Majority Rule and Minority Rights
Majority rule is a general democratic principle for settling collective decisions, but not every American election requires more than half the votes. Many elections use plurality rules, under which the candidate with the most votes wins even below 50 percent, and presidential selection operates through the Electoral College. Whatever decision rule applies, constitutional democracy does […]
Government Responses to Social Movements
Constitutional rights primarily restrain government, but discrimination often occurs through private institutions. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 reaches important parts of that gap. Title II prohibits specified discrimination in covered places of public accommodation. Title VI addresses discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance. And Title VII prohibits covered employment discrimination because of race, […]
