POLS 1101 Week 5 Feb 4 8 2013 Democracy of Equality Neither the Constitution or the Bill of Rights says anything about equality unlike the Declaration of Independence We govern by consent republic o Consent of the governed but we can abolish Civil Rights guarantee of equal treatment equality Civil Liberties what the government cannot do and what we are entitled to The 14th amendment is central to the idea of equality o It was not an original part of the Constitution Scott vs Sanford Dred Scott Decision At the time the nation was divided over slavery issues Some wanted supreme court to declare slavery unconstitutional Dred Scott was a slave owned by various masters His current master died and in his will he was left with Sanford But Sanford was completely against the idea of slavery so he allowed Scott to be a free man But some people had a plan to get the supreme court to end slavery Scott and Sanford agreed to play along Scott and Sanford when back to the South and now Sanford told Scott he was a slave again just because he returned to the South So Scott sued Sanford The Supreme Court did not rule about slavery which was expected Instead they said that Scott was not technically a citizen and therefore could NOT sue in federal courts They implied that African Americans are slaves by nature and can never be citizens This was one of the events leading to the Civil War At the time there were two parties o Northern Republicans anti slavery o Southern Democrats pro slavery Back then the Republicans controlled Congress POLS 1101 Week 5 Feb 4 8 2013 13th Amendment o Outlawed slavery o Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction 14th Amendment o section 1 says all persons born or naturalized are citizens o 2 parts Dual Citizenship citizen of the United States and particular state Due Process equal protection of the law o All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside 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 15th Amendment o The right to vote should not be based on race color or previous servitude o The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race color or previous condition of servitude The 14th amendment was central to American understanding of equality citizenship and federalism The Supreme Court refers to the Constitution when decision making o About half of the cases involve the 14th amendment 2 Important questions to ask o Does equal protection mean equal treatment o Does the Bill of Rights even refer to the states or just national level POLS 1101 Week 5 Feb 4 8 2013 Barron vs Baltimore 1833 before the 14th amendment The city of Baltimore wanted to build some buildings for government use They wanted to take certain land that belonged to Barron Barron said this was unconstitutional o No property shall be taken without just compensation Baltimore took the land anyway The Supreme Court said the Bill of Rights begins Congress shall make no law o So they said it only applies to the national government not state level o The implications of this are profound o Does this mean a state can deny freedom of speech religion etc The 14th amendments says no STATE shall prohibit Without due process o This implies states are bound by the same laws After the 14th amendment Supreme court began a process selective incorporation o They began going through the entire Bill of Rights saying which parts applies to state as well o The 3rd amendment not yet incorporated Gideon vs Wainright 1963 the Gideon Decision Someone broke into a pool hall and stole money from a vending machine The police came saw Gideon there and assumed it was him so he was arrested Gideon was a poor uneducated and had been in trouble with the law for minor things He had no lawyer but was familiar with the law He asked to be appointed a lawyer based on the 6th amendment Gideon was innocent and acted as his own lawyer He lost and was convicted so he wrote a Pauper s Petition The judge said the Bill of Rights does not apply to the states so he had no right to a lawyer o Basically this means he wrote a letter to Supreme Court asking to take his case o He said he had been denied his right to a lawyer o The note was poorly written with spelling and grammatical errors Supreme Court took the case and ruled because of the 14th amendment the Bill of Rights does extend to the states Gideon got a new trial with a court appointed lawyer and was found not guilty Selective Incorporation example right to a lawyer does not apply to the states POLS 1101 Week 5 Feb 4 8 2013 Aftermath of the 14 th Amendment Civil Rights Act of 1865 The Supreme Court struck down most of this act though Plessy vs Ferguson 1896 IMPORTANT Plessy was 1 8 black he had one black grandparent 7 white grandparents During the time the known rule was if you are one drop of black blood you are considered black Plessy had blonde hair blue eyes looked white He was arrested convicted and put in prison for sitting in the white section of a train The Supreme Court said equal protection does not mean same treatment As long as both races had equal treatment they could be separated Separate But Equal Doctrine it is okay to treat races differently as long as they are treated equally Plessy decision was in the nature of the times It is just how things were Though there was no slavery African Americans were still not treated much better Georgia was a racially segregated one party democratic state Georgia used a poll tax had to pay to vote Most blacks and some whited could not afford it There was a literacy test must pass a reading writing test that sometimes was different depending on the person Grandfather Clause if your grandfather could not vote neither can you and it was also implied that your children would not be able to either The Supreme Court eventually revisited the Plessy Decision o It was very unusual for the Supreme Court to do this as it is usually based on precedent o