opportunity What is Government? ● The institutions and procedures through which a land and its people are ruled ● Governments may be simple, like a tribal council that makes all decisions, or they may be complex, like our own system of separate branches and levels of government Forms of Government: Who Governs? ● Autocracy- a single individual rules ● Oligarchy- a small group of landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants rules ● Democracy- a system of rule that permits citizens to play significant part in the governmental process Recognition of Limits: ● Constitutional: formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of government ● Authoritarian- no formal limits are placed on government but government may be effectively limited by other social institutions ● Totalitarian- no formal or effective limits of any kind on government's power What is Politics? ● Conflict, struggle, cooperation, and collaboration over the leadership, structure, and policies of government ● Politics takes many forms- voting, running for office, joining groups and parties, lobbying, and even speaking to friends and neighbors ● The five principles of politics can be used to explain political action Introducing the Five Principles of Politics ● All political behavior has a purpose ● Institutions structure politics ● All politics is collective actions ● Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences, institutional procedures, and collective action ● How we got here matters Rationality Principle ● All political behavior has a purpose ● Political behavior is instrumental -It’s not random -It’s done with forethought (think in advance) -It’s calculated (utilities) ● Political actors pursue policy preferences, reelection, and power, and maximize their agency budgets Institution Principle ● Institutions structure politics ● Institutions are the rules and procedures that provide incentives for political behavior ● Remember that institutions themselves are not necessarily permanently fixed ● Rules may change; they just don't change easily Institutions Provide Authority in Four Ways ● Jurisdiction- the domain over which an institution or a political actor(party) has authority ● Agenda and veto power- control over what a group will consider for discussion and the ability to defeat something ● Decisiveness- rules for decision making ● Delegation- transmission of authority to some other official or body 1/22 Principal- Agent Relationship ● The relationship between someone with authority (the principal) and someone to whom power is delegated (the agent) ● This relationship may be affected by the fact that each party is motivated by self-interest may not be well-aligned Monitoring and Transaction Costs ● Because of conflicting interests, the principal needs to have a way to monitor what the agent is doing and punish or reward the agent ● This leads to transaction costs- the cost of clarifying the relationship and monitoring to make sure arrangements are complied with Collective Action Principle ● Political action is collective ● Collective action is difficult, and the difficulty mounts as the number of people and interests involved grows ● Sometimes there are collective action dilemmas- situations in which individually rational incentives do not align with shared collective interests Collective Action and Public Goods ● Collective action is the pooling of resources and the coordination of effort and activity to achieve common goals ● Public goods are those benefited enjoyed by anyone that may not be denied to anyone once they have been provided Collective Action is Difficult ● Collective action and provision of public goods becomes even more difficult as the number of parties involved increases and as the ability to bargain face to face is hampered Examples: 1. Free riding- not paying taxes but enjoying benefits 2. Tragedy of the commons- collective good being overused by people for their own good (self-interest) ● Institutions can be the solutions to these problems Policy Principle ● Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures ● The policy principle is the logical combination of the first three principles ● Policy outcomes are frequently “lacking in neatness” because we have a system where personal ambition mixes with a decentralized political system History Principle ● How we got here matters ● Path dependency- certain possibilities are made more or less likely because of the historical path taken ● Three reasons why history matters 1. Rules and procedures 2. Loyalties and alliances 3. Historically conditioned points of view Chapter 2- Constructing a The Founding and the First Principle of Politics ● All political behavior has a purpose ● ● The events of the Founding era were not primarily driven by philosophical debates Members of a colonial society should be understood as pragmatic political actors with disparate(distinct) interests The First Founding ● There was a variety of interests in colonial America ● The notable political sectors included -New England merchants -Southern planters -Royalists -Shoekeepers, artisans, and laborers (working class) -Small farmers The Founding and the History Principle ● Prior to the 1760s, the British were preoccupied with wars with France across several continents, so colonists were largely left to manage their own affairs ● As the war with France ended, the