W e Hold These Truths: Important Human Relations

Transcription

1 W e Hold These Truths: Important Human Relations Documents & Photos in American History (Compiled by the Office of Human Relations) 1776: Declaration of Independence -- Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it : The United States Constitution Drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787, this four-page document, signed on September 17, 1787, established the government of the United States : The Bill of Rights -- Although 12 amendments were originally proposed, the 10 that were ratified became the Bill of Rights in They defined citizens' rights in relation to the newly established government under the Constitution : The Emancipation Proclamation -- President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing, "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious areas "are, and henceforward shall be free." 1

2 1865: 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery -- Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.". tion%3a%20abolition%20of%20slavery 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- Nearly two years after Congressional approval, the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution is ratified, which guarantees state and national citizenship to all persons born in the U.S., and states that '[n]o state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.' :15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- The 15 th amends the Constitution to deny both the federal government and the states power to deprive U.S. citizens of the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson -- The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of state-sponsored racial segregation in public accommodations under the doctrine of "separate but equal," (the idea that segregation based on race was legal so long as facilities were of equal quality), thereby enshrining decades of Jim Crow in the South. 2

3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 1919: 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women s Right to Vote -- The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. It required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Constitution%3A%20Women%26apos%3Bs%20Right%20to%20Vote 1935: Social Security Act -- The Social Security Act established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically handicapped : Executive Order On the eve of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802 prohibiting government contractors from engaging in employment discrimination based on race, color or national origin. The order, however, has no enforcement provisions. _small.jpg&imgrefurl= 5&w=175&sz=10&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=gwERd7xk3cvy2M:&tbnh=115&tbnw=71&prev=/images%3Fq%3 DExecutive%2BOrder%2B8802%2B%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 1944: Korematsu v. United States -- The Supreme Court holds that United States citizens can be relocated to detention camps solely on the basis of their race, ethnicity, or national origin, validating the internment of approximately 110,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in the United States. In his dissent, Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy writes that the internment "goes over 'the very brink of constitutional power' and falls into the ugly abyss of racism. 3

4 1948: Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces -- President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the government to integrating the segregated military. brary.org/photographs/ jpg&imgrefurl= desegregation.htm&h=479&w=643&sz=66&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=ib5nm55upwdnqm:&tbnh=102&t bnw=137&prev=/images%3fq%3ddesegregation%2bof%2barmed%2bforces%26gbv%3d2%26nd sp%3d21%26hl%3den%26sa%3dn 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka -- In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. E%20v.%20%3Cem%3EBoard%3C%2Fem%3E%20of%20Education%20of %20Topeka 1954: Hernandez v. Texas -- In a critical decision, the Supreme Court rules that Mexican Americans and other racial groups in the United States are entitled to equal protection of the law by the Fourteenth Amendment : Little Rock Central High School -- Nine African-American students desegregate Little Rock Central High School. In an historic show of federal commitment to integration, President Dwight Eisenhower orders the Battle Group of the elite 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to Little Rock, and federalizes the entire 10,000 member Arkansas National Guard in order to ensure integration and the dismantling of "separate but equal" schools in Little Rock. 4

5 1958: Letter from Jackie Robinson to President Dwight Eisenhower -- Jack Roosevelt Robinson ( ) was the first African American to "officially" play in Major League Baseball. Robinson had grown increasingly impatient with what he regarded as President Eisenhower's failure to act decisively in combating racism. In this letter, he calls upon the President to finally guarantee Federal support of black civil rights. President%20Dwight%20D.%20Eisenhower 1960: Greensboro 4 Sit-in -- Four North Carolina A&T State University students enter Woolworth s and make small purchases, saving their receipts to prove they are customers. The take seats at the whites-only lunch counter. Denied service, they remain seated. Protestors were encouraged to dress up, sit quietly, and occupy every other stool so potential white sympathizers could join in. The success of the Greensboro sit-in led to a rash of student campaigns all across the South. By the end of 1960 the sit-ins had spread to every southern and border state and even to Nevada, Illinois, and Ohio. Demonstrators focused not only on lunch counters but on parks, beaches, libraries, theaters, museums, and other public places : Executive Order President Kennedy creates the Committee on Equal Employment and mandates that projects financed with federal funds "take affirmative action" to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias. The order represents a critical step by the federal government to remedy centuries of racial discrimination : Equal Pay Act -- Congress bans discrimination in pay on the basis of gender. 5

6 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 1964: 24 th Amendment -- The 24th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, enshrining in the Constitution that the right of citizens to vote in federal elections cannot be denied based on an individual's failure to pay a poll tax or any other kind of tax. Critically, the 24th Amendment would help dismantle discriminatory election schemes used to deny minorities the right to vote. explanation.php?link=214&const=31_amd_ : Civil Rights Act (Public Law ) -- This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. 4lg.jpg&imgrefurl= &sz=57&hl=en&start=14&tbnid=noqpow8h2uarcm:&tbnh=141&tbnw=94&prev=/images%3fq% 3D1964%2BCivil%2BRIghts%2BAct%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 1965: Voting Rights Act -- This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. 6

7 1967: Age Discrimination in Employment Act -- Congress prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years and older : Fair Housing Act -- Congress bans discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The statute is subsequently amended in 1988 to prohibit discrimination based on disability or family status. mages/timeline/04_1968.jpg&imgrefurl= sources/timeline/&h=195&w=250&sz=44&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=oi5hm7z 88zoV2M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1968%2B%25E2 %2580%2593%2BCivil%2BRights%2BAct%2B(Fair%2BHousing%2BAct) %2B%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG 1972: Equal Rights Amendment -- Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the States for ratification. The amendment would create a clear constitutional requirement of equality based on sex. Although 22 states ratify the amendment within one year, ultimately, supporters fall three states short of the 38 needed to amend the constitution. 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act -- Congress passes the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability, providing equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. The Act also mandates the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services. 7