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Chapter Four: Civil Rights
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many groups raised concerns about the federal government's resulting treatment of and respect for Arab Americans. However, in contrast to its past treatment of other similar groups in society, the government generally avoided overt policies of racial profiling or other violations of these citizens' "civil rights." These civil rights include "civic" rights of political expression and participation as well as safeguards against the subjugation of one group in society by another.
The history of African Americans in the United States helps illustrate the manner in which these rights have historically been denied and ultimately won. A major obstacle facing African Americans in their struggle for civil rights was the structure of government established by the Constitution. Under the Constitution, national majorities opposing slavery and racial discrimination were generally unable to prevail politically over the entrenched southern states. The opponents of civil rights were overcome only through the use of overwhelmingly strong governing coalitions or armed conflict.
The promotion of civil rights was, by nature, costly. While some backers of civil rights were motivated by altruism, the civil rights movement made its most striking advances when its proponents successfully appealed to political or economic interests of factions of the majority. In the case of the Civil War, politicians were able to appeal to northern whites' fear of expanding competition from slave labor. The twentieth century's civil rights victories were aided by a massive relocation of African Americans to northern cities, where they increasingly formed a vital part of the Democratic Party's coalition. In addition, the civil rights movement of the 1960s was consciously designed to attract national attention and press coverage and succeeded in making cautious politicians prefer change over the status quo.
Other groups have also pursued expansion of their civil rights, with varying degrees of success. Overall, successful transformations of policy have required the skillful assembly of self-interested constituencies.
After reading this chapter, you should understand…
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the institutional, and particularly constitutional, obstacles faced by pro-civil rights majorities in pursuing their goals
- the economic incentives that led free northern workers to oppose slavery
- why the Missouri and Great Compromises could not prevent the Civil War
- the logic of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and, in particular, why it abolished slavery in such a limited way
- how Reconstruction helped the Republican Party avoid political disaster at the hands of a resurgent Democratic Party
- why Reconstruction excluded economic and land reforms, and how Reconstruction came to an end
- how and why election laws were used to disenfranchise African Americans in the South after Reconstruction
- why Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was ineffective at dismantling school desegregation, and why the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was so much more effective
- the incentives for politicians to support the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- how the shift from investigating specific instances of discrimination to focusing on "outcomes" in turn affected popular support for civil rights policies
- how self-interested politicians and groups have proven essential for successful changes in civil rights policies
- More Americans were killed in the Civil War than in any other war in American history. What did the South expect to get out of the war? The North?
- What levers of government did the southern states employ to prevent the eradication of slavery? What steps were necessary to remove these obstacles?
- How did the readmission of the southern states after the Civil War threaten the Republican Party's grip on power? How was Reconstruction tailored to help ensure that Republicans remained in power?
- What benefits did Reconstruction produce for former slaves? For northern whites? What did Reconstruction "leave out" and why?
- What party did most African Americans support prior to the 1930s? After the 1930s? What was responsible for the change?
- How did the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s change the political calculations of Democratic politicians? How were the demonstrations planned strategically to increase pressure on politicians?
- What challenges and opportunities do Hispanics face in their current civil rights efforts? How do these differ from those blacks faced in their civil rights campaigns?
- How has the Supreme Court responded to efforts to use affirmative action in college admissions?
- Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail to be ratified despite its initial popularity?
- How does the campaign for gay rights differ from prior civil rights campaigns?
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