Justice John Marshall Harlan is a Southerner who defended the rights of African American citizens during the Reconstruction. During the Civil Rights Case of the Reconstruction Era, Justice Harlan defended the fourteen and thirteen amendment and voiced his commitment to equality for African Americans. The amendment states, regarding the rights of colored individuals, that all people of the United States are allowed rights that no state can abridge; “All persons born or naturalized in the United States... are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall… deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person… the equal protection of the laws” (Staff). Regarding the thirteenth amendment, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” (13th Amendment). Justice Harlan had been raised in Frankfort, Kentucky and observed the negative effects that white Americans had on African Americans. During his role of attorney general, Harlan saw the hatred that white office workers had for African Americans, and knew of the sixty-four white supremacist acts that occurred in Frankfort. Raised as a white supremacist and a child to a slaveholder, Justice Harlan did not let his …show more content…
upbringing change his views of freedom and equality; and when people would mention his past, Harlan would respond with, "I would rather be right than consistent” (The Civil Rights Cases). Due to the severity of his experiences, Harlan knew the challenges that blacks faced in the South, and it was up to him to start the dissent from the majority. Initially, when Harlan began to write his dissent, Harlan he was determined and thought to voice his speech loudly.
Unfortunately, Harlan became paralyzed with fear, as the thought of being targeted, for supporting African Americans and all of the difficulties he will endure, washed over him. His dissent meant going against his father, other Supreme Court Justices, and the majority of the public; people who were, in general, against giving full rights to colored people. “Harlan's dissent in the Civil Rights Cases says, we the Court protected the rights of slave masters and upheld congressional laws protecting slave masters” (The Civil Rights
Cases). Under those circumstances, Harlan, in brief, needed the courage to write his dissent. (which the court had agreed to and was featured in the Amendment to protect the rights or former slaves (The Civil Rights Cases).) Justice Harlan obtained the courage from his wife, who noticed a memento that Harlan had brought home. It was an inkstand of Chief Justice Roger Taney, that placed the ink which wrote the infamous Dred Scott decision (The Civil Rights Cases). His wife cleaned the tray, filled it with fresh ink, and placed it on Harlan's desk (The Civil Rights Cases). Her act was to show her husband how necessary it is for him speak out against the majority who opposed equality for all, which gave him the confidence to undo the decision of the Dred Scott Case. “Harlan is that one voice on the Court that still embodies that previous commitment that was made just a few years earlier to that goal, to the goal of racial equality” (The Civil Rights Cases).
Justice Harlan’s reasonable expectations test in Katz vs. United States (1967) considers whether a person has an “actual (subjective) expectation of privacy” and if so, whether such expectation is one that “society is prepared to recognize as ‘reasonable.’” (Solove and Schwartz 99) If there is no expectation of privacy, there is no search and no seizure (reasonable, or not), and hence no Fourth Amendment issue. Likewise, we must first ascertain whether a search took place. A few questions from a police officer, a frisk, or the taking of blood samples do not constitute a search. (Solove and Schwartz 83; 86) Likewise, the plain view doctrine establishes that objects knowingly exhibited in a public area, in plain view for police to see, do not
The radical reconstruction tried to bring the south to submission while protecting blacks. This brought forward the 14th amendment which stated that all citizens born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens of the United States. Then came along the 15th amendment was passed that stated that black m...
1868 marked a proud year for African Americans with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to Constitution. It proclaimed that “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”1 This essentially color blinded government, and granted all citizens (a category which finally included African Americans) what is described in the document as indisputable equality.
African-Americans have significantly contributed to the criminal justice field in the United States through presenting law cases in the Supreme Court and championing for civil rights. One of the African-American names mentioned among those that have had a significant contribution to this field is Thurgood “Thoroughgood” Marshall, who became the first African-American justice to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the pioneer of civil rights. With regard to Thurgood Marshall, the purpose of this paper is to explore his contributions to civil rights in the field of criminal justice. To do so, this paper will examine Marshall’s childhood and family background, education, his
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
Although the trial of People v. Sweet was a clear legal victory for Ossian, his wife, his friends and all others involved in the defense, the story as a whole was a heart wrenching and grim calamity for the Sweets. Not to mention the NAACP’s failed initiative to champion the case in hopes that it would foreshadow a bigger, nation-wide residential segregation victory in the Supreme Court and maybe even a civil rights movement. After Henry’s acquittal none of the men spent day in jail for the night of September 9th 1925 but both trials didn’t have the effect the NAACP planned and ended playing an insignificant role in the big picture of residential segregation and minority rights as a whole. After the trial of Henry Sweet, Robert Toms announced the end of the trials, People v. Sweet would never see another day in court. However much relief it was to hear that, it was small victory compared to the permanent damage the trials inflicted on the lives of the defendants, especially Ossian Sweet.
