Verified Document

Constitution, The Court, And Race Term Paper

However, the doctrine of "states' rights," also stemming from the Constitution, encouraged the southern states to believe that they could deal with their Negro residents as they chose, as only slavery had been specifically banned. They began imposing more and more restrictive rules on their Black residents. The Ku Klux Klan formed after the federally managed "Reconstruction" ended. The KKK terrorized Blacks who violated the views of the local Whites regarding how Blacks should behave and conduct themselves. At the end of the 19th century, in the ruling Plessy vs. Ferguson (p. 133), the Supreme Court ruled that a court ruling could not force equality if one race were inferior to the other, and refused to reverse segregation rules. This ruling justified all sorts of horrific practices, including segregated schools, which were separate but often not equal. Typically these schools did not have libraries, and typically the textbooks were outdated textbooks sent to the Black schools after the White schools had replaced them with newer, more up-to-date ones. It is hard today to understand how the Supreme Court came to its Plessy vs. Ferguson conclusions given the very explicit statements in the 14th Amendment. However, the Court concluded that the 14th Amendment did not require that everyone be treated the same all the time. It allowed local and state authorities to continue to require Blacks to use separate cars on the trains, separate waiting rooms for public transportation, etc. It wasn't until 1954 with the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that the Supreme Court declared that "separate" was inherently unequal.

What was the state of race relations at the turn of the century?

In spite of the passage of the 15th Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote, African-Americans were routinely blocked from voting by poll taxes, literacy tests given to them but not White voters and outright intimidation (2). "Jim Crow" laws continued to be passed throughout the southern states to reinforce segregation. Blacks had to attend special schools,...

By the early 20th century these laws were fully entrenched and supported by the Supreme Court's Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling. Blacks were not guaranteed free and equal education. The KKK continued to terrorize the Black population, and lynchings were common.
Anticipate what would remain to be done in the 21st century

At the dawn of the 21st century, the idea that all people are inherently equal and that racism is an intolerable trait has become part of our society's values. Racism still occurs, but when it does, people from all sections of society voice objections. At the dawn of the 20th century, racism was viewed as normal and acceptable. Now, it is viewed as unacceptable, and organized racist groups are abhorrent to most people. We can expect that this general view will continue to dominate, although racist incidents will still occur.

We may see continuing complaints about "reverse discrimination." The study by the Urban Institute cited in the text suggests that reverse discrimination doesn't balance out the discrimination that still takes place in hiring practices (p. 131), but this information may not be widely known and may continue to either not be widely known or not widely accepted.

Inequality still infuses our society at every level. As the textbook points out, African-Americans are 50% less likely to receive heart surgery when needed as Caucasians (p. 131), an inequality at the most basic level - who lives, and who dies.

Bibliography

PBS, no date. "Dredd Scott case: The Supreme Court Decision, in Judgment Day. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html

Russell, Thomas D.. 2003. "Slavery Under the Constitution," in American Legal History -- Russell. University of Denver College of Law. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/alh/docs/slaverycon.html

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

PBS, no date. "Dredd Scott case: The Supreme Court Decision, in Judgment Day. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html

Russell, Thomas D.. 2003. "Slavery Under the Constitution," in American Legal History -- Russell. University of Denver College of Law. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/alh/docs/slaverycon.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Race, Class and Gender /
Words: 1458 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

In the Struggle for Democracy (Greenberg, 483-84) the author explains that gradually, little by little, the Supreme Court of the United States responded to the need to rule segregation unconstitutional. And in the process the Court ruled that any law passed using the criteria of race was also unconstitutional. The Brown v. Board of Education vote in 1954 meant that segregation in schools was not constitutional and it was the

Court Services Management
Words: 1436 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Court Service Management How does a court system cope with a changing of the guard when a new administration is elected and key executives and managers are replaced, and/or when policy changes direction as a new political party assumes power? The court deals with transitions of power by maintaining the established traditions and principles from the Constitution. This is used to ensure that case precedent is respected and to provide stability for

Court Case Historically, Gaines V.
Words: 3457 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

But if Houston insisted that Plessy be enforced that is, if the NAACP sued a state to make its schools for black children equal to those for whites which Plessy did require then he could undermine segregation. (Jomills Henry Braddock. A Long-Term View of School Desegregation: Some Recent Studies of Graduates as Adults. Phi Delta Kappan. 259-61. 1984) He reasoned that states would either have to build new schools for

Race Culture and Public Safety
Words: 658 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

Race, Culture and Public Safety How have this week's readings challenged your own beliefs about race and culture and its relevance to the construction of public safety in America? What had a particular impact on your ideas about emerging safety issues? These can be negative as well as positive comments. Also, consider ethnicity. Police officers often find themselves torn between two competing needs. On one hand, they must serve the laws of

Race and the Death Penalty
Words: 2630 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

It is difficult to argue that the death penalty is being applied evenly and fairly as required by the Supreme Court's Furman v. Georgia decision. In fact, it could be argued, with statistics like these, that the application of the death penalty is being influenced by racial factors. If the race of the victim is a factor in deciding whether or not the defendant receives the death penalty, then the

The US Supreme Court and Same Sex Marriages
Words: 657 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Same Sex Marriage Clearly explain the SCOTUS's ruling on same-sex marriage. Make sure to discuss the constitutional issues on this ruling. In Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court is focusing on if same sex couples have the right to marry. This is because a number of states had bans on issuing marriage licenses for these kinds of relationships. Instead, all applicants must be a male and female versus two of the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now