Slavery/ Black Civil Rights

What are three reasons we learn about slavery?

1. it is historic

2. gives insight into how we interpret the constitution

3. useful in Supreme Court decision-making

Is the word "slavery" in the constitution?

no

What wards are used instead of slavery in the constitution?

"persons", "those who..."

True or False: when slavery is discussed in the constitution, it is about slaves rights

false; slaves are only mentioned like negotiations (no rights)

What is 1/3 issues that are discussed in the constitution over the topic of slavery?

three-fifths: representation when voting

What is 2/3 issues that are discussed in the constitution over the topic of slavery?

fugitive slaves: MUST be returned if found

What is a fugitive slave?

a slave that man away

What is 3/3 issues that are discussed in the constitution over the topic of slavery?

slave trade: africans brought and sold in America

Why slave trade mentioned in the constitution?

the constitutional convention of 1787 said "congress must wait till 1808 to ban the slave trade" (to compromise between the northern and southern states)

True or False: Congress banned the slave trade January 1, 1808

true; as soon as they possibly could

Territories vs States

territories: land owned by congress

states: had different rules if labeled a state; each state had their own rules

What is the Missouri Compromise?

in 1819, a free and slave state must come into the union together (not really a compromise)

What states came in under the MO Compromise?

alabama (s) + Illinois (f)

Mississippi (s) + indiana (f)

What are the 3 parts of the MO Compromise?

1. Missouri comes in slave state

2. Maine comes in free state

3. 36/30 line balance

What is the 36/30 line balance?

any state above must be free (northern ordinance bans slavery), any state below be slave (southern ordinance) -- Missouri gets a pass because they are above it

Why are the 1830s important?

northerns start to realize they are very different than southerners

In 1830s, what 5 major things happen?

1. immediatism

2. nullification

3. nat turner rebellion

4. proslavery defences

5. gag rule

1/5 issue in the 1830s

immediatism: "slavery needs to end RIGHT NOW, and owners will NOT be paid for the loss of slaves"

2/5 issue in the 1830s

nullification: helped expand the north and removed slavery; deals with the tariff but slaves are at sake

3/5 issue in the 1830s

nat turner rebellion: slaves insurrection - any slaves even slightly involved with nat turner at any point in life with killed (slaves killed a lot of whites, but a lot of blacks killed too)

4/5 issue in the 1830s

proslavery defenses: pro slavery people said "slavery is a positive good", "we brought so much to the slaves like reading, writing, labor, etc"

5/5 issue in the 1830s

gag rule: the congress said no conversations about slavery are allowed

What is the basis of Groves vs. Slaughter (1841)?

groves brings slaves from outside of Mississippi (not allowed) -> Mississippi says slaves can't be introduced -> slaughter takes the slaves and refuses to pay because they are from out of state

Is Groves vs. Slaughter self-actuating (already enforceable)?

no

Does Groves vs. Slaughter need legislation to be enforced?

not necessarily

What does the court do in Groves vs. Slaughter?

basically avoid the conflict

Why is the Mexican Cession important?

James K. Polk becomes president -> Texas was small -> texans thought it was way bigger -> Polk wanted to expand all the way into the Mexican territory

What happens when Polk expands into the Mexican land?

the wilmot proviso was created and northerns were very favorable

What is the Wilmot Proviso?

a bill in 1846 that aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War; Wilmot proposed the idea

What happened with the south in the Mexican Cession?

they were mad and wanted to expand the 36,30 line across the whole country

What is the Clayton Compromise?

Clayton says, "let the Supreme Court decide on the issue" (Clayton is a democratic chair congress member)

Why does Clayton not want congress to decide?

because no one will be happy but if the SC decides then they have to agree

In 1850, what is going on in congress?

- senate: equal north vs. south which creates a major divide

- house: no majority (50% +1) of dems, whigs, and free soilers

Who is Zachary Taylor?

president in 1850; very uninterested in politics; went to the north and said "pro no slavery", and went to the south and said "proslavery" (that's how he won)

What is the Compromise of 1850?

the idea of passing a five point omnibus (a beautiful big bill) -> fails so Fillmore and Douglas take over and pass 5 separate bills

What happens in 1850 before the five point bill tries to get passed?

the Utah territory (mormons) and New Mexico territory (unorganized) fix themselves-> mormons agree to be part of cali, and New Mexico territory organizes and applies as territory BUT they miss the time by 24 hours!

