History of American Law Since 1877 Midterm

What is the Background of United States v. Kagama

In 1886, two Native Americans charged with murdering another Native American on the Hoopa Valley reservation in California. The main question was whether Congress had the constitutional authority to enact criminal laws governing Native Americans on reservations within state borders.

Key arguments for United States v. Kagama

The Court based its decision on the federal government's unique relationship with and responsibility for Native American tribes.

The Court argued that the federal government's power over Native American tribes stems from:

The tribes' dependence on the U.S. for food and political rights

The government's historical promises of protection

The tribes' weakness and helplessness, largely due to federal policies

Ruling for United States v. Kagama

The Court upheld the constitutionality of the federal law, affirming that:

Congress has the power to enact criminal laws governing Native Americans on reservations.

Federal courts have jurisdiction over such cases, even when the reservation is within state boundaries.

How does Allotment relate to United States History?

The Dawes Act of 1887, also known as the General Allotment Act was designed to Allot lands to individual Native Americans on reservations, Extend U.S. law protection over Native American, and promote agricultural and grazing practices among Native American communities. The Act authorized the President to survey reservations and allocate land to individual Native Americans dependent on family size and age. The acts granted citizenship to Native Americans who adopted “civilized life”. However, after the Dawes Acts, Native Americans lost half of the land that they controlled prior to the act because of selling of lands.

What is the history/background of the Chinese Exclusion Act?

In California, there is an influx of immigrants from a different part of the world - specifically China because the conditions in China were not very good and there were more sources of labor in California. In 1873, there was a national depression. White workers were threatening Chinese immigrants that they were affecting their way of life. The Chinese Exclusion Act is a result from these relationships between races.

When was the Dawes Act?

1887

When was the Chinese Exclusion Act?

1882

When was United States v. Kagama?

1886

What did the Chinese Exclusion Act Provide?

The act provided:

For a period of 10 years, no new Chinese laborers would be allowed to enter the U.S.

Resident Chinese laborers could leave but would not be permitted to re-enter without a proper certificate of return.

This is the first time the U.S. restricted citizenship based on nationality or race.

The Chinese Exclusion Act completely overturns the Naturalization Act of 1790.

When was Plessy v. Ferguson?

1896

What is the background of Plessy V. Ferguson?

The case arose from a Louisiana law mandating separate railway carriages for white and colored races. Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths Caucasian and one-eighth African, challenged this law after being forcibly removed from a "whites-only" car.

What was the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson?

The Court ruled that the law did not violate the Thirteenth Amendment, as it did not reimpose slavery or involuntary servitude. Regarding the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court held that while it was intended to enforce equality before the law, it was not designed to abolish all distinctions based on color or enforce social equality.

What was the reasoning behind Plessy v. Ferguson?

The Court argued that laws requiring racial separation do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race. It stated that if inequality exists, it is not because of the law but because one race chooses to interpret it that way.

When was the The Insular Cases?

Early 1900s

What are the Insular Cases?

Are a set of cases including Gonzales v. Williams, DeLima v. Bidwell, Downes v. Bidwell, and Dorr v. U.S. In the Insular Cases*, the Supreme Court held that the U.S Constitution protected the inhabitants of colonial possessions in their basic civil rights, but did not confer citizenship or political rights on them. The court takes the approach of allowing territories for some civil rights but not extended to citizenship.

When was Fitisemanu v. United States?

2021

What was Fitsemanu v. United States?

A current modern day example of the insular cases that classified John Fitsemanu as a US national not seen as a citizen therefore he couldn’t vote in Utah.

When was Munn v. Illinois?

1877

What is the background of Munn v. Illinois

The case involved grain warehouse owners in Chicago who were challenging an Illinois law that regulated warehouse rates and required licenses. The warehouse owners argued this law violated their 14th Amendment rights by depriving them of property without due process.

What was the ruling of Munn v. Illinois?

They upheld the Illinois as constitutional. Justice Wait stated, When private property is "affected with a public interest," it becomes subject to public regulation."

What was the reasoning of Munn v. Illinois?

The Court held that grain warehouses played a crucial role in the flow of commerce, making them "affected with a public interest.” It drew on English common law precedents regarding regulation of businesses serving public needs. The opinion stated that when one devotes property to a use that affects the community, they grant the public an interest in that use and must submit to public control.

What is the Police Power?

Police power is the power of the federal government to interfere with public health, public safety, and public welfare, etc. (very broad power). We have seen the use of police powers within Lochner v. New York where it was the stated that the NY law establishing a 10 hour work day and a 60 hour work week for bakery workers was an impermissible exercise of the police power because it was an effort “simply to regulate the hours of labor between the master and his employees, in a private business, not dangerous in any degree to morals or in any real and substantive degree, to the health of employees.”

Who is Florence Kelley?

