Descrimination Notes

Heterogenous - different people, cultures, etc..
immigrant - legal aliens that move to another country
reservations - public land given to Native Americans by the government
refugee - move here for protection purposes
assimilation - adapting to another culture

notes continued (4/2/14)...

• population of the US is mostly white
• Immigrants have arrived in near record numbers every year since 1960
• populations have grown - African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American
• Minority pops exceed white in Texas, California, Hawaii, & New Mexico
• more females than males 

African Americans :

• victims of consistent and deliberate treatment for a longer time
• make up 14% of the population
• most gains have been made by African Americans

Native Americans:

• pop increased to 6 mill by 1900
• Americans brought illnesses that hurt the Native Americans
• Poverty, joblessness, alcoholism - all plague many reservations today
• Indian Education Act - attempted to remedy the lives of Native Americans
• die younger / higher infant mortality rate

Hispanic Americans:

• Spanish speaking backgrounds
• can be any race
• largest minority rate - 50 mil in US
• four main groups - Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Cuban, Central & South Americans

Asian Americans:

• chinese laborers were the 1st to come to America
• often faced with violence b/c white workers were unhappy
• Chinese exclusion Act - illegal for Chinese to migrate here
• WWII- japanese bombed pearl harbor, they were evacuated to the pacific Coast, even native born
• Congress admitted they were wrong and changed their ways 

notes cont.. (4-7-14)

• Those who oppose Civil Rights often believe you cant change morality by passing a law. 
• Dr. King: "Judicial decrees.. may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless
• in the 1870s-1950s no meaningful legislation passed in regards to civil rights
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 made changes in 
•  - public services could no longer deny access based on ***race, religion, national origin, physical disability, etc...*
• funding
• voting provisions
• Civil rights act of 1968 :
• open housing act (cannot refuse selling/renting living space to a person due to ***
• Title IX : forbids discrimination on the basis of gender in any educational program or program regarding financial assistance. Equal funding and opportunities must be given to women athletics
• Affirmative action: 
• requires employers take positive steps to fix the affects of past discrimination
• employers must meet quotas for minority groups/genders
• Reverse discrimination: discrimination against the majority group

CITIZENSHIP 

• an american citizen is one who swears allegiance to the US
• 14th amendment was the first constitutional definition 
• The constitution declares that a person becomes an American citizen one of 2 ways - birth and naturalization.
• BY BIRTH -
• 90% of Americans are citizens by birth
• Citizen if born on US soil
• NATURALIZATION - 
• one who migrates and take the citizenship tests
• en masse - an entire group becomes a citizen because the US gains their territory
• loss of citizenship - expatriation - every citizen has the right to voluntarily abandon their citizenship
• unconstitutional for congress to take away citizenship
• denaturalization - can occur when one has became a citizen through fraud or deception
• Marriage does not make one a citizen it only shortens the time of the naturalization process