scdbq plessy v. ferguson

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Supreme Court DBQ: Equal Protection and Affirmative Action 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.

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Page 1: SCDBQ Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court DBQ: Equal Protection and Affirmative

ActionThe curriculum, Supreme Court

DBQs, was made possible by a

generous grant from the National

Endowment for the Humanities through its We

the People program.

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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.

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Components of Professional Development

Enhance our own knowledge

Explore new teaching strategies

Enrich the expertise of other teachers

“There is no knowledge that is not power.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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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).

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Supreme Court in Real Life: Supreme Court Myths/Truths

“Identifying and Teaching against Misconceptions: Six Common Mistakes about the Supreme Court” by Professor Diana E. Hess, pp.

vii-xiii

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Supreme Court True/False Challenge

1. People in America have a generally positive attitude about the Supreme Court.

2. More people can name two of Snow White’s dwarfs than can name two Supreme

Court justices.

3. The Constitution’s limits apply to actions by anyone, such as a private organization or an employer.

4. The Supreme Court’s primary function is to liberate people from the heavy hand of a

discriminatory majority.5. The role of the Court is to correct errors when lower courts have made mistakes.

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 Court’s judgment is not influenced by individuals or interest groups.

9. Teaching facts such as these might lessen students’ respect for the Supreme Court.

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Supreme Court True/False Challenge

1. People in America have a generally positive attitude about the Supreme Court.

2. More people can name two of Snow White’s dwarfs than can name two Supreme

Court justices.

3. The Constitution’s limits apply to actions by anyone, such as a private organization or an employer.

4. The Supreme Court’s primary function is to liberate people from the heavy hand of a

discriminatory majority.5. The role of the Court is to correct errors when lower courts have made mistakes.

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 Court’s judgment is not influenced by individuals or interest groups.

9. Teaching facts such as these might lessen students’ respect for the Supreme Court.

TRUE

TRUE—80% v. 37%

FALSE—Constitution applies only to actions by a federal, state, or local government actor

FALSE—primary function is to ensure uniformity in the federal judiciary

FALSE—ensure uniformity

FALSE—one-tenth of one percent of paupers’ petitions were granted review

FALSE: “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.” Justice Robert Jackson

FALSE –people interested in a case may file amicus briefs, on which the Court often relies.

TRUE-- “But true respect is much more powerful when it comes from a strong knowledge base.” Diana Hess, xiii

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Elements of The Bill of Rights Institute DBQ approach:

Each unit includes a scholarly essay to set the stage.

Within each Landmark Case DBQCase Background Summary:

introduces historical background for caseKey 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.

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Equal Protection and Affirmative Action: Related

CasesPlessy v. Ferguson, 1896, p. 41

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954, p. 53

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978 p. 63

Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003, p. 75

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Equal Protection and Affirmative Action,Warner Winborne, Ph.D. pp. 37-39

Equality is self-evident—not government’s jobCivil War Amendments made it government’s job to

promote equalityWhat is “equal protection?”—legal & political, not

social & economicPlessy established separate but equal as the rule for

social interactions.However, several decisions endorsed legal &

political equality.1954—Brown v. Board of Education was the real

turning point.1978—Regents of the University of California v.

Bakke established that affirmative action lives, but that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits “reverse discrimination.”

2003—Gratz v. Bollinger & Grutter v. Bollinger, cases from University of Michigan, established that affirmative action still lives, but must be “narrowly tailored.”

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According to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, what was the basic flaw in Plessy’s 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. he should not have been subject to Louisiana’s segregation law.

4. the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to his case.

5. Not sure

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Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

1896-Plessy v. Ferguson was one of the key cases that started the U.S. on the long road to Equal Protection.

Read the Case Background on p. 41.

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Tools for Understanding:

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Key Question

Scaffolding Questions

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Enduring Significance

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Key Question for Plessy v. Ferguson, p. 42

Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.

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Sala Capitular, room in New Orleans where the Louisiana Supreme Court heard Plessy v. Ferguson in 1892; photo ca. 1903

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Teaching the DBQ Lesson Plan—for AP US History

Overview/Outside Info—what you know before you look at the documents

Information about Plessy’s position

Information about Ferguson’s position

Evidence Source Evidence Source

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Teaching the DBQ Lesson Plan

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 Plessy’s case?

• Plessy: Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.

Key Question, P. 42

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Document Analysis Plessy v. Ferguson

Favors Plessy

Favors Ferguson

Custom (tradition)

Precedent (formal document or official procedure)

Federalism (division of power between national & state levels)

Place document letters in the

appropriate cell(s) in graphic organizer.

