Brown+v.+Board+of+Ed.,+Topeka,+KS


 * Brown v. Board of Ed, Supreme Court case. (date of the hearing?) **

principal denied Linda admission. Linda’s father, Oliver Brown, went to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for help. The NAACP was eager to help and take this case, and four similar cases (Briggs v. Elliott, Davis v. County school board of prince Edward county, Gebhart v. Belton, and Bolling v.Sharpe), to court. The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas heard Brown's case from June 25-26, 1951. During the trial, the NAACP argued that the segregation of schools made the black children feel lesser than the white children. The Topeka Board of Education said that the segregated schools were preparing the kids for the rest of their lives. Brown and the NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court on October 1, 1959. The Court heard their case on December 9, 1952, but the Court failed to reach a decision. The re-argument was heard on December 7-8, 1953, but not much more was learned about the case. On May 17, 1954, the final decision was made. The Court decided that the schools were not obeying the ‘separate but equal’ policy; the two different schools were ‘inherently unequal’. The __//Brown vs. Board of Education//__ abolished segregation in schools in many states. The cases also declared that the segregation happening in 21 states as unconstitutional. One main figure in this case was the NAACP's Thurgood Marshall. Marshall was a lawyer included in the Brown v. Board of Ed. cases. Marshall became very successful and argued many cases before the Supreme Court. In 1967, he was appointed on the the Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson.
 * Summary:** Each case was in the instance of African American children seeking for admission to public schools without segregation. In this particular case, a third-grader named Linda Brown was looking to enroll in the white school that was much closer to her home, rather that the black school which was a mile away. The

the military, but mainly he was a politician. His main quality that made him a distinguished Chief Justice was that he was an excellent manipulator of his fellow Justices. In his early years in the Court, while he was new to the Justice system, he admitted his intellectual weakness and asked for help until he was more experienced **. ** The Supreme Court of 1953-1969 was called the Warren Court. Earl Warren served as the Chief Justice between 1953 and 1969. The vote being 9-0 had nine members including Warren. There was Hugo L. Black who served from 1937-1971, Stanley Reed (1938-1957), Felix Frankfurter (1939-1962), William O. Douglas (1939-1975), Robert H. Jackson (1941-1954), Harold Burton (1945-1958), Tom C. Clark (1949-1967), Sherman S. Minton (1949-1956). They were the nine supreme court members during the Brown V. Board of Education during 1952.
 * Background Information:**
 * - On the justices**: The Chief Justice at the time was Earl Warren. He also served as the Governor of California for 3 terms. Throughout his lifetime he also served in

- **The date of the hearing(s) and arguments**: Argued- December 9, 1952

Re-argued- December 8, 1953

Decided- May 17, 1954 Chief Justice Warren


 * Main issues associated with the case:** The main issue in these cases was the legality of segregation. There is a clause in The Fourteenth Amendment that is called the Equal Protection Clause. This states that the segregated schools must be equal. So even if the school had comparable staff, buildings and supplies; the main holding was that the segregation is inherently harmful to the students, and makes it unequal. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of ending the practice. They felt that a unanimous decision should be made because it would squash any opposition to their ruling (if they hadn't been unanimous, some people may have questioned the ruling). The legality of segregation ties into the Civil Rights movement. This Supreme Court case proved to be a major step forward for the movement.

The Equal Protection Clause states that "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws". W hen the case was first being heard in the spring of 1953 the plaintiffs were asked to represent the case in the fall, thus giving the Justices time to deliberate with one another whether segregation or not segregation broke The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. This was again to assure that there would be a unanimous decision on the matter. Here are some cases referenced in the official transcript of the case " there have been six cases involving the "separate but equal" doctrine in the field of public education. In Cumming v. County Board of Education, 175 U.S. 528, and Gong Lum v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78"  These cases were presented as a part of the Court's opinion. **What about precedent? Plessy v. Ferguson?**
 * Documents important to the case:** The main document used in these cases was The Fourteenth Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause.

the notion that segregation was harmful in itself. The final vote by the Court was unanimous 9-0 in favor of Brown. This happened for two main reasons; 1. They wanted to appear united to keep people from questioning their decision. 2. Justice Warren was an excellent manipulator of the other Justices. Despite being unanimous and very carefully wording their ruling, there was somewhat of a problem while trying to de-segregate some of the schools in the South. Later there were two more cases brought before the Supreme Court which were dubbed Brown II and Brown III. **Why were the other cases brought to Court? What was different?**
 * Decision Rendered, and vote: ** The Court ruled that the school district was not upholding the Equal Protection Clause. They ruled as such because of


 * Opinions **
 * Personal Opinion: ** The Brown v. Board of Education case was one of the most popular cases that caught many eyes. This was because it focused on racism and __bias__ school systems that excluded certain people from receiving the education they deserved. In my opinion, the case started many protests against segregation which was a good thing because it led to the way society is today. Citizens have found that the best way to change laws and policies is to come together and fight for what they believe in. This case was a great example of people uniting towards a better cause that then led to a greater outcome. To improve society, we must improve the future generation by teaching good ethics and behavior that will effect America is the best way possible. This can be done by teaching our children to accept one another. The parents in the case showed this by coming together and going up against the __supreme court__. Without this case, the __civil rights movement__ may have been setback for another couple of years.

laws might have been passed against the practice of segregation. But several of the states in the north had already prohibited the segregation of African Americans and Caucasians within the public schooling system. This could possibly have been a barometer for was to come later in the south and west. But for all we know there could still have states that actually require segregation in their schools (in 2012, if such a federal ruling were never made).
 * What might have happened, had the court ruled the other way: **I t would have pushed back the civil rights movement. One cannot really predict what other

** Works Cited ** "Brown v. Board of Education." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. . "In-Depth : Brown vs. The Topeka Board of Education." CJOnline.com. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. . "Kans. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. . Welcome to OurDocuments.gov. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. . STAPLE...

"Voices of Civil Rights (A Library of Congress Exhibition)." //Library of Congress Home //. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. .


 * 7/7 Biblio - good job. Indent the second line.**
 * 25/28 Content - looks good.**
 * 3/5 Organization - all outta whack!**


 * 35/40 Total**