The Equal Protection Clause and Education: A Historical Overview

Initial Ineffectiveness: By the turn of the $20^{th}$ century, the Equal Protection Clause was not fulfilling its intended purpose of protecting American society, particularly in issues of racial equality.
Framers' Intent (Progressive Elements): While not on the minds of the majority in the mid-to-late $19^{th}$ century, more progressive elements, including the Radical Republican authors of the $14^{th}$ Amendment, prioritized education.

Commitment to Public Education: Public education was a significant part of the Radical Republican vision.
Freedmen's Bureau (Reconstruction Era):
- Federally funded program supported by the U.S. military immediately after the Civil War.
- Purpose: To assist freedmen in finding family, securing legitimate employment, and homesteads.
- Challenges: Operated against strong opposition, violence, and oppression from former Confederate mentalities in the South.
- Enduring Legacy: A significant commitment to education.
- Teachers: Included Northern and some Southern schoolteachers, many African American and some white.
- Risks: Freedmen's Bureau workers, especially in remote schoolhouses, risked their lives due to KKK terror to educate freedmen's children.
- Connection to HBCUs: This legacy continued into the establishment and development of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the South.

Context for Brown v. Board of Education: The commitment to education became the ground for contesting the $14^{th}$ Amendment in the area of segregation in public schools, leading to cases like Brown v. Board of Education.
Broader Societal Shift: Between earlier cases and Brown, American society underwent significant changes, including a World War, leading to a public slowly warming to the idea that segregated public schools were inappropriate and possibly unconstitutional.