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The Civil Rights Act of 1991

The Civil Rights Act of 1991

The constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights were suppose to be enough to guarantee equal rights for all people, however, after the emancipation of slaves the government needed to ensure the equality of the freed people so created the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Since then there has been Civil Rights Acts in 1871, 1957, 1964, 1972, and 1991. Each act reinforces the one before it, and adds one or two new provisions. This repetitive action shows that the only way people pay attention to a civil rights act is if another is brought to light, and remind society that everyone is supposed to be treated equally.

The most recent Civil Rights Act of 1991 was a compromise culminating from two years of negotiations, and a failed proposal in 1990. This original act “targeted six 1989 Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the reach and remedies of laws prohibiting employment discrimination and made it harder to prove job discrimination and easier to challenge affirmative-action programs” (Congressional Quarterly 1990, 462). It was passed in the Senate after 8 weeks of discussion with a vote of 65-34, and passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 273-154 on August 3. Both houses passed it despite the Bush Administration’s constant pledge that he would be against the bill. Most Congressional members, however, believed that Bush would not risk the political cost of vetoing a Civil Rights Act, Bush took a risk and did veto the piece of legislature.

In text accompanying the veto Bush states his reasons for his actions. He first states his position on discrimination saying that “discrimination whether on the basis of race, national origin, sex, religion, or disability is worse than wrong” (Congressional Quarterly 1990, p. 472) so as to make clear that he is not against the anti-discrimination part of the bill. He gives his reason as saying that “despite the use of the term ‘civil rights’ in the title of S 2104, the bill actually employs a maze of highly legalistic language to introduce the destructive force of quotas into our nation’s employment system” (Congressional Quarterly 1990, p. 472). Bush felt that the possibility of job quotas being made outweighed the benefits of a non-discriminatory work environment.

Bush felt strongly enough about job quotas to...

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