1.

The “equal protection of the laws” means that laws must provide

equivalent “protection” to all people and is part of the Fourteenth

Amendment. It should provide “equal protection of life, liberty, and

property” to all a state’s citizens.

2. The Thirteenth Amendment, which was passed after the Civil War, forbade

slavery and involuntary servitude. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids

the states from denying to anyone “equal protection of the laws”. The

Fifteenth Amendment extended suffrage to African Americans.

3. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made racial discrimination against any group

in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job

discrimination. It created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC) to monitor and enforce protections against job discrimination. It

also withheld federal grants from state and local governments and other

institutions that practiced racial discrimination. Voting rights legislation

was strengthened. Lastly, the law authorized the U.S. Justice Department

to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public schools and facilities.

4. Before the 24th Amendment, state and local governments used various

methods to prevent African-Americans from voting. Oklahoma and other

Southern states used a grandfather clause to deny them the right to vote.

Potential voters were required to take a literacy test before registering to

vote in these states. People whose grandfathers were eligible to vote

prior to this requirement were exempted, allowing illiterate whites to vote.

The use of poll taxes was also used to exclude African Americans and they
 were often due during the time of the year when poor African-American

sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. Most Southern states used the

white primary from depriving them of a voice in real contests.

5. In Korematsu v. United States the Supreme Court upheld the internment

of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans in encampments during World

War II as constitutional.

6. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a constitutional amendment

originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1978

and sent to the states legislatures for ratification, stating that “equality of

rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States

or by any state on account of sex.” This law was designed to challenge

gender inequality.

7. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited any government from using

voting procedures that denied a person the vote on the basis of race or

color and abolished the use of literacy requirements for anyone who had

completed the sixth grade. Under the law, federal registrars were sent to

Southern states and counties that had long histories of discrimination; as

a result, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and

the number of African-American elected officials increased dramatically.

8. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke the Supreme Court held

that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely

because of their race. In similar case was that which took place in Kaiser

Aluminum which denied Weber into its apprenticeship program. In Weber

 v. Kaiser Aluminum the Supreme Court declared that Weber was not

discriminated because the program was intended to rectify years of past

employment discrimination at Kaiser.

9. Civil rights laws have greatly increased the size of government. The

government has enacted many civil rights laws, which increase the

government’s control of power. However, government participation in

civil rights protects individual rights against discrimination. Key Supreme

Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education and laws such as the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 are a few examples of how the government has

increased its scope of control.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka is a landmark decision of the

United States Supreme Court which outlawed racial segregation of public

education facilities. When Arkansas governor, Orville Faubus, fought the

ruling of school desegregation, President Eisenhower sent troops to escort

nine African-American children to Central High School in Little Rock. The

National Guard was sent to provide continuing protection for the students.

Many Southern states prevented African-Americans from voting. They

used the grandfather clause, literacy test, and poll tax to discourage African-

Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited any government from

using voting procedures that denied a person the vote on the basis of race or

color and abolished the use of literacy requirements for anyone who had

completed the sixth grade.

 These examples are just a few of many ways the Federal government

increased its scope of power. Through monitering civil rights laws they have

strove to make an America where everyone can enjoy “life, liberty, and

persuit of happiness.