British sought to extract revenue from the colonies and to regulate trade ● This history matters, as colonists had become used to greater autonomy British Taxes and Colonial Interests ● When the war with France ended, the British Crown began imposing a series of modest taxes on the colonists, in part to pay some of the costs of imperial defense ● The particular types of taxes-- levies on stamps and commercial goods, such as sugar and molasses- caused several of the colonial interests to begin to organize against the Crown A Coalition for Revolt ● Taxes and regulation began to move merchants and planters away from their royalist allies and toward the more radical interests in colonial society ● Events such as the Boston Massacre (1770) fanned the flames of anti-British sentiment Political Strife and the Radicalizing of the Colonists ● A series of provocative acts and counteracts radicalized the colonists and led to the Declaration of Independence -Boston Tea Party (1773) -First Continental Congress (1774) -Lexington and Concord (1775) -Second Continental Congress (1776) ● This is the collective action principle in action The Declaration of Independence ● “All men are created equal” ● Governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed ● ● Declares that when a government no longer serves the needs of the people, the people have a right to revolt Does not create a government 1/24 The Revolutionary War ● The war of independence was long and bloody, with tens of thousands of casualties among colonists, British soldiers, and Native Americans who fought on both sides ● The colonists ultimately prevailed because it was so long, so bloody, and so expensiveand for the British there was no end in sight The Articles of Confederation ● First american constitution ● 13 sovereignty states Constitutional Convention (1787) Key Issues ● Key issues: -Revise or scrap the Articles of Confederation -National Power vs. state power -How much democracy? -Slavery ● Some answers: -The Great Compromise -The Three-Fifths Compromise The Constitution ● The convention produced a Constitution with seven articles -The first three articles outline the structure and power of the legislative,- executive, and judicial branches -Other articles relate to national power, the amendment process, and the ratification process ● It is a brief document Article I: Legislative Branch- passes federal laws ● Bicameralism: division of a legislative assembly into two chambers or houses ● Expressed powers: government powers specifically stated in the Constitution ● Necessary and proper clause- also referred to as the “elastic clause,” it provides Congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry them out Article II: Executive Branch- enforces laws ● Provides for an independent, stronger, and more “energetic” executive than in the Articles of Confederation ● The president is commander in chief, chief executive, and chief diplomat ● Other powers include the nomination of executive and judicial officials and the power to grant reprieves and pardons Article III: Judicial Branch- reviews laws ● Provides for a Supreme Court and other federal courts Congress can establish ● Justices and judges have lifetime terms and are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate ● Does not explicitly provide for judicial review- the power of the courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional Articles IV and VI: Nationality Unity and Power ● Article IV provides reciprocity among the states through the “full faith and credit” clause and the “privileges and immunities clause ● Article VI promotes national power through the national supremacy clause Article V: Amending the Constitution ● Sets forth the procedures for amending the Constitution Article VII: Ratification ● Calls for ratifying conventions in each of the 13 states ● The Constitution is deemed ratified when 9 of the 13 states vote to ratify Constitutional Limits on the National Government’s Power ● Separation of powers: division of governmental power among several institutions ● Federalism: divides power between a central government and regional governments ● Bill of Rights: ensures certain rights and liberties to the people The Fight for Ratification: Federalists vs. Antifederalists ● Federalists favored ratification and a stronger national government (property owners, creditors, merchants) ● Antifederalists opposed ratification but disagreed among themselves about what the alternative should be (small farmers. Debtors, shopkeepers) ● At issue: -Nature of representation -Danger posed by tyranny of the majority -Scope and location of governmental power The Fight for Ratification: The Bill of Rights ● The Bill of Rights is one key result of the fight for ratification Federalists vs Antifeds: Limited Governmental Power ● Representation: Antifeds wanted more representatives and greater representation of various interests ● Threats posed by the majority- Federalists worried about the tyranny of the majority ● Governmental power-- federalists wanted more centralized power; Antifeds wanted more local control 1/29 Beyond the Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power ● The Federalists and Anti Federalists agreed that governmental power had to be checked; they also agreed that “mere parchment barriers” would not be enough ● In Federalist 10, James Madison outlines