POLS 1101Week 5Feb. 4-8, 2013Democracy 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 equalityo It was not an original part of the ConstitutionScott 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-slaveryo Southern Democrats: pro-slavery- Back then, the Republicans controlled CongressPOLS 1101Week 5Feb. 4-8, 2013- 13th Amendmento Outlawed slaveryo “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 Amendmento 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 lawo “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 citizensof 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 Amendmento The right to vote should not be based on race, color, or previous servitudeo “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 asko Does equal protection mean equal treatment?o Does the Bill of Rights even refer to the states or just national level?POLS 1101Week 5Feb. 4-8, 2013Barron 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 profoundo Does this mean a state can deny freedom of speech, religion, etc.?- The 14th amendments says no STATE shall prohibit…. Without due processo This implies states are bound by the same laws- After the 14th amendment, Supreme court began a process selective incorporationo They began going through the entire Bill of Rights saying which parts applies to state as wello The 3rd amendment not yet incorporatedGideon vs. Wainright (1963, the Gideon Decision)- Gideon was a poor, uneducated, and had been in trouble with the law for minor things- 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- He had no lawyer, but was familiar with the law- He asked to be appointed a lawyer (based on the 6th amendment)- The judge said the Bill of Rights does not apply to the states so he had no right to a lawyer- Gideon was innocent and acted as his own lawyer- He lost and was convicted so he wrote a Pauper’s Petitiono Basically this means he wrote a letter to Supreme Court asking to take his caseo He said he had been denied his right to a lawyero 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 statesPOLS 1101Week 5Feb. 4-8, 2013Aftermath of the 14 th Amendment - Civil Rights Act of 1865- The Supreme Court struck down most of this act thoughPlessy 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