Con law equal protection clause cards

13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude after the Civil War.

14th Amendment

The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States and those who took a naturalization exam. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment requires states to practice equal protection and says that we are only equal when it comes to our rights, and we are guaranteed the same rights by the Constitution and some legislative acts. Incorporation is a constitutional doctrine through which the first 10 amendments of the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, were made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

15th Amendment

The 15th Amendment abolished poll taxes and literacy tests.

What is the significance of the Election of 1876?

The Election of 1876 was significant because it ended reconstruction, which pulled federal troops from the South and took away protection. Many people began to vote Democratic and the South became known as the Solid South. Laws known as the "Black Codes" started being passed, such as curfews and forbidden interracial marriage, which eventually turned into Jim Crow laws. Both parties, Democrats and Republicans, refused to enforce the Constitution of the United States.

What is the significance of the Civil Rights cases of 1883?

The Civil Rights cases of 1883 were significant because the court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional. In 1883, Congress passed a law saying the Constitution applies to private businesses. However, the Supreme Court said that private businesses should be able to serve whoever they want. Many argued in the South and North that the law unfairly infringed on personal freedom of choice. The Constitution protects rights from only government agencies and not how people treat each other.

What are Jim Crow laws?

Jim Crow laws were state local laws that enforced racial segregation. For example, this applied to public places such as restaurants, transportation, and bathrooms where the races were kept separate and had to use separate facilities.

Plessey v. Ferguson

Plessey v. Ferguson was significant because it established that having separate but equal facilities, such as railroad cars, was not a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. It officially began the Jim Crow laws and upheld the constitutionality of state laws that segregate within private businesses. It was believed that people chose to feel inferior.

Sweatt v. Painter

Sweatt v. Painter was significant because it desegregated colleges and graduate schools because it was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court argued that these schools cannot be equal because they have intangible differences, such as reputation and alumni network. The Supreme Court also argued that we live in a diverse society and Sweatt needs to learn to coexist with white lawyers who he would work with and against.

What is the psychological argument for the separate but equal constitutional argument?

The Supreme Court argued that when you segregate kids by race, it makes the other kids feel that they are inferior. It is especially worse when the government is sanctioning it.

What was wrong with the wording of Brown v. Board of Ed 2?

The Supreme Court argued that schools had to desegregate with "all deliberate speed." However, "all deliberate speed" is a vague term and timeline, and many schools in the South simply took their time and argued that they were doing it with all deliberate speed.

Cali v. Bakke

Cali v. Bakke was significant because it was the first affirmative action case to reach the Supreme Court. It said that the racial quota system was unconstitutional and a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment in the college admissions process. However, it allowed colleges to use race as a factor in the college admissions process because schools should promote diversity.

Gratz v. Bollinger

Gratz v. Bollinger was significant because it ruled that numerical formulas were unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment in the college admissions process.

Grutter v. Bollinger

Grutter v. Bollinger was significant because it ruled that race can be used as a plus factor in the college admissions process, but it cannot be the only factor. Race can be used as a factor because the skills needed in today's global marketplace can only be developed through exposure to widely diverse people, culture ideas, and viewpoints. A race conscience admissions process does not unduly harm non-minority applicants, so therefore it is constitutional and not a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Affirmative Action v. Schutter

Affirmative Action v. Schutter is significant because it established that affirmative action is still constitutional and does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. It is left up to each state to decide for itself.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard was significant because it established that it is unconstitutional for schools to use affirmative action because any type of affirmative action is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.