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Equality and the Supreme Court: A Primary Source Study of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education Answer Key

Plessy v. Ferguson DBQ

Handout A: Declaration of Independence

  1. What did the Declaration of Independence say all men equally have? They equally have “certain unalienable rights.”

Handout B: Fourteenth Amendment Excerpts (1868)

  1. This amendment was passed a few years after the end of the Civil War. Given your knowledge about that conflict, what do you think the purpose of this amendment was? The amendment was created to protect the rights of recently freed slaves.
  2. What do you think “equal protection of the laws” means? Answers may vary. Students should focus on the concept of applying the law equally to all citizens, regardless of factors like race, sex, or age.

Handout C: Majority Opinion Excerpts (6-1), Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) (Written by Justice Henry Billings Brown)

  1. How did the Court distinguish between legal equality and social equality? Do you agree with their distinction? Why or why not? The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment protected legal equality, but not social equality. It reasoned that you cannot use the law to create social equality. Answers may vary about whether students agree with the distinction.
  2. Did the majority believe that the separation of races by law was unconstitutional? Why or why not? No, the Court did not view it as unconstitutional because it was part of the state government’s legal powers.

Handout D: Dissenting Opinion Excerpts, Plessy v. Ferguson (Written by Justice John Marshall Harlan)

  1. What do you think the dissenting opinion means by “our constitution is color-blind”? Students should note that he means that the Constitution does not distinguish between races.
  2. What is the “real meaning” behind the Louisiana legislation according to this opinion? The real meaning is to make black citizens feel inferior to white citizens.

Brown v. Board of Education DBQ

Handout E: Segregation Laws Map, 1953

  1. How does this map relate to the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson? The map shows the extent that “separate but equal” was instituted in the United States through segregation.

Handout F: Washington, D.C. Public School

Handout G: Georgia School Room

  1. Compare and contrast Handouts F and G. The classroom in Handout F has only white students. The classroom looks clean and gives students plenty of room to have their own space to learn. Handout G has only black students in the classroom. They have little room, and some students appear to not even have desks.

Handout H: Majority Opinion Excerpts (9-0) Brown v. Board of Education (1954) (Written by Chief Justice Earl Warren)

  1. What are some reasons that the Court gave to demonstrate that separate is actually unequal? How would you evaluate the strength of this argument? The Court argued segregation was psychologically damaging to blacks. Student’s answers may vary about the validity of this arguing, and they should give reasons to support their answers.
  2. The Court based their opinion largely on “psychological knowledge” and not on a constitutional theory. Why do you think they did this? Answers may vary, and students should give reasons to support their answers.

Analysis Questions:

  1. In what way is the debate over equality as seen in Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education still going on in the modern day? Give one concrete example. Answers may vary. Students should give an example of how equality of the races is still discussed and debated in the modern day in issues like police brutality, affirmative action, etc.
  2. Given these two Supreme Court cases, how would you define equality? Answers may vary, and students should give reasons to support their answers.
  3. Some people believe the restricting voting to the age of 18 is an example of a modern day legal inequality. Given what you’ve just learned, do you agree? Do you think this is unjust? Why or why not? Answers may vary, and students should give reasons to support their answers.