Supreme Court DBQ: Equal Protection and Affirmative Action

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Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies

8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).

Equal Protection and Affirmative Action: Related Cases

Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896, p. 41 Brown v. Board of Education, 1954, p. 53 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978 p. 63 Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003, p. 75

On what part of the Constitution did the Court base its decision in Brown v. Board of Education?
1. 2. 3. 4. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment The Interstate Commerce Clause of Article I The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

5.

Not sure

Supreme Court DBQ: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Application: Equal Protection Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

The same Congress that passed the Fourteenth Amendment created racially segregated schools for the District of Columbia. In Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) the Court held that there was nothing inherently unequal-nor anything unconstitutional-about separate accommodations for races.

If there were a place in America where separate could be equal, Topeka would have been a good choice.

Read Case Background, p. 53

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Tools for Understanding: Key Question Enduring Significance

Scaffolding Questions

U.S. Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment Document A

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. 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.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Briefly skim documents pp. 55 - 62

Lancaster, Ohio. August 1938. Ben Shahn, photographer; Farm Security Administration Collection "Sign on a restaurant." [Sign: "We Cater to White Trade only."] Library of Congress Location: F-9063

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Initial observations after a quick look at the documents Time span: 1847 1963 Types of documents: law, Fourteenth Amendment, references from Plessy v. Ferguson majority opinion and dissent, snapshots, map, references from Brown v. Board of Education decision Documents are short Usefulness in your classroom?
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Group Assignments
Group 1: Documents A, B, H Group 2: Documents C&D Group 3: Documents E, F, G
Supreme Court Document Based Questions Document Analysis Documents Summary: Students will use this form to develop an overview of the evidence available.
Document name & date Author Answer to scaffolding question How each side might use this document to answer the Key Question OR What is the main idea of this document?

Fill in the graphic organizer for your assigned documents; note your response in text chat as time permits.

Document Analysis, pp. 55 & 58

A.Virginia Criminal Code, 1847: It was against the law in some states before the Civil War to educate enslaved or free African Americans. B. Section of the Fourteenth Amendment, 1868: Following the Civil War, the U.S. Constitution was amended in order to prohibit the states from denying the rights of any person. H. Segregation Laws Map, 1953: The map shows that, almost 100 years after the Civil War, segregation laws were still the rule in former slave states.

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Document Analysis, pp. 55-56

C. Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Separate but equal is OK; segregation in public accommodations does not violate the Constitution. D. Dissent, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Like the majority decision in this case, the dissent notes that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to guarantee legal equality of the races. Unlike the majority, the dissent asserts that segregation necessarily leads to inequality and is unconstitutional.
Justice Henry Brown

Justice John Marshall Harlan

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Document Analysis, pp. 56-57

E. Washington, D.C. Public School classroom, Making Geometric Forms with Paper, 1899 : Classroom is neat, orderly, crowded, coed. F. African American Schoolgirls Learning to Sew, 1899: Classroom is neat, orderly, crowded; segregated; girls only. Students appear to be younger than those in Document E. G. Crowded Segregated Classroom, 1940s: Classroom is crowded; some students do not have desks; appears less orderly.

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Document Analysis, p. 59
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. must be available to all on equal terms. To separate students from others solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority [Based on] psychological knowledgethis finding is amply supported Separate educational facilities are inherently unequalplaintivesaredeprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

I. Unanimous Opinion, Brown v. Board of Education (1954): The Court declared mandatory segregation of the races in public schools to be unconstitutional, essentially invalidating Plessy v. Ferguson.
Chief Justice Earl Warren
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Document Analysis, p. 60
J. Unanimous Opinion in Brown II (1955): Because of the pervasive nature of segregation throughout the nations schools, the desegregation required by Brown I placed great responsibility on local officials who would implement the principles of equal protection in varied ways in different communities. The Court must rely on state and local executive and legislative bodies for enforcement of its decisions. District Courts were to be involved so that desegregation would occur with all deliberate speed.

Warren Court, 1955

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Document Analysis, p. 61
K. Supreme Court Decision, 1954 The white hands represent the Supreme Court. The black hands represent African Americans shackled by segregation in schools. The Supreme Court, which in 1954 was composed entirely of white justices, was the force demanding the shackles binding black Americans be broken. The Court was acting to end social and legal bindings and the effects of slavery on black Americans.
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Document Analysis for Brown lesson:

Consider which attorney would be most likely to use each document.
Monroe Elementary School, the segregated school that Linda Brown attended, now a National Historic Site.

Brown

Both sides

Board of Education

Group 1: Documents A, B, H Group 2: Documents C&D Group 3: Documents E, F, G

Document Analysis for Brown Lesson: Suggested Responses Brown

A: Virginia Criminal Code, 1847

Both sides
B: Section of 14th Amendment

Board of Ed.
C: Majority Opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 (Justice Henry Billings Brown) Photos E (Orderly class for whites) + F (Orderly African American class)

D: Justice John Marshall Harlans dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson

H: Segregation Laws Map

Photos E (Orderly class for whites) + G (crowded African American class)

I & J, the Courts decisions, would not have been used by either attorney, but follow the reasoning advocated by Brown, and echo Justice Harlans dissent in Plessy. K, an editorial cartoon after the decision, is consistent with Browns side.

Apply Case Briefing Sheet, p. vidiscuss with a partner.

Case Name and Year:

Facts of the case:

Summary of Petitioners Arguments (Brown) Summary of Respondents Arguments (Board of Education)

How would you decide the case and why?

How did the Supreme Court decide the case?

Brown v. Board of Education Key Question, p. 54

Assess the role played by the Court as the protector of individual rights against the tyranny of the majority in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Photo credit: www.u-s-history.com

Tips for Thesis Statements

Writing a good thesis statement
Analyze the prompt: assess, tyranny of the majority. Fully address all parts of the prompt. Clearly take a sidemake a declarative statement that one thing was more important, more persuasive, etc. than another. Since the verb in the prompt is often something like assess or evaluate, the thesis statement should show which side the writer takes. Suggest a table of contents or road map for the essayshow what elements enter into consideration. Be sure that the rest of the essay proves the thesis statement with abundant and persuasive facts and evidence.

Writing Thesis Statements

Your turn! Try your hand at writing a thesis statement for the Brown v. Board of Education DBQ: Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education : custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.

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A Suggested Thesis Statement for Brown v. Board DBQ

While the Fourteenth Amendment had required equal protection of the laws in 1868, and the Courts ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson had endorsed the principle of equality in 1896, Supreme Court action by 1954 was absolutely crucial; equal protection of individual rights could not have become a reality in the 1950s without action by the Supreme Court. It was politically impossible for the elected branches of government to break the tyranny of the majority in this issue.

THE ISSUE ENDURES

Nettie Hunt explains to her daughter the significance of this decision as they sit on the Courts steps in November, 1954. Nettie is holding a newspaper with the headline "High Court Bans Segregation in Public Schools. Library of Congress

George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit after Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, May 17, 1954

THE ISSUE ENDURES p. 62

June 11, 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace stood at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in a symbolic attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling at the school.

THE ISSUE ENDURES p. 62

June 11, 1963, Vivian Malone enters the University of Alabama. After earning her degree in business management, she went to work at the U.S. Department of Justice, retiring in 1996. She died in 2005.

Library of Congress image

On what part of the Constitution did the Court base its decision in Brown v. Board of Education?
1. 2. 3. 4. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment The Interstate Commerce Clause of Article I The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

5.

Not sure

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