Affirmative Action

Affirmative action in the United States is an unjust system that negatively affects the people of this country and should be ended immediately. In order to fully understand this controversial issue, it is important to understand exactly what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is a grouping of “programs to overcome the effects of past social discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women” (Encyclopedia.com). Affirmative action is not limited to those things only, as it’s programs are also used in colleges as a factor in deciding who is accepted into the university. Affirmative Action and it’s various programs are also unconstitutional in some cases.

The institution of Affirmative Action was adopted by the US after the passage of the Civil Rights Act as a method of reversing past discrimination in working environments and social institutions in general. This action was necessary in these times of social change to ensure that minorities, including woman, were given the same opportunities of employment and education as white males. Blacks were given less pay for their labor and were given only the most menial jobs available, which was unlawful under the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under law, more specifically in the sentences “In United States law, the constitutional guarantee that no person or group will be denied the protection under the law that is enjoyed by similar persons or groups. In other words, persons similarly situated must be similarly treated.”

America has changed drastically in the time since the 1960’s, and these protective affirmative action programs are no longer necessary to ensure equality. Today, these programs are detrimental to the equality of all peoples within America. The way that affirmative action is applied today is different than the way it was practiced back in the 1960’s as a result of the changes it has undergone over the years. Minorities are given preference over majority citizens in regards to college acceptance and job distribution under the premise that underprivileged minority candidates are being denied the same opportunities as white males. This is not the case at all. The very fact that these minorities