Professional Documents
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The curriculum, Supreme Court DBQs, was made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities through its We the People program.
Mission Statement
Established in 1999, the Institute is a 501(c)(3) not for profit charity focused on providing educational resources on America's Founding documents and principles for teachers and students of American History and Civics. Our mission is to educate young people about the words and ideas of the Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.
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).
According to the Supreme Courts ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, what was the basic flaw in Plessys argument? Plessy was wrong to argue that 1. social prejudices could be overcome without legislation.
2. separation of the races meant that one race was inferior.
3.
4. 5.
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
What was the key holding of the plurality decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke?
1. Giving preference to members of a group for no other reason than race was discriminatory and unconstitutional. A diverse student body was not a constitutionally permissible goal for public universities. UC-Davis could not take students race into account at all when considering applications. Affirmative action programs were necessary to right past wrongs due to societal discrimination. Not sure
2. 3. 4. 5.
In the Michigan affirmative action cases, which feature was considered constitutional in public university admissions policies?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The admission of a critical mass of minority students The use of an automatic award of points based on race The use of quotas based on race The rejection of race as a consideration in admission Not sure
Identifying and Teaching against Misconceptions: Six Common Mistakes about the Supreme Court by Professor Diana E. Hess, pp. vii-xiii
6. It is common for the Court to accept cases filed by poor people in prison.
7. When the Supreme Court rules on a case, it has established the final right answer.
8. The Courts judgment is not influenced by individuals or interest groups. 9. Teaching facts such as these might lessen students respect for the Supreme Court.
3. The Constitutions limits apply to actions by anyone, such as a private organization FALSEConstitution applies only to actions by a federal, state, or local
government actor 4. The Supreme Courts primary function is to liberate people the federal judiciaryof a FALSEprimary function is to ensure uniformity in from the heavy hand discriminatory majority. FALSEensure uniformity 5. The role of the Court is to correct errors when lower courts have made mistakes. FALSEone-tenth of to percent of filed by petitions were granted 6. It is common for the Courtoneaccept casespauperspoor people in prison. review FALSE: We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only 7. When the Supreme Court rules on a case, it has established the final right answer. because we are final. Justice Robert Jackson 8.FALSE people interested in a case may file amicus briefs, on which the Court The Courts judgment is not influenced by individuals or interest groups. often relies. 9. Teaching facts such as these might lessen students respect for the Supreme Court. TRUE-- But true respect is much more powerful when it comes from a strong knowledge base. Diana Hess, xiii or an employer.
Elements of The Bill of Rights Institute DBQ approach: Each unit includes a scholarly essay to set the stage.
Within each Landmark Case DBQ Case Background Summary: introduces historical background for case Key Question: focuses attention on constitutional impact Documents: historical case precedents case documents case related material Each document has a scaffolding focus question. Promotes teacher choice and flexibility in design and use of materials.
Equal Protection and Affirmative Action, Warner Winborne, Ph.D. pp. 37-39
Equality is self-evidentnot governments job Civil War Amendments made it governments job to promote equality What is equal protection?legal & political, not social & economic Plessy established separate but equal as the rule for social interactions. However, several decisions endorsed legal & political equality. 1954Brown v. Board of Education was the real turning point. 1978Regents of the University of California v. Bakke established that affirmative action lives, but that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits reverse discrimination. 2003Gratz v. Bollinger & Grutter v. Bollinger, cases from University of Michigan, established that affirmative action still lives, but must be narrowly tailored.
Scaffolding Questions
19
Evaluate the
degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.
20
Sala Capitular, room in New Orleans where the Louisiana Supreme Court heard Plessy v. Ferguson in 1892; photo ca. 1903
Plessy: Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.
Analyze the prompt What do we mean by custom? Precedent? Federalism? How did each of these elements relate to the issue of equal protection in Homer Plessys case?
Custom (tradition)
Precedent (formal
document or official procedure)
Federalism
(division of power between national & state levels)
Group Assignments
Group 1: Documents A, C, D Group 2: Documents B, E Group 3: Documents F, G Group 4: Documents H, I
Favors Plessy
Favors Ferguson
Place document letters in the appropriate cell(s) in graphic organizer.
