Bill of Rights Institute » landmark supreme court cases

Brown v. Board of Education eLesson

mgriffes — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:32:26 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 eLesson

Celebrate Black History month with materials on two landmark Supreme Court cases on the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. How could the same words have been interpreted so differently in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and sixty years later in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)? Read some background on the cases, excerpts from the rulings, and thought-provoking discussion questions.

See the complete lesson.

Discussion Questions

What Supreme Court decision established the doctrine of “separate but equal”?
What Kansas law did the Brown plaintiffs want struck down?
How did the Court rule, and what was the constitutional reasoning?
What was the Brown II ruling?
What role was there for other branches and levels of government in enforcing Brown II?
Why might it have taken nearly sixty years to the Supreme Court to get to its current interpretation of the 14^th Amendment?
What might this suggest about the importance of looking at the historical context of Supreme Court rulings?

Brown v. Board (1954): The Issue Endures

cwest — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:57:07 +0000

Brown v. Board (1954): The Issue Endures

Brown v. Board of Education, Document K: “Supreme Court Decision,” (1954)

cwest — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:45:33 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, Document K: “Supreme Court Decision,” (1954)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

This winter the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “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.”

Check out our previous posts for Document A, an excerpt from the Virginia criminal code; Document B, a section of the Fourteenth Amendment; Document C, an excerpt from the majority opinion of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); Document D, an excerpt from the dissenting opinion in Plessy; Document E, a photo of a Washington, DC public school classroom; Document F, a picture of African American schoolgirls in a classroom; Document G, a photo of a segregated classroom; Document H, a map of the US by segregation laws; Document I, an excerpt from the unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education; and Document J, an excerpt from the majority opinion in Brown II.

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Check back each week to see the next document and how it might change your thinking on this important question that affects all public school teachers and students in the U.S.! If you are enjoying this DBQ – be sure to check out our curriculum Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases the Changed History.

Brown v. Board of Education, Document H: Segregation Laws Map (1953)

cwest — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:40:47 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, Document H: Segregation Laws Map (1953)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

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Come back each week to see the next document and how it might change your thinking on this important question that affects all public school teachers and students in the U.S.! If you are enjoying this DBQ – be sure to check out our curriculum Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases the Changed History.

Brown v. Board of Education, Document G: “Crowded Segregated Classroom,” ca. 1940s

cwest — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:49:11 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, Document G: “Crowded Segregated Classroom,” ca. 1940s

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

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Brown v. Board of Education, Document F: “African American Schoolgirls in Classroom, Learning to Sew,” (1899)

cwest — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:31:47 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, Document F: “African American Schoolgirls in Classroom, Learning to Sew,” (1899)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging several document-based questions on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “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.”

_________________________________________________________

Check back each week to see the next document and learn more about a case that had a broad effect on teachers and students in the U.S.! If you are enjoying this DBQ – be sure to check out our curriculum Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases the Changed History.

Brown v. Board of Education, Document E: “Washington, D.C. Public Schools, 1st Div-Class Making Geometric Forms with Paper,” (1899)

cwest — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:35:24 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education, Document E: “Washington, D.C. Public Schools, 1st Div-Class Making Geometric Forms with Paper,” (1899)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “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.”

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Brown v. Board of Education: Document C, Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

cwest — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:55:47 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education: Document C, Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

Check out our previous posts for Document A, an excerpt from the Virginia criminal code; and Document B, a section of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896

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 co-mingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either.…

Laws permitting, and even requiring, the separation [of races] in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the exercise of their police power….

>Restate this opinion in your own words.

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Brown v. Board of Education: Document B, Section of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

cwest — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:05:26 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education: Document B, Section of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

Check out our previous post for Document A, an excerpt from the Virginia criminal code.

Section of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

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.

>What was the historical context of the passage of this amendment?

>What level of government does this amendment limit? What prohibitions did it create?

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Brown v. Board of Education: Document A, Virginia Criminal Code (1847)

cwest — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:01:12 +0000

Brown v. Board of Education: Document A, Virginia Criminal Code (1847)

Do you use document-based questions in your classroom?

Virginia Criminal Code (1847)

Any white person who shall assemble with slaves, [or] free Negros … for the purpose of instructing them to read or write … shall be punished by confinement in the jail … and by fine.…

>What does this law reveal about African Americans’ access to education in mid-nineteenth century Virginia?

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