2. Discuss the various meanings of the word "equal" — equal citizenship, equal access, equal opportunity, equal outcome. Which meaning may be most important for the individual? The group? The nation? 

3. What are some of the contemporary challenges to the establishment clause and the free exercise clause? 

4. How do affirmative action programs benefit and not benefit women and minorities? 

5. Under what conditions, if any, are restrictive covenants in residential areas appropriate? 

6. Evaluate the current conditions and attitudes of the American public in regard to prejudice and discrimination. Are these still serious legal and social problems in America? Why or why not? 

7. The history of the struggle for equality is linked with the history of individuals. Who were/are some of the individuals involved in the struggle for equality among African Americans, women, and other groups? How have they changed conditions for the group they represent? 

8. How has the notion of equality changed in the United States since our founding as a republic? Have expanded rights for women, African Americans, Native Americans, and other groups made the nation more truly equal? Explain.

9. What were the views and conceptions of equality during the early years of the American republic? What does the Constitution say about equality and civil rights? 

10. Compare and contrast how the issues of equality for blacks and women were treated in the Constitutional Convention and the Constitution itself. What constitutional amendments subsequently addressed issues of equality for these two groups? 

11. The equal protection clause has been used extensively. Describe its significance and how courts have used it to rule on matters related to racial and gender equality. Do you approve of this use of the clause? Explain. 

12. Describe the Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case and explain its significance. After the Civil War, what laws were passed to undo the Dred Scott case and provide greater rights for African Americans? Why did these prove insufficient? Explain. 

13. What was so dramatic about the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education? How did the decision affect schools in its immediate aftermath? Should the Court have been more aggressive, or less? Explain.

14. Describe the three eras that delineate African Americans' struggle for equality in America. Explain how the roles of the court and Congress changed through the three eras. 

15. Although the Fifteenth Amendment specifically guaranteed the right to vote for African Americans, what legal devices did southern states use to get around it? How and when were these devices removed? Explain. 

16. How has the struggle for equality among other racial minority groups compared to that of African Americans? Use specific examples to illustrate your answer. 

17. Other than women and racial and ethnic minorities, what other groups have sought over the past few decades for greater recognition of their civil rights? With what success? Do you agree that these groups are entitled to similar civil rights protection? Explain. 

18. Who are the new entrants under the civil rights umbrella? Explain how their struggles have differed from those of the African Americans and women. 

19. Discuss recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the rights of homosexuals. To what extent have these decisions expanded equality to homosexuals? What social factors limit the likely expansion of equality to homosexuals? 

20. What is the purpose of affirmative action programs? How has the Supreme Court ruled in regard to such programs? 

21. W hat is meant by affirmative action? How have the courts ruled on affirmative action? Give examples. 

22. Explain the Supreme Court's ruling in Adarand Constructors v. Pena. How did this decision differ from earlier ones? To what extent did this decision void federal affirmative action programs? 

23. How has civil rights affected democratic government and the scope of government in the United States? What are the basic conflicts between civil rights and democracy? 

24. Explain how civil rights laws expand both the scope and power of government, citing specific court decisions and federal laws as evidence.

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GOVT 2305  American Government and Politics
Cathedral High School, El Paso, Texas
Last updated:  August 2004