Business Rights Act Of 1964 Essay

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a very monumental moment in U.S. history. The act outlawed any discrimination based on color, age, race, religion, or sex. The main objective of this act was to give freedoms to those of minority groups, specifically the African Americans. The act instructed desegregation meaning that business and schools could not reject individuals just because of their demographics. However, not everyone was eager for, or willing for, these changes. Southern states were very resistant to these changes and argued that their constitutional rights were being violated by forcing businesses to desegregate. The overall argument is that the businesses’ constitutional rights are being violated because the government is telling

The biggest argument that businesses exclaimed was as stated in Dave Davies’ article, “How American Corporations Had A ‘Hidden’ Civil Rights Movement”, “You tell many, many cases of corporations going before the courts and saying, if we were a person, we would have this right – the right to sue here, the right to freedom of speech, you know, the right to the exemption from unreasonable searches and seizures” (Davies, 2018). Their overall belief was that the federal government could not tell them who to serve or allow in their businesses and schools. Business owners argued that the government’s actions were in violation of the 14th Amendment, Section 1 of the Constitution which states, “no state shall make or enforce any law which abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive and person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S. Constitution, 1787). Where this statement holds some truth, it has since been established that the Constitution was ultimately written for the individual rather than the businesses. Therefore, businesses were overridden and required to not discriminate against anyone based on their

Many southern businesses and individuals were against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They were resistant and argued that it was their constitutional right to decide if they wanted to desegregate. In this situation, the federal government’s ability to override the states was essential. This idea is like that of the Federalist No. 51 in the sense of check and balances. The Federalist No. 51 talks about checks and balances within the government, ensuring that there is a separation of powers (Madison, 1788). In the case of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a checks and balance system overrode the idea that businesses could not segregate based on demographics and supported the favor of the people. Many businesses were still resistant to the idea of desegregating but were not able to deny service. Another way in which African Americans were protected were through the overall idea of Federalist No. 10. Federalist No. 10’s overall idea is to guarantee that one specific group of people with the same opinion cannot override the minority (Madison, 1787). The southern states could not cast their opinion and override the decisions of the government, therefore protecting the African