In 4 groups--skim documents A-I

Analysis of Evidence

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Group AssignmentsGroup 1: Documents A, C, D

Group 2: Documents B, EGroup 3: Documents F, G Group 4: Documents H, I

Favors Plessy

Favors Ferguson

Custom

Precedent

Federalism

Place document letters in the

appropriate cell(s) in graphic organizer.

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Documents A, C, D, pages 43-44Founding Documents

A. Declaration of Independence: reflects Founders’ belief in the ideal of equality of rights.

C. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3: Enslaved individuals are “persons,” not property. Nevertheless, they are counted unequally for purposes of determining representation and taxation.

D. Tenth Amendment: affirms powers of the states and of the people.

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Documents B & E, pages 43-44Jefferson’s views

regarding racial equality

B. Blacks may be inferior with respect to reason and imagination, according to Jefferson. However, Jefferson does not say they are not entitled to equal rights.

E. Jefferson hopes he is wrong about inferiority. However, even if they are inferior in understanding, they still have equal rights.

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Documents F & G, pages 45-46Appeals to the promise

of Founding Documents

F. Adams argues for freedom for the Africans captured from the Amistad by citing the Constitution, which recognizes them as persons, and by citing the Declaration, which asserts that all persons have rights.

G. The artist uses symbolism to illustrate the Declaration’s promise of freedom and equality.

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Documents H & I, page 47The Meaning of the

Fourteenth Amendment

H. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly prohibits states from denying to any person the equal protection of the law.

I. In the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, the Supreme Court ruled that it would be absurd to believe that the Fourteenth Amendment means what it says.

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Page 23: SCDBQ Plessy v. Ferguson

Favors Plessy

Favors Ferguson

Custom (tradition)

B, E, G, I

Precedent (formal document or official procedure)

A,E, F, G I

Federalism (division of power between national & state levels)

C, D, H C, D, I

How did the Supreme Court rule in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Separate but equal is OK—favored

Ferguson.

Suggested Responses: Document Analysis

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Additional Documents

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J. Final Judgment, 1896

Louisiana Supreme Court decision was

affirmed; Plessy lost at both levels.

M. “At the bus station,” 1940

Segregation, “separate but equal,” was

institutionalized for decades to come.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

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.

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Document K, p. 49: Majority Opinion, (7-1)

Plessy v. Ferguson“The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but, in the nature of things, it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either. …

We consider the underlying fallacy of [Plessy’s] argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.”

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Justice Henry Brown

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Majority Opinion, continued

“If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.”

The decision validated the rule of “separate but equal.”

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Justice Henry Brown

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Document L, p. 50: Dissent, Plessy v. Ferguson“The white race deems itself to be

the dominant race in this country…So, I doubt not, it will continue to be for all time, if it remains true to its great heritage, and holds fast to the principles of constitutional liberty. But in the view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law…

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Justice John Marshall Harlan

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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 enactments…that 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 Adams’s “fig leaf” reference in Document F.)

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Justice John Marshall Harlan

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Favors Plessy

Favors Ferguson

Custom B, E, G, IPrecedent A, E, F,

GI

Federalism C, D, H 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.

Courtesy of Skywriter

Document AnalysisHow might the following additional documents be added to the graphic organizer in order to help address the Key Question—J, K, L, M, Brown v. Board of Education passage?

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Here’s one approach to writing a good thesis statement—– Fully address all parts of the prompt.– Clearly take a side—make a declarative

statement that one thing was more important, more persuasive, etc. than another. Since the verb in the prompt is often something like “assess” or “evaluate,” the thesis statement should show which side the writer takes.

– Suggest a “table of contents ”or road map for the essay—show what elements enter into consideration.

– Be sure that the rest of the essay proves the thesis statement with abundant and persuasive facts and evidence.

Tips for Thesis Statements

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Writing Thesis Statements

Your turn! Try your hand at writing a thesis statement for the Plessy v. Ferguson DBQ:

Evaluate the degree to which each of the following informed the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson: custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism.

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A suggestion for the thesis statement...

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 Court’s concept of federalism as applied in Plessy v. Ferguson.

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According to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, what was the basic flaw in Plessy’s 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. he should not have been subject to Louisiana’s segregation law.

4. the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to his case.

5. Not sure

Page 34: SCDBQ Plessy v. Ferguson

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