OUR ENDURING CONSTITUTIONChapter 7

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Did the Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect freedoms for all people?

How have court cases shaped our attitudes, values, and beliefs about racism and segregation?

Have we eliminated discrimination in America?

Does the Constitution still have relevance and meaning?

ABOLISHING SLAVERY 1865

• Southern states did not want to abolish slavery for fear of economic collapse

• The framers of the Constitution had avoided the topic• Used words such as all other persons, and such

people instead of the words slave or slavery.

• Missouri Compromise in 1820• Divided slave and non-slave states

• Tension continues to build

DRED SCOTT

• Dred Scott was a slave. He and his slaveholder traveled to Illinois, a non-slave state, and came back to Missouri

• Scott argued that because he resided in Illinois, he had gained his freedom

• The court ruled that under the Constitution, slaves were property and could be taken to non-slave states and brought back

What event put an end to slavery in 1865?

RIGHTS

14th Amendment: All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens and may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Gave African Americans (Freed Slaves) the same

rights as all others in the country.

14th Amendment is often called the Second Bill of Rights 1st Bill of Rights requires Congress to respect

citizens’ rights. 14th Amendment requires states to do so ***Ensures protection under the law, but not from

individual citizens and employers

VOTING RIGHTS

• Suffrage: the right to vote

• Poll Tax: fee for voting• Was made illegal by 24th Amendment

• 15th Amendment: gave voting rights to all races

• 19th Amendment: gave voting rights to females

• The Traditional Ideas of Women• “Politically active women would leave their

family responsibilities behind”• “Women were less able to make political

decisions”

PROTECTION VS. DISCRIMINATION

Court decisions are NOT necessarily permanent. Can be changed or overturned through new

evidence or new ideas.

Equal Protection: People must be treated fairly, but it does not mean that everyone must be treated in exactly the same way.

Segregation: The separation of blacks and whites in public spaces.

PLESSY VS. FERGUSON

• Plessy, an African American man, refused to leave a “white only” railroad car

• He was forced to leave• He argued Equal Protection (14th

Amendment)• Court said his rights were not violated

• Established “Separate But Equal” clause. It was followed for the next 50 years.

BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA (1954)

• Linda Brown (an African American girl) lived 7 blocks from a school for white children• She was required to attend an all black school

that was 21 blocks away

• NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People• Thurgood Marshall argued the case

• Supreme Court Decision - “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”• Overturned Plessy vs.. Ferguson

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

• Affirmative Action – a program designed to counteract the effects of past racial discrimination and discrimination against women

• Issue• Does affirmative lead to equal treatment?• Does affirmative action discriminate against

white men?

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA VS. BAKKE (1978)

• University of California Medical School• Reserved places in each class for African

Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans

• Allan Bakke was rejected admittance• Members of other racial and ethnic groups were

admitted with lower grades, test scores, and interview ratings

• The court ruled that reverse discrimination was illegal…but race is allowed to be one of the factors in admissions

PHILLIPS VS. MARTIN MARIETTA CORP.

• Ida Phillips applied for a job at Marietta• In the screening process Marietta asked if Phillips

had children

• Marietta said “Young children take up a lot of women’s time and energy and would interfere with work performance”

• Phillips was denied the job for this reason• Phillips later found out that male applicants were

not asked if they had children.

• Courts ruled for Phillips - companies cannot have one hiring policy for women and another for men