Assignment 4.04

For this assignment, I had to research 2 cases and 2 amendments that expanded civil rights in the United States.  The information I learned is below. 

·         Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education was name given to the consolidation of 5 separate cases that came before the Supreme Court in 1952 dealing with the issue of segregation in public schools. Thurgood Marshall argued to the court that “separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the “equal protection clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”.  The justices could not initially come to a decision and the case was reheard in December 1953.  The justices announced their decision on May 14^th, 1954 that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place”.   It would take several years still for schools to fully desegregate, but this decision is what started the process.

·         Gideon v. Wainwright

Gideon v. Wainwright was a case that expanded the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment. Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor. When he went to court, he requested that an attorney be appointed for him, but his request was denied on the basis that he was not charged with a capital offense.  He was forced to represent himself in court and was found guilty and sentenced to 5 years in prison.  During his time in prison, Gideon petitioned the Florida Supreme Court and challenged his conviction on the basis that his rights were violated because he did not have counsel appointed.  The Florida Supreme Court denied his petition, so he petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on the same grounds.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon’s favor, stating that having counsel was an essential right in order to have a fair trial. Now, everyone has the right to have an attorney represent them in a criminal trial, regardless of what they are charged with or whether they can afford to hire an attorney.

·         15th Amendment

The 15^th Amendment was ratified on February 3^rd, 1870 and it declared that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”  This amendment was meant to give African Americans and other minorities the right to vote, but other measures were put in place to still limit their ability to vote, including poll taxes and literacy tests.  These loopholes were able to be used for nearly 100 years after the passage of the 15^th Amendment, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.

·         19th Amendment

The 19^th Amendment was ratified on August 18^th, 1920 and it gave American women the right to vote.  The strategies used in working for women’s rights varied based on the group and included challenging voting laws in court, parades, silent vigils, hunger strikes.  An amendment allowing women to vote was first introduced to Congress in 1878 and it took 42 years for it to finally be ratified. Two of the large reasons for the political shift to supporting the amendment were women’s suffrage being adopted in New York in 1917 and President Wilson changing his stance to support the amendment in 1918.  Although the amendment legally included all women, minority women still faced the same challenge of actually being able exercise their right to vote that minority men faced until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed.

Sources:

"15th Amendment to the Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)." Primary Documents in American History. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/15thamendment.html>.

"Facts and Case Summary: Gideon v. Wainwright." United States Courts, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/constitution-activities/sixth-amendment/right-counsel/facts-case-summary-gideon.aspx>.

"History of Brown v. Board of Education." United States Courts, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/federal-court-activities/brown-board-education-re-enactment/history.aspx>.

Liptak, Adam. "Brown v. Board of Education, Second Round." The New York Times, 09 Dec. 2006. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/weekinreview/10liptak.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

"Oregon State Bar Bulletin— FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013." Oregon State Bar, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/13febmar/toc.html>.

"The 19th Amendment." National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/amendment_19/>.