Chapter 28 Our Enduring Constitution Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land

Abolishing Slavery Tensions between the North and the South As new states joined the nation during the early 1800's the North and South competed for power in Congress. The North thought including slaves in population counts gave the south more representatives. The South was afraid the North would abolish slavery.

The Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise divided the United States into “slave" territories and “free" territories. Do you think the southern states were free territories or slave territories?

The 13th and 14th Amendment The 13th amendment abolished slavery in 1865. This change happened after the Civil War. The 14th Amendment ensured citizenship for African Americans. It stated "All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the State where they reside"

Right to Vote In some states being a citizen did not guarantee suffrage: or the right to vote. In 1870 the 15th amendment was added. This declares that states may not deny the right to vote to any person on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Voting Despite the 15th amendment, some states found ways to prevent African Americans from voting. Some states required citizens to pay a poll tax: a fee for voting. In 1964 the 24th amendment was passed and made poll tax illegal.

Traditional Ideas about Women People believed women belonged in the home, caring for the family. They believed women were unable to handle many of the jobs that men performed. They disapproved of women voting or holding political office.

Challenging the Tradition By the late 1800's people's views toward women began to change. Women began to insist on the right to vote. In 1920 the 19th amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote.

Chapter 28 Our Enduring Constitution Section 2: A Flexible Framework

The Role of The Supreme Court If the Constitution does not spell out in detail how to follow the principles, who makes sure that they are being followed correctly? The Supreme Court/ Courts By deciding whether a certain action violates the Constitution, the court makes that action either legal or illegal

Equality and Segregation Plessy V. Ferguson Many states passed laws requiring segregation: separation of blacks and whites in public places such as hotels, schools, restaurants, and trains. Plessy was put in jail for sitting in the "white" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy took his case all the way to the Supreme Court saying it violated his right to equal protection. The court ruled that Louisiana law did not violate the 14th amendment as long as everything was “Separate but equal"

Overturning a Decision A court decision is not permanent, and can be overturned by an amendment that changes Constitutional principles. A decision may also be overturned by a later court decision. New Evidence may lead the court to change an earlier interpretation of a Constitutional principle.

Opposition to Segregation List 3 ways the water fountains are different. Write a sentence about how this photograph makes you feel. What words come to mind when you see this picture. Quick write

Opposition to Segregation Many schools and other facilities for African Americans were not as good as those for whites. By the early 1950's many Americans were questioning the fairness of segregation.

Does this seem fair?

Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Linda Brown, an African American girl, lived only 7 blocks from a school for white children. By law she was required to attend a school for African American children 21 blocks away. Linda's parents took the School Board to court. Thurgood Marshall, Brown's lawyer, presented evidence that separate schools had a harmful effect on children. Marshall concluded "Separate but equal" schools could never be legal. The Justices voted with Brown, so the Brown V. Board overturned the Plessy V. Ferguson case.

Equality and Affirmative Action Congress passed a series of laws known as Civil Rights Laws to guard against racial discrimination. Affirmative Action The government began to take affirmative action: steps to counteract the effects of past racial discrimination and discrimination against Warren. This helped to correct the effects of unfair hiring practice.

Regents of the University of California V. Bakke (1978) The University of California at Davis reserved places in each entering class for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native American students. Allan Bakke, a white students, was rejected for admissions. Some members of other racial ethnic groups were admitted with lower grade point averages than Bakke. Bakke took the University to court, arguing that he was a victim of reverse discrimination. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional for an admissions program to discriminate against whites only because of their race.

Women and Equality The court has also applied the equal protection principle to other issues, such as whether companies may treat male employees differently from female employees. Ida Phillips applied for a position with the Martin Marietta corporation in Florida. The corporation would deny the job to women with children, such as Ida. Ida took the corporation to court and argued that men were not asked about their children. The court ruled in favor of Ida Phillips, declaring the company couldn't have one hiring policy for women and another for men.