Democracy Under Pressure

Democracy Under Pressure Chapter 5 The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality American Indians • 1 percent of the U.S. population (2.8m) • 50% unemployment • 309 reservations in 32 states • Alcoholism is 5 times the national average • Suicide rate is twice the national average. • Conferred citizenship by Congress in 1924 • ½ live below the poverty line • American Indian Movement (AIM) seized Wounded Knee in 1973. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality Hispanics • The largest minority in the U.S. (40.4m) • 26 million are Mexican-Americans • 21% live in poverty (12.1 national average) • Migrant Mexican-Americans have a much shorter life expectancy, a much higher birth rate and infant mortality rate. • Hispanics include those of Mexican, Central and South America, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Spanish origin. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality Asian Americans • 3rd largest minority (4% of U.S. population or 12million in 2004). • Asians include those of Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indians, Vietnamese (and other Southeast Asians) Korean, and Japanese. • Known for success in academics, science, engineering, and medicine. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality Women • 51% of the population • Earn 77% of a man’s wage – working the same job. • Have made great strides in all areas of society but still experience, “the glass ceiling” in top business positions. • In 2006, 70.2 million women worked.That accounted for 46% of the labor force. Women held 79% of all administrative support and clerical jobs. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality GayRights • Rights for gays have moved from the extremes of society toward the mainstream. • According to a University of Chicago study, 2.8% of American men and 1.4% of American women identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual. • 9.1% of men and 4.3% of women reported homosexual experience. • 51% of the public have said they believe homosexual behavior is “morally wrong.” • By 2006, 41 states and the federal government had laws prohibiting gay marriage. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality Disabled Americans • 51 million Americans – almost one person in every five – are disabled. • 32.5 million reported that their disabilities were severe. • In 1990 Congress passed, The Americans with Disabilities Act to help remove everyday barriers to people with disabilities. • A disability is, “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life functions.” • Disabled Americans were an “invisible minority” their rights of equal treatment and equal access were often overlooked or neglected. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality African Americans • 2nd largest minority (12% of the U.S. population). • The “American Dilemma” according to Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal is the paradox that a “nation founded on the principle that all people are created equal should have “a race problem.” • African Americans have been in America since 1619 and have fought and died in every war America has fought. • The post-Civil War amendments – the 13th ,14th , and 15th involved the status of blacks in America. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

The Struggle for Equality African Americans • 13th Amendment (1865) – abolished slavery • 14th Amendment (1868) – granted citizenship and equal protection under the law. • 15th Amendment (1870) – provided black males with the right to vote • Landmark Supreme Court decisions: • Dred Scott decision (1857) - Blacks not citizens • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Separate but equal • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Segregation in Public schools violate the 14th Amendment. Chapter 5 - The Struggle for Equality

Democracy Under Pressure