the strongest argument from the Federalist camp for why popular government will succeed in the new United States ● In Federalist 10, James argues -The key problem of democracy is instability and factionalism -Factions are sown into the nature of man -So we must control the effects of faction ● Representation and “filtering” of public opinion ● “Extend the sphere”-- take in a greater variety of interests The American “solution” is that we’ll agree to disagree! Amending the Constitution ● There have only been 17 amendments to the Constitution since 1791 ● Two of these cancel each other out (Prohibition) ● The remaining 15 amendments can be broken down into three categories: 1. Expansion of the electorate 2. Change in elections 3. Expansion/Limitation of government power Lincoln, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” ● Lincoln argues for the rule of law ● The perpetuation of our political institutions requires that citizens must not tolerate any violation of the law, no matter how small ● We should work to change unjust laws, but they must be observed while they are in force King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” ● King argues for civil disobedience in the face of unjust or immoral laws ● Individuals have a moral duty to break an unjust law ● Individuals must accept the consequences “openly and lovingly” in order to arouse the conscience of the community Chapter 3 Two of the Most Important Institutional Features ● Federalism divides power into two levels, national and state ● Separation of powers divides each level of government against itself, by giving the branches separate functions, forcing them to share power ● These institutional features limit the power of government by dispersing power and making collective action difficult Auxiliary Precautions ● “A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions”-- James Madison, Federalist 51 ● Federalism and the separation of powers are important precautions against the “tyranny of the majority” Dispersed Power ● In addition to limiting the ability of the majority to tyrannize the minority, dispersed power can also encourage moderation and compromise in policy making ● On the other hand, dispersed power can lead to gridlock and policy paralysis, especially if the political environment is highly polarized Institutions Are Not Carved in Stone ● Institutions are subject to revision and modification as competing forces seek new decision rules that will give them an advantage ● Federalism and the separation of powers have evolved considerably over time Why keep the States? ● Some at the Constitutional Convention, particularly Alexander Hamilton, preferred an even stronger national government than the one they created ● The well-established history of the state governments was an important reason the states retained so much power Defining Federalism ● Federalism is the division of powers and functions between the national government and state governments ● The constitution provides “expressed powers” and “implied powers” to the federal government ● The Tenth Amendment reserves the rest of governmental powers for the states Why Federalism Matters: Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy ● In the case of Hurricane Katrina (2005), federal, state, and local officials blamed one another for the government’s slow response ● When Hurricane Sandy(2012) hit the New Jersey shore, President Obama and state and local officials were very careful to work together to coordinate disaster response 1/31 Why Federalism Matters: Ethanol and Support for Corn Farmer ● One result of federalism is that geographically concentrated interest groups wield outsized power through legislators elected from single-member districts, and governors and state officials elected locally rather than nationally ● Ethanol producers are highly organized and succeed in securing subsidies despite the question of environmental benefits States’ Obligations to One Another ● The Constitution’s full faith and credit clause- states are to recognize actions and decisions taken in other states as legal and proper ● The comity clause- a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give special privileges to its own residents Local Government and the Constitution ● Local governments (counties, cities, towns, etc.) are not granted any power in the Constitution, as they are creations of state legislatures and state constitutions ● Most states have given larger cities in their states home rule, a guarantee of noninterference in local affairs Four Stages of Federalism: Slow Growth of National Power ● Dual federalism (1789-1937) (longest period of federalism) ○ State and local government exercised the most important powers ○ It was called “dual federalism” because the duties and operations of the different levels of government remained more strictly separated ○ Also called “layer cake” federalism Exceptional Cases Establish National power ● McCulloch v Maryland (1819) established the power of the federal government by utilizing the necessary and proper clause and the supremacy clause ● Gibbons v Ogden (1824) reinforced federal power ● Despite these cases, federal power barely grew until the New Deal From Dual Federalism to Cooperative Federalism ● During the New Deal (1930s), Congress enacted legislation expanding the federal government’s role in regulating commercial