396 CHAPTER 13|CIVIL RIGHTS
Women and Civil Rights
When John Adams attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, his wife, Abigail,
advised him not to “put such unlimited power in the hands of the husbands. Remem-
ber, all men would be tyrants if they could.... If particular care and attention is not
paid to the ladies, we... will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have
no voice or representation.”^12 John Adams did not listen to his wife. The Constitu-
tion did not give women the right to vote, and they were not guaranteed that civil
right until the Nineteenth Amendment was ratifi ed in 1920. Until the early twenti-
eth century, women in most parts of the country could not hold offi ce, serve on juries,
bring lawsuits in their own name, own property, or serve as legal guardians for their
children. A woman’s identity was so closely tied to her husband that if she married a
noncitizen she automatically gave up her citizenship. The rationale for these policies
was called protectionism: women were considered too frail to compete in the busi-
ness world and were seen as needing to be protected by men.
While protectionist sentiment waned by the mid-twentieth century, as recently
as 1961 a court upheld a Florida law that automatically exempted women, but
not men, from compulsory jury duty. Later in this chapter we describe how the
Supreme Court has moved away from this discriminatory position and rejected
protectionist thinking toward women.Gay Men and Lesbians
The most recent group in the struggle for civil rights is the LGBT community.
For most of American history, gay men and lesbians lived secret lives and faced
abuse and discrimination if they came out. The critical moment that spurred the
gay rights movement occurred in 1969, during a police raid on the Stonewall Inn
in New York City. (Police often raided gay bars to harass patrons and selectively
enforce liquor laws.)^13 Rather than submitting to the arrests, the customers fought
back, throwing stones and beer bottles, breaking windows, and starting small
fi res. Several hundred people gathered, and the fi ghting raged for three nights. The
Stonewall Rebellion was a galvanizing event for the gay community by demon-
strating the power of collective action.
Since Stonewall, the gay rights movement has made progress through political
mobilization and protest, legislative action, and legal action. Public support for gay
rights has increased dramatically in recent years. In fact, a CBS News poll showed
that 63 percent of Americans believe that same-sex couples should be entitled to
the same benefi ts as heterosexual couples, whereas only 32 percent think they
should not.^14 In May 2012, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage for the
fi rst time, completing his gradual evolution on the issue. Thus, public support for
equal rights based on sexual orientation is growing.The Racial Divide Today
Why does the history of civil rights matter for politics today? First, the eff ects of
slavery and Jim Crow laws are still evident: legal racial segregation ended less
than 50 years ago, and its legacy—especially in the relative quality of educationprotectionism The idea under
which some people have tried to
rationalize discriminatory poli-
cies by claiming that some groups,
like women or African Americans,
should be denied certain rights for
their own safety or well-being.
ANALYZE INEQUALITY
AMONG RACIAL, ETHNIC,
AND SOCIAL GROUPS TODAY