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American Government 4e

Key Terms

American Government 4eKey Terms

Key Terms

affirmative action
the use of programs and policies designed to assist groups that have historically been subject to discrimination
American Indian Movement (AIM)
the Native American civil rights group responsible for the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973
Black codes
laws passed immediately after the Civil War that discriminated against freed people and other African Americans and deprived them of their rights
Brown v. Board of Education
the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and declared segregation and “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional in public education
Chicano
a term adopted by some Mexican American civil rights activists to describe themselves and those like them
civil disobedience
an action taken in violation of the letter of the law to demonstrate that the law is unjust
comparable worth
a doctrine calling for the same pay for workers whose jobs require the same level of education, responsibility, training, or working conditions
coverture
a legal status of married women in which their separate legal identities were erased
de facto segregation
segregation that results from the private choices of individuals
de jure segregation
segregation that results from government discrimination
direct action
civil rights campaigns that directly confronted segregationist practices through public demonstrations
disenfranchisement
the revocation of someone’s right to vote
equal protection clause
a provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all residents equally under the law
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
the proposed amendment to the Constitution that would have prohibited all discrimination based on sex
glass ceiling
an invisible barrier caused by discrimination that prevents women from rising to the highest levels of an organization—including corporations, governments, academic institutions, and religious organizations
grandfather clause
the provision in some southern states that allowed illiterate White people to vote because their ancestors had been able to vote before the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified
hate crime
harassment, bullying, or other criminal acts directed against someone because of bias against that person’s sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, or disability
intermediate scrutiny
the standard used by the courts to decide cases of discrimination based on gender and sex; burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate an important governmental interest is at stake in treating men differently from women
Jim Crow laws
state and local laws that promoted racial segregation and undermined Black voting rights in the south after Reconstruction
literacy tests
tests that required the prospective voter in some states to be able to read a passage of text and answer questions about it; often used as a way to disenfranchise racial or ethnic minorities
Plessy v. Ferguson
the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that allowed “separate but equal” racial segregation under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
poll tax
annual tax imposed by some states before a person was allowed to vote
rational basis test
the standard used by the courts to decide most forms of discrimination; the burden of proof is on those challenging the law or action to demonstrate there is no good reason for treating them differently from other citizens
Reconstruction
the period from 1865 to 1877 during which the governments of Confederate states were reorganized prior to being readmitted to the Union
Stonewall Inn
a bar in Greenwich Village, New York, where the modern Gay Pride movement began after rioters protested the police treatment of the LGBTQ community there
strict scrutiny
the standard used by the courts to decide cases of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion; burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate a compelling governmental interest is at stake and no alternative means are available to accomplish its goals
Title IX
the section of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex
Trail of Tears
the name given to the forced migration of the Cherokees from Georgia to Oklahoma in 1838–1839
understanding tests
tests requiring prospective voters in some states to be able to explain the meaning of a passage of text or to answer questions related to citizenship; often used as a way to disenfranchise Black voters
white primary
a primary election in which only White people are allowed to vote
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