Students must prepare short essays (one paragraph per question) discussing some aspects of the chapter readings. Discussion Boards must be submitted on or before 11:59 pm on the due date.
Read Chapter 5, and assess the limits of state and federal law in guaranteeing equality to all people.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voter-registration tests and authorized federal registration of persons and federally administered procedures in any state or political subdivision evidencing electoral discrimination or low registration rates. The Voting Rights Act and other protective legislation passed during and since the 1960s apply not only to African Americans, but to other ethnic groups as well. Minorities have been increasingly represented in national and state politics, although they have yet to gain representation proportionate to their numbers in the U.S. population. Lingering social and economic disparities have led to a new civil rights agenda—one focusing less on racial differences and more on economic differences.
In the early history of the United States, women were considered citizens, but by and large they had no political rights because they were largely viewed as dependents. After the first women’s rights convention in 1848, the campaign for suffrage gained momentum, yet not until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, did women finally obtain the right to vote. The second wave of the women’s movement began in the 1960s, and the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed in 1966 to bring about complete equality for women in all walks of life. Efforts to secure the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment failed. Women continue to fight gender discrimination in employment. Federal government efforts to eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits, among other things, gender-based discrimination, including sexual harassment on the job. Wage discrimination also continues to be a problem for women, as does the glass ceiling. Women make up just 20 percent of the U.S. Congress.
America has always been a land of immigrants and will continue to be so. Today, more than 1 million immigrants enter the United States each year, and more than 12 percent of the U.S. population consists of foreign-born persons. Demographers estimate that the foreign-born will account for 15 percent of the nation sometime between 2020 and 2025. In particular, the Latino community in the United States has experienced explosive growth. In recent years, undocumented immigration has surfaced as a significant issue for border states and the nation. Indeed, one of the pressing concerns facing today’s politicians at the state and federal level is how U.S. immigration policy should be reformed.
1. Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act contained eleven provisions: name and describe three. Be specific.
2.Like African Americans and other minorities, women also have had to make a claim for equality. During the first phase of this campaign, the primary political goal of women was to obtain the right to vote. Who opposed women’s suffrage? What were their reasons? Describe some of the steps that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Who were some of the key women involved in women suffrage?
3.The issue of illegal immigration has become both a hot political issue and a serious policy concern. As many as 12 million undocumented aliens reside and work in the United States. Immigrants typically come to the United Sates to work, and their labor continues to be in high demand, particularly in construction and farming. Should government provide services to those who enter the country illegally? Should citizenship be extended to illegal immigrants?
