PSCI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Heman Marion Sweatt, Strict Scrutiny, Seneca Falls Convention
Document Summary
Group is denied access to facilities, opportunities, or services available to other groups. Issue is whether differences in treatment are reasonable. Some differential treatment is reasonable: for example, progressive taxation. Some differential treatment is not reasonable: for example, classifications by race or ethnicity (suspect classifications) are subject to especially strict scrutiny. Many whites felt deeply threatened by african american integration and political action. Sense of threat was particularly strong in places where african americans were a majority (i. e. , deep south) In the north, african american gains often appeared to be at the expense of lower-income whites. Change was even more difficult because african americans were not able to vote in many areas and often lacked the resources for effective political organizing. Approximately 3,600 blacks were lynched; this shocked some whites, but little was done. Even in states where blacks voted, popular attitudes did not allow them to buy homes or take jobs on an equal basis with whites.
