History 143 Assignment Guide, April 14-16, 2009

 

 

Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Discovering the American Past, 235-252

 

 

Background information: After reading this assignment, you should know the following:

1.      What the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision was and why it was important.

 

2.      How cases are argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

3.      How evidence from social science studies (especially the findings of Kenneth Clark) influenced the Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

 

4.      The guarantees provided by the 14th Amendment.

 

 

Discussion: In class, you should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions:

  1. What points did the Amicus Curiae briefs make against racial segregation?

 

 

  1. What were the legal arguments offered against segregation by Attorneys Carter and Marshall?

 

 

  1. What were the legal arguments offered in support of segregation by Attorney Davis?

 

 

  1. Which of the above arguments did the Court find most convincing and why?

 

 

  1. What were the effects, positive and negative, of the Brown decision?

 

 

Personal connection: In class, you should be able to provide answers to the following question:

 

What do you believe is the single biggest challenge facing American public education today?