1/5 point of Compromise 1850

texas border: who knows??

2/5 point of Compromise 1850

Cali has to come in free (in order to get rid of slavery faster)

3/5 point of Compromise 1850

divided UT and New Mexico - congress wants to pause slavery on those territories

4/5 point of Compromise 1850

fugitive slave law - many runaway slaves are getting captured

5/5 point of Compromise 1850

DC slave trade - slaves are being auctioned in the capital of the country

Why is there a debate on the omnibus?

1. the Clayton compromise is invited to the court

2. New Mexico applies as state with no slaves (6000 vs. 38)

3. giant issue with Texas

What is the giant issue with Texas? What is Taylor's response?

texans started marching into the New Mexico territory -> Taylor brings Malta -> now its Texans vs. US Army in congress land -> Taylor tells secretary of war to fight texans and sow resigns -> Taylor says "im going to go fight myself then"

What happens to Taylor?

2 days later, he is starving at a three hour speech -> he is offered frozen cherries -> dies

After Taylors death, how is the omnibus resolved?

Fillmore (the vp) takes over, and Douglas (a senator) helps split it into 5 separate bills

Bill 1 of the omnibus

texas border: Texas get $10 million

Bill 2 of the omnibus

california comes in free

Bill 3 of the omnibus

New Mexico becomes a TERRITORY with no slavery

Bill 4 of the omnibus

fugitive slave law becomes stricter - judges are now paid 2x to rule a black person as slave simply because they are black (if brought to court)

Bill 5 of the omnibus

The DC slave trade is eliminated (so embarrassing for that to be happening in our country's capital)

What's the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

the original bill allows slavery in Nebraska and Kansas but it violates 36,30 line (because they are both north)

How does congress respond to the KS-NE Act?

popular sovereignty - let the people who live there determine yes or no to slavery

Why did congress respond that way to the KS-NE Act?

each member only cared about keeping seats not about slavery which leads to Dred Scott case

In the KS-NE Act, what did the people want?

kansas- no slavery but MO people cross over and vote as Kansas; they get caught and open fire (bleeding Kansas)

Which case has the worst Supreme Court decision of all time?

Dred Scott Case

What's the main argument behind the Dred Scott case?

Dred Scott went through free territory and free states- did that make him free? Is free still when he returns?

In Dred Scott, what does MO lower court decide?

Scott loses - he must prove to he was a slave that travelled; he couldn't prove it because his friends didn't want to help -> HE REMAINED A SLAVE BECAUSE HE COULDN'T PROVE HE WAS A SLAVE

In Dred Scott, what does MO lower court pt. 2 decide?

Scott wins

In Dred Scott, what does MO supreme court decide?

Scott loses - use Strader v. Graham case

What is Strader v. Graham?1

"you're still a slave based on original slave state no matter where you travel"

In Dred Scott, what does US circuit decide?

Scott loses - uses Strader v. Graham as well

In Dred Scott, what does US supreme court decide?

MO Compromise - "black people have no respectable rights"; MO compromise was unconstitutional and congress thinks they can overturn it

Comparing Groves & Dred Scott

the facts are the same, the law is the same, the justices are relatively similar, BUT the context was the difference

How was the context different when comparing Groves & Dred Scott?

groves- could compromise (find a middle ground to keep nation from a civil war)

Scott- too polarized (left to the Supreme Court)

Is there another issue that congress deferred to the courts?

abortion - legislative branch didn't want to legislate so asked judicial branch to legislate

What was included in the reconstruction on black's rights?

civil rights: integration, equality

political rights: voting, assembly

social rights: education, assembly

Why did reconstruction end in 1877?

because of the massive fraud in the election of 1876

What was created in response to the reconstruction ending?

black codes - no blacks on streets after 4

Jim Crow - black and white schools , fountains, restaurants

What was the deal the people made?