Custom Precedent
Federalism
25
26
Custom (tradition)
Precedent
(formal document or official procedure)
A,E, F, G
Federalism
(division of power between national & state levels)
C, D, H
C, D, I
Additional Documents
J. Final Judgment, 1896 M. At the bus station, 1940 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Louisiana Supreme Court decision was affirmed; Plessy lost at both levels.
In 1954, the Court invalidated the principle of separate but equal because of its effects, making the law conform to the principles of the Fourteenth Amendment.
30
31
32
Dissent, continued
[T]he interests of both [races] require that the common government of all shall not permit the seeds of race hate to be planted under the sanction of law. What can more certainly arouse race hate,than state enactmentsthat colored citizens are so inferior and degraded that they cannot be allowed to sit in public coaches occupied by white citizens? That, as all will admit, is the real meaning of such legislation as was enacted in Louisiana. (Compare to Adamss fig leaf reference in Document F.)
Document Analysis
Favors Plessy
A, E, F, G C, D, H
Favors Ferguson B, E, G, I I C, D, I
Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.
How might the following additional documents be added to the graphic organizer in order to help address the Key QuestionJ, K, L, M, Brown v. Board of Education passage?
Courtesy of Skywriter
37
The Old Senate Chamber, where the Supreme Court met from 1860 - 1935
While precedents such as the Declaration of Independence and other writings illustrated the Founders idealistic approach to the equality principle, the pressures of custom and tradition ultimately proved to carry more weight in the Courts concept A suggestion for the thesis statement... of federalism as applied in Plessy v. Ferguson.
If there were a place in America where separate could be equal, Topeka would have been a good choice.
Scaffolding Questions
41
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.
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48
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
49
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.
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.
51
Brown
Both sides
Board of Education
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)
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
George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit after Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, May 17, 1954
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.
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.
Bakke
Gratz
Grutter
Document Analysis for Bakke lesson: which attorney would be most likely to use each document?
Regents Both sides Bakke
63
Both sides
B JFKs Executive Order (1961) I UC-Davis reply to Bakkes qualifications
Bakke
A 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause C Crockett Cartoon
H Bakkes credentials The Courts decisions and note would not have been used by either party. But M, Justice Marshalls opinion, follows the reasoning for Regents. K, Marshalls memo, could be used by either party; while L, Justice Powells plurality, follows the reasoning of Bakke.
Oral Arguments
At the beginning of each session, the Marshal of the Court (Court Crier) announces:
"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!"
The Chief Justice will begin the oral argument phase by saying,
Key Questions for the Equal Protection DBQs help students practice the thinking skill of grappling with causes and effects as they consider issues of equal protection in American history.
Scaffolding Questions
Work in groups to consider the documents and their scaffolding questions. Group 1: Documents A, B, C Group 2: Documents D, E Group 3: Documents F, G, H Group 4: Documents I, J Group 5: Documents K, L All groups: As time permits, discuss cartoon, p. 86. Report on your discussion:
Jennifer Gratz
Grutter v. Bollinger
In a 5-4 decision written by Justice OConnor, the Court upheld the affirmative action program used in the University of Michigans Law School. The Court reasoned that, because the Law School conducts highly individualized review of each applicant, no acceptance or rejection is based automatically on a variable such as race and that this process ensures that all factors that may contribute to diversity are meaningfully considered alongside race. The law schools approach, giving some preference to racial/ethnic minorities in an effort to achieve a critical mass in terms of diversitybut without assigning a mathematical formula, was seen as constitutional. Justice OConnor expressed the hope that in another 25 years, such affirmative action policies will be unnecessary.
According to the Supreme Courts ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, what was the basic flaw in Plessys argument? Plessy was wrong to argue that 1. social prejudices could be overcome without legislation.
2. separation of the races meant that one race was inferior.
3.
4. 5.
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
What was the key holding of the plurality decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke?
1. Giving preference to members of a group for no other reason than race was discriminatory and unconstitutional. A diverse student body was not a constitutionally permissible goal for public universities. UC-Davis could not take students race into account at all when considering applications. Affirmative action programs were necessary to right past wrongs due to societal discrimination. Not sure
2. 3. 4. 5.
In the Michigan affirmative action cases, which feature was considered constitutional in public university admissions policies?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The admission of a critical mass of minority students The use of an automatic award of points based on race The use of quotas based on race The rejection of race as a consideration in admission Not sure
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