Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Why was it necessary, ...

[mynx]

Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Why was it necessary, given that the Fourteenth Amendment was enacted decades before?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Why was it not enacted?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Moriaki]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations involving interstate commerce.
2. Explain how the South had successfully avoided the promises of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments through various mechanisms including Jim Crow laws and literacy tests. Since it appeared that the South would never rescind these laws itself, Congress stepped in to pass this landmark piece of legislation.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe the Equal Rights Amendment as a failed proposal to amend the constitution to eliminate gender discrimination.
2. Explain why it was not adopted, such as concern with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision and with disruptions to the traditional family.