activity ● Initially, the Supreme Court struck down some of these laws ● In 1937, the Court shifted course and upheld federal regulation of a variety of commercial activities ● Cooperative federalism (1937-60s) ○ A period of supportive relations, sometimes partnerships, between the federal government and the state and local governments ○ A rise in “grants aid” (1950-Present) ○ “Marble Cake” Federalism ■ Became more dependent on state/local government. ● Regulated federalism (1960s-90s) ○ The federal government dictates national standards states mut meet or rules states must follow ○ A rise in unfunded mandates- national standards or programs imposed on state and local governments without accompanying funding Regulated Federalism and Obamacare ● One of the provisions of PResident Obama’s health care reform law required states to expand Medicaid and promised funding to support the expansion ● Several state attorneys general sued on the basis of the 10th Amendment (reserved powers), and the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot require expanded Medicaid rolls ● New federalism (1990s-present) ○ Efforts to craft national policies to return more discretion to the states ○ Rise in block grants ○ Unfunded Mandates Reform Act ○ Loosening of federal restrictions on grants-in-aid, such as the Welfare Reform Act ○ Efforts by the courts to interpret the interstate commerce clause more narrowly New Federalism and the Health Care Reform Act Is the individual mandate in the new health reform law constitutional? ● (NO) There is no expressed power in the Constitution to require citizens to purchase anything from a private firm, and it has nothing to do with regulating interstate commerce. ● (YES) The penalty imposed for not purchasing health insurance is a tax. In addition, this is simply part of regulating a commercial activity, just as most states require people to purchase auto insurance. The Separation of Powers ● “You must first enable the government to control the governed;and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”- James Madison- Federalist 51 ● The separation of powers seeks to limit the power of the federal government by divif government against itself Checks and Balances: A System of Mutual Veteos ● There is no strict separation of powers ● The Constitution established mechanisms through which each brand of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the others ● Each brand has agenda and veto power that requires cooperation among branches to get things done Legislative Supremacy ● Branches are given the power to defend themselves against “encroachments” ● The Constitution did not create “separate but equal” branches ○ The legislative branch was expected to be the most powerful branch ○ This is one reason for bicameralism Separation of Powers and the Rise of Divided Government ● Democratic Congresses struggled with the Nixon and Reagan administrations for control over war spending powers ● A Republican House struggled for policy control and impeached President Clinton; Congress for his last two years ● For 6/8 years in office, Obama worked with at least one house of Congress in Republican hands 2/5/19 Divided Government Has Remained the Norm ● In 2007 and 2008, Democratic Congresses confronted George W. Bush’s administration over issues ranging from the war in Iraq to the SCHIP Program ● In 2011 and 2012, Republican control of the House of Representatives led to dramatic conflict over taxes and spending Checks and Balances: The Rationality Principle at Work ● The idea behind checks and balances is perhaps the clearest expression of the rationality principle at work ● “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place” -- James Madison, Federalist 51 Debt-Ceiling Increase ● Congressional Republicans wanted spending cuts, including cuts to Medicare ● President Obama insisted on tax increases on the wealthy and defense spending cuts ● Checks and balances kept each side from dictating terms to the other Fiscal Cliff ● At the end of 2012, Congress and the president faced the “fiscal cliff,” a combination of spending cuts and significant tax increases set to kick in unless a different agreement could be reached ● Eventually, the parties agreed to increase taxes on those earning over $400,000 and set a deadline for the sequester later on The Role of the Supreme Court Has Evolved over Time ● Judicial review: the Court’s ability to strike down presidential actions or laws passed by Congress ● Used sparingly for most of American history ● Used more frequently in recent years Collective Action or Collective Action Problem? --Do federalism and the separation of powers facilitate collective action or create new collective action problems? Both are true: --- By dispersing power, collective action is made more difficult --- By giving each branch some influence over the others, these institutions facilitate negotiation, compromise, and moderation Chapter 4- Civil Liberties Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Are Not the Same ● Civil Liberties-- are protections of citizens from improper governmental action; they limit collective action by restricting the government’s jurisdiction ● Civil rights regulate collective action by establishing decision rules for government’s conduct Basic of Civil Liberties: The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) ● Remember