5.8: Critical Thinking Questions

1. Why did Mexican Americans see the 14th amendment as a way to have their rights respected?

Section 1 of the 14th amendment states that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any 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.” Mexican Americans saw the equal protection clause as applying to them. The Hernandez lawyers argued Mexican Americans were “a class apart” and did not neatly fit into a legal structure that recognized only black and white Americans.

2. Why did some states argue the 14th amendment did not apply to Mexican Americans?

Some states argued that Mexican Americans were white and therefore the 14th amendment did not apply to them because the purpose of the 14th amendment was to stope states from discriminating against blacks. Remember this is one of the amendments adopted right after the Civil War. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are also known as the Civil War amendments.

3. Is Texas’s voter id law fair or harming civil liberties of some in our state?
The Voter ID law is controversial because some claim it is a modern-day poll tax. Minority voters are disproportionately affected by the law.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with requiring people to provide identification in order to vote. Most Americans support voter ID laws and possess the necessary ID -- a driver's license, say, or (if they happen to live in Texas) a gun license. The trouble, still unresolved by many states that have enacted these laws, is that not every citizen has easy access to such a document. It's perhaps difficult for people living relatively orderly, prosperous lives to understand how a 21st-century American can lack appropriate ID or have difficulty obtaining it. But for many elderly and poor, and others besides, it's no mystery. Birth certificates are long lost or, in some instances, were never issued at all. Belongings have been destroyed by fire or left behind in a transient rush. Paperwork has disappeared. Public transportation is used in lieu of a car. Minorities and the poor are most effected by the voter id laws. Called a “poll tax” because have to pay for government id. 600,000 voters of 13.6 million registered voters (about 4.4%) in Texas did not have the proper form of id to vote in 2014. Even Texas’s laws in 2020 concerning mail in ballots were designed to prevent minorities from voting since minorities are more likely to vote Democrat.

4. Are Super PACs so super? Are they fair?

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United vs. FEC made it much easier for people and organizations to donate anonymously to campaigns. The ruling let individuals, unions, and corporations donate on a large scale to political action committees, or PACs (PACs are vehicles for massing funds, then spending them on strategic actions their leaders hope will influence elections). Prior to Citizens United, individuals, unions, and corporations were forbidden to donate amounts over a paltry $5,000 to a PAC. But after it, a billionaire like George Soros or a company like WalMart could pour unlimited amounts into political action committees anonymously. Because of this ruling some argue that Super PACs allow the wealthy to have a bigger voice in our democracy.
You can also argue from the other side that Super PACs are good for democracy because many are formed by interest groups which the average person can join like the NRA. The interest groups form Super PACs to get people elected who are supportive of the group and because of this, individuals are represented through Super PACs.