AP Government Name:

Murphy Date Completed:

Assignment: Chapter 9 – Civil Rights

Vocabulary/Definitions: AP Government is a vocabulary-heavy class. As such, you are expected to have working
definitions – preferably in your own words - of all of the words listed for each chapter.

Vocabulary: Your Definition

Civil rights Civil rights are protections that people receive from discrimination based on their
identity. (Sexuality, race, gender, national origin, religion, etc.)
13th Amendment The amendment that prohibited slavery
14th Amendment The amendment that made Black Americans citizens
15th Amendment The amendment that gave Black people the right to vote
Separate but equal The idea that segregation inside the US is ok, as long as the different facilities are equal
to each other
Equal protection clause A clause inside the 14th amendment that has been used to protect the civil rights of
Americans
Legal segregation The separation by law of individuals based on their race
De jure segregation The segregation of people by law
De facto segregation The segregation of people through social order and the like
Affirmative action A policy that was created to make minorities equal to Whites. It provided special
consideration to people based on their race, allowing minorities to “catch up” to whites
Social movement A bunch of citizens organizing for political change
Civil disobedience The refusal to follow a certain law, usually by mass groups of people
Civil rights act of 1964 This was a piece of law that outlawed racial segregation in schools and public places. It
also provided a consequence if schools didn’t follow.
Voting rights act of 1965 A piece of law that made literacy tests illegal, and it also provided a consequence if
states didn’t follow this
19th amendment The amendment that gave women the right to vote
Title IX This was a piece of law that did the same thing as the civil rights act of 1964, but for
women. This means that discrimination based on gender in schools is not allowed.

Using the Content: Write a response to the prompts for each section of the reading. Each of the following is written in
the style of an AP prompt, and – when responded to appropriately – will require you to utilize the content of the
associated section. Make sure to correctly use the vocabulary and content from the book in your responses.

Section 9.1:

1. Explain the struggle to secure civil rights for people with disabilities.

The struggle to secure civil rights for people with disabilities was a tough one, as they were called names, and even
medical records addressed them by a slur. They were called “fire hazards” and dehumanized to an insane degree.
Eventually, people had enough, and they spoke out about it. A woman named Judith Heumann posted an article to the
US department of state’s blog. In this article, she looked towards the future and present of the disabled rights
movement. She, herself, is disabled, as she contracted polio in 1949. This required her to use a wheelchair for the rest of
her life, and her rhetoric in her speeches convinced many people that disabled individuals deserve rights too. She
organized sit ins and it was deemed a major success.

2. How does the ADA illustrate tensions between civil rights and federalism?
 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) illustrates tensions between civil rights and federalism through the
enforcement of this law. It was a national law, passed under the bush administration, but the contents of this law
included the addition of wheelchair ramps and disabled access to all public buildings. This was a major point of
contention in the law, as it allocated no funds to help states pay for these additions. This meant that the ADA is an
example of an unfunded mandate, something that is generally frowned upon at the state level. This narrative is one that
illustrates how civil rights efforts can illustrate the tensions between the principles of civil rights and federalism.

Section 9.2:

1. Explain the impact of the Civil War Amendments on the civil rights of the American people.

There were three amendments passed after the civil war that are known today as the civil war amendments, and
they are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th amendment was passed almost immediately after the war was
over, and it stated that slavery was illegal in the US. This extends basic civil rights to the former slaves, or in other words
Black Americans. The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the US and kept the post-
slavery slavery in check. (Examples of the post-slavery slavery can be seen in the movie that was shown to us in class, and
in South Carolina.) This extended even more civil rights and liberties to Black Americans, which then let them fight in
court for their rights. Finally, the 15th amendment granted voting rights to African Americans. This was the final step to
have the vision of Frederick Douglas be granted. Although the US was not a utopia for Black Americans, it was taking
steps, like the civil war amendments, to be better.

2. Explain the concepts of affirmative action in the context of civil rights.

Within the context of civil rights, affirmative action was created to try and help minority groups gain ground on non-
minority groups. For years, people like women and Black people were marginalized and forced to take up positions that
they didn’t want to. Women were forced into households and raise children, and Black people were forced to become
slaves. When the civil war ended, the civil war amendments gave rights and liberties to Black people, but some thought
this wasn’t enough. The entire race lost hundreds of years of progress, and so congressed passed an idea called
affirmative action into law. This gave admissions preferences to those from the minority groups in an effort to support
them and give them their lost ground back.

3. To what extent was Brown v Board successful in ending racial segregation in schools?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was successful to a moderate extent in ending racial segregation in schools.
When it was originally ruled on, little action was taken because of how courts cannot enforce their ruling themselves, so
instead, the executive and legislative branches of governments needed to play their part. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
passed in congress, and it made the integration of schools necessary in the south. It also provided a punishment for
schools that refused to integrate themselves. After a couple of years of this act being enforced, schools were finally
multiracial. This suggests the idea that Brown v. Board of Education (1954) didn’t itself end racial segregation in schools,
but it provided the platform for legislation to do so.

Section 9.3:

1. Explain the Civil Rights Movement’s focus on legislation.

The Civil Rights Movement’s focus on legislation was especially important to its success because it knew that the
only way for them to get what they want was through the legislative branch. The Civil Rights Movement also had a lot of
support in congress, meaning that it would be easier to get actual meaningful change in America through the legislative
branch rather than anything else. An example of this is Lyndon Johnson, as when he was a senator he sponsored the Civil
Rights Act of 1957. The last reason for why the civil rights movement was that the movement already had victories in
SCOTUS, meaning that legislation was just the next step in its plan to stop segregation and racism.
 2. To what extent were the Civil Rights Act (1965) and Voting Rights Act (1965) successful in achieving the goals
of the Civil Rights movement?

I think that the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were successful to a great extent when it
comes to achieving the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. As mentioned earlier, the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was a
declaration of integration within public schools, meaning that they were to no longer be monoracial. This was one of the
biggest goals of the Civil Rights Movement, and the fact that it got passed in congress is important to understanding why
it is so central to the success of the movement. As for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it was created to give suffrage to
Black Americans, and this was another important goal of the Civil Rights Movement. So, all in all, the Civil Rights Act of
1965 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were both really important when it comes to achieving the goals of the Civil
Rights Movement.

Section 9.4:

1. Examine the struggle and successes of the women’s rights movement for gender equality.

The women’s rights movements had a lot of struggles and successes, just like the civil rights movement. The
movement had two main waves, the first one was focused on gaining the right to vote, and the second one was focused
on getting equality in education and in the workplace. The main success in the first wave was the achievement of the 19 th
amendment. This amendment gave women’s suffrage to America, allowing women to vote. This gave them a voice in the
happenings of politics. However, they still felt like a victim of significant discrimination, and this is what the second wave
attempted to stop. One important success in this phase of women’s rights was Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972. This prevented discrimination based on sex in educational facilities, helping women win the fight for their rights.
However, this movement is not over, and still manifests itself today.