Evolution of Human Rights in the U.S.

Amanda Reagle
CUR/518
October 11, 2015
Deb Hatfield

Significant events
for women's rights

Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights

(Eisenberg & Ruthsdotter, 1998)

- 1848 The first draft of Declaration of
Sentiments, a document enumerating areas
of gender inequality in America, was written.
- 1920 The 19th Amendment to the
Constitution was passed, allowing women
- Adopted in 1948 by the UN
the right to vote.
General Assembly
- 1972 Title IX in the Education Codes of
- Part of the International Bill
1972 gave women equal access to
of Human Rights
educational opportunities and banned
States
inalienable rights given
limiting womens enrollment in graduate
- 1964 The Civil to every human, regardless of
programs.
Rights Act of 1964 was
status
passed, with a
number of
Amendments and
additions in the years
since.
Effects on Adult

Learning
- Better access to higher
education for minorities,
women, and those with
physical or mental
disabilities

Civil & Political Rights

- Little distinction between
these types of rights in the U.S.
any longer (Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
2012)
- Rights to freedom of: thought,
religion, expression, assembly,
association, participation in
government (Claiming Human
Rights, 2011)
- Economic, social, and cultural
rights to: work, rest, health,
education, social order
(Claiming Human Rights, 2011)

Significant
events for
minority rights

-1948 U.S. military forces required to

racially integrate units.
- 1954 Plessy vs. Ferguson is overturned,
and schools are ordered to desegregate.
- 1964 The 24th Amendment was passed,
outlawing the poll tax, which increased
black voter registration and changed
political rhetoric to this growing voting
base (Feldmeth, 1998).
.

Affirmative Action
&Diversity
Different reasons to
promote each action (Stony
Brook University, n.d.)
-Diversity is strategic and
seeks to change culture to
benefit an organization
-Affirmative action is
mandated and seeks to right
past civil rights injustices

Significant events
for disability rights
- 1920 The Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation
Act passed, helping physically disabled people
get training and find work. Further growth of
vocational rehabilitation continued with
amendments to the Act in 1954.
- 1986 Fair Labor Standards Act, Section 14(c)
revised to mandate that workers are to be paid
wages commensurate with their productivity
based on prevailing wages (United States
Department of Labor, n.d. para. 5) rather than
the lower percentage of pay previously set for
disabled workers.
- 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act passed,
with amendments in 2008 (called ADAAA) and
various updates to transportation regulations in
the 2000s (ADA National Network, 2015).

Are human rights

universal?
YES!
Though there were debates initially about
the idea of universal rights because of
differing cultural norms, academic and
human rights associations are moving
toward the idea of inalienable human
rights (Hey, 2001) that can be respected
regardless of political, economic, or
cultural systems (United Nations, 1993,
para. 5).
.

References
ADA National Network. (2015). Timeline of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved from: https://adata.org/ada-timeline
Claiming Human Rights. (2011). General civil and political rights. Retrieved from http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/general_civil_political_rights.html
Eisenberg, B. & Mary Ruthsdotter, M. (1998). History of the womens rights movement. Retrieved from http://www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/
Feldmeth, G.D. (1998). U.S. History Resources. Retrieved from http://faculty.polytechnic.org/gfeldmeth/chart.civrights.html
Hey, H. (2001). Universal Human Rights and Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/volumes/2001/1-2/pollis-hey.pdf
Stony Brook University. (n.d.). Diversity and affirmative action: Difference. Retrieved from http://www.stonybrook.edu/diversity/aboutus/difference.html
United Nations. 1993. Vienna Declaration on Human Rights. UN Doc. A/CONF.157/23, 12 July 1993, paragraph 5. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/volumes/2001/1-2/pollis-hey.pdf
United States Department of Labor (n.d.) Advancing Equal Access to Opportunity. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/featured/ada/