Un- American Doctrine

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Un- American Doctrine

Since America's birth, blacks have not enjoyed the same rights and privileges as whites. The Constitution was not interpreted as law that favored all men. The founding fathers were all white and most of them were slave owners. Therefore, the Constitution can be seen as a document favoring whites.

The Civil War was no exception, and was fought for two main reasons: to abolish slavery, and to preserve the Union. When the North won, three constitutional amendments, known as the Civil War amendments, were made to deter further oppression of blacks. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery. The fourteenth amendment clarified the status of blacks in America. This amendment gave U.S. citizenship to those born in the U.S. Since the Constitution applies to all U.S. citizens, it was now apparent that blacks could not be denied Constitutional rights that were given to other citizens. The fifteenth amendment gave the right to vote to all American citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

After 1877, and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes' election, Reconstruction laws were replaced in the South with new ones that further restricted the rights of blacks. "Jim Crow Laws", as they became known as, segregated blacks from public facilities and transportation, jobs, voting, juries, and certain neighborhoods. They were forced to use separate hospitals, orphanages, parks, and pools. The 1800's ended with a strictly segregated South, which was both legal and accepted as a way of life.

The "separate but equal" doctrine originated in the 1896 Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson. This doctrine was unconstitutional, and it wasn't until 1954 that it was challenged in the Supreme Court. In what can be considered the most influential civil liberties case, Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, this doctrine no longer would be applied to public schooling.

Homer Plessy was a one- eights black, seven- eights white resident of Louisiana. Since he had some African- American blood in him, although little, he was considered black.

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