1. Equal Protection & the 14th Amendment
And Supreme Court Cases that Mattered

2. 14th Amendment
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.

3. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
In 1876 when northerners were removed from power in the south, many African Americans lost their rights, again.
Many “Jim Crow” laws were passed in the south that greatly restricted African American rights.
This was challenged in Louisiana in the 1890’s when a case was brought before the Supreme Court stating that the states law requiring blacks and whites to ride in different railroad cars violated the 13th & 14th Amendment. (Which part?)
In 1896 the Supreme Court heard Plessy v. Ferguson
What was the ruling & the justification for the ruling?

4. Plessy v. Ferguson
The lone dissenting judge wrote: “Our Constitution is color blind…. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.”

5. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Facts of the Case
Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to the races.
The white and black schools approached equality in terms of buildings, curricula, qualifications, and teacher salaries.
Question
Does the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the minority children of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment?

6. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
In a unanimous 9-0 decision the Supreme Court decided:
Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment -- even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors of white and Negro schools may be equal.
The question presented in these cases must be determined not on the basis of conditions existing when the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, but in the light of the full development of public education and its present place in American life throughout the Nation.
Where a State has undertaken to provide an opportunity for an education in its public schools, such an opportunity is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

7. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprives children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal.
The "separate but equal" doctrine adopted in Plessy v. Ferguson has no place in the field of public education.

8. Was the case successful?

9. Other Equal Protection Cases
Read the types of scrutiny on pg
Read your court case silently
With your partner you need to:
Write down a claim (Who would you rule in favor of; use the 3 levels of scrutiny)
Write down ONE piece of evidence & a reason why in the middle box
DO NOT write a question about the case yet!

10. Group Directions
Make a group of six, 2 pairs of the three different cases from last Tuesday.
Verbally share the claim, evidence, reasoning for your case.
Now as a group write a high level question for each case.

11. Assessment
You are going to make a written argument about the 14th Amendment
To do this you are going to argue that the due process or equal protection clause is the most important part of the 14th Amendment
Follow the three paragraph format to write your argument
Use the court cases as evidence to support your claim