that to get the Constitution ratified, Federalists had pledged to amend the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights ● Adopted by late 1791, the 10 amendments that now make up the Bill of Rights include both substantive (what the govt can actually do to you) and procedural (how they can do those things to us) restraints on governmental power Ninth Amendment: Bill of Rights Not Exhaustive ● “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be constructed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” ● This addressed the Federalist concern that a list of rights would suggest that the list was exhaustive and that there were no other liberties people enjoyed Dual Citizenship ● The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” ● This is the only amendment (FIRST) that addresses itself to Congress only ● For instance, the Fifth Amendment says simply that “no person” shall be denied due process of law Barron vs. Baltimore (1833) ● The city of Baltimore had been disposing of sand and gravel near a wharf owned by John Barron, rendering the wharf commercially useless ● Barron sued the city on the Fifth Amendment grounds that he had been deprived of property without compensation ● The Supreme Court ruled against Barron, stating that “the Fifth Amendment must be understood as restraining the power of the General Government, not as applicable to the States” ● The Court confirmed the idea of “dual citizenship-- that each American is a citizen of the federal government and, separately, a citizen of one of the states ● Dual citizenship means that citizens have liberties that protect them against action by the federal government and a separate set of liberties that protect them against action by state governments Fourteenth Amendment --The 14th Amendment seems to apply the Bill of Rights to the states: -- “All Persons born or naturalized in the United States…. Are citizens of the US and of the State wherein they reside -- “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the US; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” Selective Incorporation ● As early as 1873, the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did NOT apply the Bill of RIghts to the states ● In 1897, the Court held that the just compensation clause of the Fifth Amendment would applied to the states ● This began a long, slow process of “selective incorporation”-- the application of the liberties in the Bill of Rights, one by one, to the states Selective Incorporation: Still Selective ● Some parts of the Bill of Rights are still not incorporated into the 14th amendment ● The most recent incorporated right is the 2nd’s amendment’s right to bear arms ● In Mcdonald vs. Chicago(2010), the Court ruled that the right to defend oneself is “fundamental to the Nation’s scheme of ordered liberty” The Bill of Rights Today: Freedom of Religion ● “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” ● The first clause is the establishment clause, which is sometimes referred to as the separation of church and state ● The second clause is the free exercise clause, which protects a citizen’s right to believe and practice whatever religion he or she chooses Lemon Test --- The Lemon test and the establishment clause government can be involved with religion if ● It has a secular purpose ● Its effect is neither to advance nor inhibit religion ● It does not create excessive entanglement Free Exercise Clause ● Protects a person’s right to believe and practice whatever religion he or she chooses ● Holt vs. Hobbs (2015)-- an Arkansas prisoner allowed to grow a beard based on religious beliefs ● EEOC vs. Abercrombie and Fitch (2015)-- cannot discriminate in hiring against a woman wearing a headscarf ● The Court expresses broad support for individual religious liberty 2/7 Freedom of Speech ● Freedom of speech is not absolute --Clear and present danger test-- does the speech present a “clear and present danger” to society? --Libel and slander are not protected ● In general, one’s speech rights go only as far as not to infringe on someone else’s rights --Speech that directly incites damaging conduct is labeled “fighting words” and may be regulated --But what constitutes “fighting words” is not fully settled ● Political speech is the most protected kind of speech-- subject to “strict scrutiny” Speech and Money ● Buckley vs. Valeo (1976)-- ruled that campaign spending limits for federal candidates violate freedom of speech ● Citizens United vs. FEC(2010)-- corporate funding of independent election ads cannot be limited because corporations have speech rights as well ● McCutcheon vs. FEC(2014)-- struck down aggregate limits on contributions Speech Plus ● Speech plus is speech accompanied by activities such as sit-ins, picketing, and demonstrations Protection of this speech is conditional and is acceptable only if balanced by considerations of political order Freedom of the Press ● The first amendment also provides for freedom of the press ● The court has ruled that this means, among other things, no prior restraint-- an effort by a government agency to block the publication of material it deems harmful or libelous Libel and Slander ● Libel-- a written statement made in “reckless disregard of the truth” and considered damaging because it is “malicious, scandalous, and defamatory” ● Slander-- an oral statement of same