Hayes for lynching blacks

Booker T Washington's background

previously a slave (wrote about it); planted black schools; he was Teddy Rosevelt's advisor; first black man to dine at the White House

Booker T Washington's beliefs

- ultrarelistic view: economic skills and social ties -> friendship and reliance (racial interdependence) -> political rights

- economic rights > political rights

- friendship will cause blacks to be better voters and better citizens

WEB DuBois Background

raised in the north and went to college (first black to graduate Harvard); never was a slave

WEB DuBois- "Atlantic Compromise"

thinks Booker T. Washington didn't focus enough on political rights; too much compromise in his arguments and too much economics

WEB DuBois beliefs

- focus on higher education: talented tenth- top 1/10 (highest educated) needs to pull all that are worth saving; believes leaders pull people up

- black pride: when blacks are not treated equally, blacks lose pride in yourself - degrading (all people have pride= black people are people= black people have pride)

- says Booker T. underestimates the effect of the black pride psychology

Martin Luther King Jr. background

- always cites religious terms (can't separate the two)

- believes within everyone is a godly person but there is evil in everyone that comes through at different levels

- believes everyones at core knows what is good

-"justice too long delayed, justice denied"

- only American to have holiday named after him

MLK Jr. - Birmingham in 1963

he has a demonstration in Birmingham (most racist city); bull Connor - the very violent and racist sheriff -> bull takes mlk to jail -> mlk writes a letter to the white church members who were supportive; he says "have to take direct action (change happens now)"

MLK Jr. criticisms

he gets mad at the white moderates and the black community for not taking enough action being too violent

What does MLK say about just vs unjust laws?

- "law and order promote just laws"

- just laws- work with God's will and lifts personality; unjust laws- go against God's will and degrades personality

- "this is not christian" to a very christian country (96%)

What does MLK say about the promissory note?

promissory note- check; "time to cash the check of equality"

MLK religious message

"I have a Dream": he hints to the promissory note

Malcolm X Outside America tradition

leaves out religion when talking about civil rights

Malcolm X United Nations

he sees American nightmare and not a dream-> says government making it a big problem so appeal to the united nations

- he wants to make it an international issues not just American

Malcolm X Voting vs. Self Defense

"the Ballot of the Bullet": there is fear at the ballots of getting lynched -> 2nd admentment right (guns) -> shoot back because they have the right to defend themselves

Malcolm X Black Nationalism

blacks need to be self-sufficient, political action for benefit blacks, and control in their communities (blacks should be able to be citizens and proud of the nation)

What does Booker T. Washington promote?

whites rely on blacks labor -> friendship -> political rights; economics> politics

What does WEB DeBois promote?

political rights, talented tenth, black pride

What does MLK promote?

religion, nonviolence, and "I have a dream"

What does Malcolm X promote?

outside tradition, "The Ballot or the Bullet", black nationalism

necessary vs. sufficient

necessary- a part (sun, rain)

sufficient- the sole reason (sunshine+rain)

What did the unanimous court in Brown vs. Board say?

"separate but equal is inherently unequal"; they want to desegregate schools

What issues were brought up in Brown vs. Board?

- black people have "a feeling of inferiority": when able to choose between white and black dolls, black and white children both picked white doll

- importance of education (just important)

- social science: Supreme Court relies on social science for the answer

Substantive vs. Procedural Implications

the court had the right idea and final decision but should have take a different procedure to get there

"all deliberate speed"

said in Brown vs. Board; means do it slowly fast and the south takes it to heart

What happens after Brown vs. Board?

no immediate improvement; but jumps over 30% from 1964-1965 for integrated schools

What happens in 1964?

congress passes civil rights act: no money to southern schools unless you desegregate

Supreme Court vs. Congress

after brown vs. board, when sc is involved nothing happens, but when congress gets involved there is immediate action

What are the indirect effects of Brown vs. Board?

none of them happened so there weren't any

What was a mistake of Brown vs. Board?

they went to the court and not congress & president

Tide of History

the raise of desegration through other things (WWII, black vote, Cold War, booming economy, Jackie Robinson, etc)

Most important effect of the Tide of History

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which includes Brown vs. Board