Kelley's work was part of the broader Progressive Era reform movement in the United States. Her arguments for child labor laws and compulsory education were influential in shaping public opinion and policy in the early 20th century. Kelley argues strongly for protecting children's right to a proper childhood, free from exploitative labor. She can be seen with the National Consumers League who were at the forefront of the push for minimum wage legislation for women.

When was Adkin v. Children’s Hospital?

1923

What was the background of Adkin v. Children’s Hospital?

The case challenged the constitutionality of the Act of September 19, 1918, which established minimum wages for women and children in D.C.

What was the decision of Adkin v. Children’s Hospital?

In a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, violating the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

What was the reasoning behind Adkin v. Children’s Hospital?

The majority opinion, delivered by Justice Sutherland, held that the law interfered with the freedom of contract between employers and employees.

When was Moore v. Dempsey?

1923

What is the background of Moore v. Dempsey?

Five black men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in trials lasting only about 45 minutes each, amid a climate of extreme racial tension and mob violence. The defendants petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, arguing their trials were a sham and violated due process. The key question was whether federal courts could examine the facts and circumstances of state criminal trials through habeas corpus petitions.

What is the decision behind Moore v. Dempsey?

In a 6-2 decision authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Court ruled that federal judges must examine the facts when a habeas corpus petition alleges that a state trial was dominated by mob violence and denied due process. The Supreme Court reversed the convictions, emphasizing the need for fair legal proceedings.

What is the reasoning behind Moore v. Dempsey?

Principle that state courts must uphold federal constitutional rights and that the state courts in this situation failed to correct the wrong.

When was Meyer v. Nebraska?

1923

What is the background of Meyer v. Nebraska?

The case arose when Robert T. Meyer, a teacher at Zion Parochial School, was convicted for teaching German to a 10-year-old student, Raymond Parpart, in violation of the Nebraska state law. This law was part of a wave of nativist legislation passed during and after World War I, aimed at promoting the use of English and discouraging the use of foreign languages, particularly German.

What is the decision behind Meyer v. Nebraska?

Justice James C. McReynolds delivered the majority opinion, which struck down the Nebraska law as unconstitutional.

What is the reasoning behind Meyer v. Nebraska?

The Court provided a broad interpretation of "liberty" under the Fourteenth Amendment, including not just freedom from bodily restraint but also the right to contract, engage in common occupations, acquire knowledge, raise children, and worship according to one's conscience.

When was Buck v. Bell?

1927

What is the background of Buck v. Bell?

Carrie Buck, described as a "feeble minded white woman," was 18 years old at the time of her trial in 1924. She was the daughter of a woman also institutionalized for alleged feeble-mindedness and had given birth to a child deemed "illegitimate" and "feeble minded".

What is the decision behind Buck v. Bell?

The case arose from a 1924 Virginia law that allowed for the involuntary sterilization of individuals deemed "insane, idiotic, imbecile, feeble-minded or epileptic". In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court upheld Virginia's sterilization law.

What was the reasoning behind Buck v. Bell?

The Court found that the law's procedures provided due process, It held that compulsory sterilization of the "unfit" was within the state's power to protect public health, and Holmes infamously declared, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough."

What is The Eighteenth Amendment?

Passed in 1919, it was the prohibition of alcohol. However, the 18th Amendment was not intended to prohibit the the possession of alcohol by private citizens or their private consumption of liquor. This caused underground bootlegging system to happen which directly relates to the Olmstead case. In 1933, the people voted to repeal the 18th Amendment because of the criminal concerns that were occurring.

What is New Federalism?

In the 1930s, political scientists used the phrase to refer to the emergence of “cooperative federalism”. The federal and state governments are going to collaborate more so than ever before. They started to shared power and created a system of dual federalism to cooperative federalism. This new cooperative federalism was insisted due to the amount of resources the federal government could provide to state governments. After the repeal of the 18th Amendment a sense of suspicion was thrown towards the federal government because of the perception that federal agents are lawless.

What is The Constitutional Revolution of 1937?

This is classified as the new deal. The new deal legislation attempted to establish fair business practices, regulated banks and the financial industry, tried to implement better economic planning, attempted to stabilize key sectors of the economy, encourages economic growth through infrastructure development, and tended to social welfare. The commerce clause and the spending clause were used as constitutional authority behind the new deal. Over a 16-month period starting in January of 1935, the Court decided 10 major cases involving New Deal statutes; in 8 of those cases, the decisions went against the government. One of the cases are Adkins v. Children’s Hospital.

What is Sociological Jurisprudence?

Sociological jurisprudence is a term coined by the American jurist Roscoe Pound to describe his approach to the understanding of the law. This approach to law stresses the actual social effects of legal institutions, doctrines, and practices. It examines the actual effects of the law within society and the influence of social phenomena on the substantive and procedural aspects of law. This is also known as sociology of law. This can be seen by the “New Deal” legislations, which were placed to remedy the broader economic problems that underlay the Great Depression.