In the 1930’s a plethora of prejudiced persons are present amidst the prominent Scottsboro trials, a seven-year-long case consisting of false rape allegations made against nine black boys from Scottsboro. When citizens fail to acknowledge their own preconceived ideas and look past the prejudice present in society, justice cannot be served. In the Scottsboro case, the court of Alabama disregards the societal issues surrounding racial discrimination and endorses the guilty verdict and conviction of the nine African American boys. Failing to look past their own personal biases, the jury ignores the unquestionable evidence that would support the boys’ case. Instead, the jury focuses on their predilection
Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the
King's main thesis in writing the Birmingham letter is that, racial segregation, or injustice to the black American society, is due to the continuous encouragement of the white American society, particularly the powerful communities in politics and religions. King defends his primary thesis all throughout the length of his letter, and the arguments that he has made to prove that his thesis is true and valid will be the focus of this rhetorical analysis.
Marshall, being a minority, became interested in becoming a lawyer to help minorities gain equal opportunities as whites. Thurgood originally named “Thouroughgood” after his grandfather was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was William Marshall, a steward, and his mother Norma Williams, a teacher. Growing up, Thurgood's mom wanted him to become a dentist while his dad hoped at least one of his sons would become a lawyer. Marshalls first contact with the law began in high school because he would do poorly in school and always misbehaved. As a punishment his high school[Baltimore’s Colored High and Training School] made Marshall sit and read the U.S constitution. Thurgood also credits his father for making him choose his career as a lawyer and “making him an advocate and these discussions at home with stimulating his interest in competitive debating and confronting injustice” (Gibson 44) Marshall states “‘He never told me to become a lawyer, but he turned me into one… he taught me how to argue, and challenged my logic on every point.’” (Whitelaw 12) Marshall’s father stimulate...
Earl M. Maltz is a professor at Rutgers School of Law, who teaches constitutional law, employment discrimination, conflicts of law, and a seminar on the Supreme Court. He has written two books and various articles surrounding the topics of constitutional law, statutory interpretation, the role of the courts and legal history. In his article, “The Fourteenth Amendment and Native American Citizenship,” Maltz argues that the status of Native Americans were considered when writing the Fourteenth Amendment, yet discussions on the topic rarely focus on the role that they played. I think that the topic of Native American citizenship rose separately from African-American citizenship and that Maltz’s use of court cases throughout the text furthered
Through his dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, Justice Harlan takes a definitive stance against the laws that deny African Americans equal rights in any form, whether it be through the denial of voting rights or the formation of segregated communities. Harlan was a strong supporter of civil rights for all people, regardless of race. He argued that segregation laws violate the 14th Amendment because the Constitution is “color-blind” and has neither “caste” nor “class”. He also claimed that they encourage the idea that African Americans are both unequal and inferior to whites. Harlan condemned his fellow justices, who composed the majority for the case, for allowing the “seeds of race hate to be planted under the
He believed that the railroad law did indeed breach Plessy’s 14th and 15th amendment rights. “ The Thirteenth amendment (...) struck down the institution of slavery, (...) but it (also) prevents the imposition of any burdens or disabilities that constitute badges of slavery or servitude.” The railroad law put a badge of inferiority on the african citizens by not allowing them the same rights as the white citizens. Harlan believed that Homer Plessy should be allowed to ride in the first class car of the train. “ Our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.” This shows how Harlan believed that all americans should have equal right and not have to be
The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments would provide freedom, citizenship, and suffrage to African Americans, but their civil and social rights would continue to be threatened. Almost one hundred years later when the civil rights movement of the 1950’s/1960’s was underway, not much had changed for African Americans in these respects of American society since the age of slavery. Though free citizens, people of color were still lacking social rights and equality. On numerous occasions, one being on the issue of integration of schools, the South continued their trend of ignoring the wishes of the federal government and instead going with what best fit their interests; in this case, keeping their schools “separate but equal.” Even one hundred years later, it is though nothing had changed. Civil rights leaders were fighting for the rights of African Americans the same way that abolitionists had in the 1850’s. The Southern states were prioritizing their own interests and choosing to go against the federal government, the same way that they had in 1860 when
Unfortunately, African American’s hard won equality soon began to deteriorate once more into new socially acceptable forms of segregation. Jim Crow laws now determined one’s rights instead of the Constitution, social barriers in the North too began to rise. For all, it was a time of insecurity and displaced blame, the brunt of which the African Americans took immeasurably. But in the midst of that time of social and political upheaval and unrest, there arose our amendments which to this day give people of all race in the United States the equal opportunity to pursue a better life for