Brown v.

Board of Education (1954) The End of Legal Segregation

Original Student Copy
The Brown Decision
In the 1950s, the Supreme Court agreed to hear cases that presented the same issue: Was it legal to mandate separation of the races in public schools? Two of the cases came from South Carolina and Virginia. Parents had sued to get their children into white schools. In both cases, federal courts had upheld segregation. In a similar case, Delawares Supreme Court had ordered a district to admit black students to white schools until adequate classrooms could be provided for blacks. The final case was from Topeka, Kansas. The Topeka schools for blacks and whites were equally good, but Oliver Brown wanted his 8-yearold daughter, Linda, to attend a school close to home. State law prevented the white school from accepting Linda because she was black, and the appeals court upheld the law. All the cases had been appealed to the Supreme Court. The court agreed to consider the four cases together. In 1952, Thurgood Marshall presented the legal argument to the court. In chambers, the justices were divided. Several justices were concerned about the probable reaction of violence and civil disorder among white Southerners if the court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. Chief Justice Fred Vinson, who had written earlier opinions striking down segregation in universities, appeared reluctant to extend those opinions to the public schools. Vinson died in the summer of 1953 before a final decision in the case. President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as his replacement. The court heard a second round of oral arguments on the case. Chief Justice Warren was determined to overturn the separate but equal doctrine and equally determined to orchestrate a unanimous decision in a case of such political magnitude. With the assistance of Justice Felix Frankfurter, the new chief justice used his considerable political skills to accomplish this goal. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its dramatic unanimous decision in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education. Segregation of children in Americas public schools, when authorized or required by state law, violated the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendments guarantee of equal protection of the law. Chief Justice Warrens opinion relied on scientific evidence in concluding that segregated schools promoted feelings of inferiority in black children. Because this reduced their motivation to learn, Warren and his fellow justices determined that segregated educational facilities were inherently unequal.

Aftermath

The Brown decision was one of the most important in the 20th century. More than any other case, it expanded the legal rights of African Americans. For the first time, many blacks saw that the American justice system might actually help them achieve full justice and equality. Robert Williams, a Marine Corps veteran and a civil rights leader, spoke for many: On this momentous night of May 17, 1954, I felt that at last the government was willing to assert itself on behalf of first-class citizenship, even for Negroes. I experienced a sense of loyalty that I had never felt before.

Questions
Use the text of this excerpt to answer the questions below. 1. What was the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education? Underline the sentence(s) that you used to answer this question.

2. What is some of the evidence the justices heard to help them make their decision? Underline the sentence(s) that you used to answer this question.

3. How can separate educational facilities that are supposed to be equal be inherently unequal as the Court stated?

4. Why do you think it was important to Chief Justice Warren to get a unanimous decision in this case?

5. How does this decision still have an effect on your life today?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) The End of Legal Segregation

Accommodated Copy
The Brown Decision
In the 1950s, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about segregation in schools. The question they wanted to answer was Can states mandate schoolchildren to be separated because of their race? The Brown case was a combination of four different, smaller cases from Virginia, South Carolina, Delaware, and Kansas. The Kansas case was the most famous. Oliver Brown wanted his daughter to go to the school closest to his house, but she was not allowed to go there because she was black. A lawyer named Thurgood Marshall presented arguments in front of the court. In chambers, the Supreme Court justices did not agree. Some of them argued that racially divided schools were separate but equal. Some of them were afraid that desegregating schools would make white people angry and cause them to behave violently. Chief Justice Earl Warren did not believe that separate schools could be equal. To him, Brown was a case of great magnitude. He thought it was important for all of the justices to agree with him. It took a lot of work and some help from Justice Felix Frankfurter, but Chief Justice Warren managed to convince all of the justices to agree. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its unanimous decision in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education. Segregation of children in Americas public schools was against the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment. The justices heard scientific evidence that segregated schools made black children feel inferior to white children. They did not do as well in school because they felt inferior. Warren and his fellow justices determined that segregated educational facilities were unequal.

Aftermath
The Brown decision was one of the most important in the 20th century. It expanded the legal rights of African Americans. For the first time, many blacks saw that the American justice system might actually help them get full justice and equality.

Questions
Use the text of this excerpt to answer the questions below. 6. What was the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education? Underline the sentence(s) that you used to answer this question.

7. What is some of the evidence the justices heard to help them make their decision? Underline the sentence(s) that you used to answer this question.

8. How can separate educational facilities that are supposed to be equal be inherently unequal as the Court stated?

9. Why do you think it was important to Chief Justice Warren to get a unanimous decision in this case?

10. How does this decision still have an effect on your life today?

Accommodated Graphic Organizer, Part One (to accompany worksheet)

Vocabulary words In the boxes below, write a short definition of the vocab word. Draw a picture explaining the definition. The first one has been done for you as an example. Definition: Separating people based on race. Picture:

Segregation

Mandate

In chambers

Unanimous

Magnitude

Accommodated Graphic Organizer, Part Two (to accompany worksheet) The Events of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Part One: Four court cases from four different states are combined into one Supreme Court case. South Carolina Virginia Delaware

Kansas

The case from Kansas was the most famous. Oliver Brown wanted his daughter to go the all-white school close to his home. The school wouldnt let her attend because ____________________________ ____________________________

Part Two: The justices listened to arguments in favor of school desegregation and arguments against school desegregation.

Arguments for: Students felt: ___________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

Arguments against: Possibility of violence:___________

Part Three: Chief Justice Earl Warren wanted all of the justices to agree to strike down the _________________________________ doctrine that prevented school desegregation.

Did all of the justices agree? Circle one: YES

NO

What was the final decision? ______________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _ _____________________________________________________________________________ _