nature Second Amendment ● D.C. vs. Heller(2008)-- struck down D.C gun regulation based on an individuals right to own a gun ● Mcdonald vs. Chicago(2010)-- applied this right to the states through selective incorporation Rights of the Accused 1 ● Various amendments and rulings guarantee the rights of the criminally accused, including due process ● The fifth amendment provides protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy ● Rights of the Accused 2 ● The Sixth Amendment provides for --A speedy and public trial --An impartial jury --The right to confront one’s accusers --The right to counsel ● Gideon vs. Wainwright(1961) incorporates the right to counsel into the 14th amendment RIghts of the Accused 3 ● The 8th amendment prohibits “excessive bail,” “excessive fines,” and “cruel and unusual punishment” ● The ban on cruel and unusual punishment has served as a lightning rod for debate over the death penalty and, more recently, over torture Search and Seizure ● The 14th amendment offers protection against unreasonable searches and seizures ● Exclusionary rule developed in the 1961 case Mapp vs. Ohio, it is the ability of the courts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the 14th ● GPS technology, computer files, Internet searches, and phone data are all pushing the limits of search and seizure rules ● In 2016, the FBI sought to compel Apple to unlock the contents of the iPhone owned by the San Bernardino shooter Right to Privacy ● The right to privacy is not expressly stated in the Bill of Rights --Connecticut had a statute forbidding the use of contraceptives --In Griswold vs. Connecticut(1965), the Court invalidated the law based on a “zone of privacy” in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th amendments ● Roe vs. Wade(1973) cemented the right to privacy The Right to Die ● The right to die is a relatively unexplored area for the Court ● In 2006, in Gonzalez vs. Oregon, the Court upheld an Oregon law that allowed doctors to assist terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives ● On what constitutional grounds can the Court’s decision Civil Liberties, History, and Collective Action ● As we have seen, the application of the Bill of Rights to specific cases yields rulings from the Court that become fixed rules, at least for long periods of time ● This is a good example of the history principle at work-- how we got here matters ● It is also a good example of the collective action principle at work, as civil liberties are limitations on collective action 2/12 CHAPTER 5 Civil Liberties and civil rights are not the same - civil rights are the legal or moral claims that citizens are entitled to make on the government the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment has been the bassis for civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups Civil Rights and Collective Action remember that the collective action principle states that collective action is difficult and the difficulty mounts as the number of individuals involved increases civil rights shape collective action by regulating who can participate in the political process and how they can participate The Equal Protection Clause the fourteenth amendment reads, “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” note that the language of the fourteenth amendment requires equal protection for a “person” rather than a “citizen” Civil Rights: Who, What, and How Much? Civil rights can be thought of in terms of answering three questions: o Who has a right and who does not? o A right to what? o How much can they exercise that right? The answers to all of these questions have changed over time—the history principle at work The Struggle for Civil Rights Just as the court did not initially use the fourteenth amendment to impose the Bill of rights on the states, the court was slow to use the equal protection clause to enforce civil rights The 1875 Civil Rights Act was struck down on the grounds that it applied to private businesses, while the fourteenth amendment refers to state action The Right to Vote The right to vote was not included in the constitution Initially, the states restricted voting based on o Religion o Property o Gender o Race Voting rights have expanded over time Women’s Suffrage Early 1800s—few women had right to vote Voting rights for women expanded in the West and as property rights for women expanded Voting rights for all women not guaranteed until the adoption of the nineteenth amendment in 1919 The Right to Vote for Black Americans Fifteenth amendment guarantees voting rights to all, but after reconstruction, some states limited voting rights of blacks through o Poll taxes o Literacy tests o Registration list purges Voting rights act (1965) outlaws these Shelby county v. Holder (2013) eliminates “preclearance” Plessy v. Ferguson: “Separate but Equal” 1 In 1896, the court went further by upholding a Lousiana statute that required segregation of the races on trolleys and other public carriers and, by implication, in all public facilities, including schools Homer Plessy, a man defined as “one-eighth black”, had violated a law that imposed a fine for any black passenger sitting in a car reserved for whites Plessy v. Ferguson: “Separate but Equal” 2 In its ruling, the court said the fourteenth amendment “could not have intended to abolish distinctions based on color, or to enforce…a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either” This was the origin of the “separate but equal” rule, the doctrine that held that accommodations could be segregated by race but still be equal Fighting Racial Discrimination Starting in the late 1930s, the Court became more active in equal protection o The court required admission to a Missouri law school rather than paying out-of-state tuition for African Americans (1938) o The court rejected Texas’s claim that its new “law school for Negroes” was equivalent to all-white University of Texas (1950) But these rulings reinforced rather than struck down “separate but equal” Brown v. Board of Education Linda Brown was a third-grade African American child in Topeka, Kansas, who was denied admission to the school closest to her home, which was for white students only The court ruled that “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Did Brown end Discrimination? Three problems with Brown’s effects: o Delay in enforcing Brown by local officials o Brown only attacked de jure segregation but could do little about de facto segregation o Brown did not directly address discrimination in employment, voting, and so on The irony of Brown is that it gave great moral capital to the Court but did not change things much, at least initially The Rise of the Civil Rights Movement Ending discrimination required more than the Brown decision The civil rights movement built slowly but surely after Brown, cumulating in the March on Washington in 1963 This required overcoming a collective action problem School Desegregation “massive resistance” to desegregation was largely successful after Brown after Little Rock, states used “pupil placement” laws to delay desegregation the Civil Rights Act and later court decisions, such as Swann, finally did begin to desegregate schools in more recent rulings, the court has sought to “disengage” from desegregation Discrimination in Employment Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964 outlaws job discrimination by all private and public employers In Griggs v. Duke Power (1971), the court put the burden on employers to show that an employment policy whose effect is discriminatory, even if discrimination was not the intent of the policy, is a “business necessity” Ledbetter v. Goodyear (2007) The court ruled that a charge of discrimination must be brought within 180 days of the time the discrimination was alleged to have occurred Congress overturned the Court’s decision by passing the Fair Pay Act in 2009 Gender Discrimination Seneca Falls Convention (1848) Nineteenth amendment (1920) grants women the right to vote in federal elections Civil rights for women accelerates in the 1960s ERA falls just short of ratification in 1982 The Burger Court applies intermediate scrutiny to gender discrimination cases 2/14/19 Discrimination against Latinos and Asian Americans ● ● Latinos and asian americans are among the fastest-growing racial/ethnic groups These groups have also organized to pursue civil rights: --Mendez vs. Westminster (1947) was an important desegregation precedent prior to Brown --Lau vs. Nichols (1974) required that students be taught in a language they understand Status of Native Americans ● ● ● ● The constitution leaves the status of Native Americans unclear Legislation in 1924 grants citizenship to all these born in the US The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975) provides for greater autonomy No state regulation of gambling (1987) Immigration and Rights ● Approximately one in eight persons living in the US was born in another country --Dream Act: 2014 executive order granting legal status to undocumented children or parents ● This was arguably the most significant civil rights issue in the 2016 election campaign Disabilities and Age ● ● The americans with disabilities act (1990) guarantess equal employment rights and access to businesses Similar to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, the disability movement founded the Disability Rights & Education Defense Fund LGBTQ ● The gay rights movement has become one of the most important contemporary flashpoints for civil rights --Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ● Transgender equality is the most important current fight DOMA and Gay Marriage ● ● U.S vs. Windsor (2013) ruled DOMA unconstitutional Obergefell vs Hodges (2015) ruled that there is a right to marry for same-sex couples under the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment Affirmative Action ● ● A policy or program designed to redress historic injustices committed against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities Also meant to encourage diversity in educational and employment settings Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978) ● ● ● Allan Bakke, a white man, applied to UC Davis Medical School and was rejected The scool had reserved 16 of 100 seats that year for minority applicants Bakke sued on the basis that his grades and test scores were better than those some who were admitted Affirmative Action and “Preferential Treatment” Limiting and Regulating Collective Action ● ● Civil liberties and civil rights have both expanded over the past century Expansion of civil rights has allowed more to take part in collective decision making and has imposed restrictions on the sorts of decisions that can be reached