The document provides information about several important US Supreme Court cases and state policies related to civil rights: - Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) ruled that African Americans could not sue in court and were property, not citizens. - Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established the "separate but equal" doctrine allowing racial segregation. - Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned "separate but equal" and ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. - Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) struck down racial quotas but did not eliminate affirmative action. - California Proposition 209 (1996) prohibited public institutions from considering race, sex

1. U.S. SUPREME COURT
CASES AND STATE
POLICIES.
CIVIL RIGHTS

2. TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE!
USING YOUR GUIDED WORKSHEET WRITE DOWN ANY INFORMATION
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING COURT CASES.(SAVE ROOM, YOU WILL BE
ADDING TO YOUR NOTES) WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, COLLABORATE
WITH YOUR SMALL GROUP AND DISCUSS YOUR FINDINGS.
• Dred Scott V. Sandford (1857)
• Plessy V. Ferguson (1896)
• Brown V. Board of Education (1954)
• Regents of the University of California V. Bakke (1978)
• California Proposition 209 (1996)

3. DREDD SCOTT V. SANDFORD (1857)
Dredd Scott was a slave from Missouri who was brought to Illinois
by his master. When his master Emerson Sandford died in 1843,
Emerson’s wife, Eliza Sandford took legal possession of Dredd Scott
and his family. After a failed attempt to buy his family’s freedom,
Dredd Scott sued Eliza Sandford claiming he was legally free
because he and his family lived in a territory where slavery was
banned. The state court ruled in favor of Dredd Scott but his wages
during the court proceedings were withheld leading to an appeal to
the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court
overturned the State’s decision and ruled in favor of Sandford
claiming that Scott could not sue in federal court because he had
been deemed a slave under Missouri law. Chief Justice Roger Taney
claimed that Scott could not file a lawsuit because he was not a
person, he was property and therefore he had no rights.

4. DREDD SCOTT

5. DREDD SCOTT V. SANDFORD (1857)
• Why do you think that the Supreme Court ruled against
Dredd Scott?
• What were the consequences for Scott and other African
Americans during this time.
• What is the significance of the court ruling? How does the
ruling define race in America at this time?

6. PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896)
In 1892, Homer Plessy was found guilty for violating Louisiana
state law because he refused to move from the 1st class
carriage of a train to the “colored” carriage. Under Louisiana
state law, Plessy who was 1/8 black and 7/8 white, was
classified as an African-American. Plessy challenged racial
segregation in public places under the doctrine “separate but
equal”. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that blacks and
whites could receive separate services so long as they were
equivalent. The Plessy V Ferguson ruling legally accepted the
“separate but equal” policy and allowed further segregation
laws to be enforced.

7. HOMER PLESSY

8. PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896)
• What does this court case tell you about race relations in
America at this time?
• In your own words, define separate but equal.
• What is important about the outcome of the Plessy v.
Ferguson court ruling?
• If you had to describe yourself as a fraction, could you?
What would you be?

9. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)
Brown Vs Board of Education was a collection of court
cases that challenged racial segregation in public
schools violating the equal protection clause of the
14th Amendment of the Constitution. Linda Brown’s
father, Oliver Brown was the lead plaintiff. He sued the
Topeka Kansas Board of Education because his
daughter was denied entry into a white public school.
Attorney Thurgood Marshall, working with the NAACP,
brought the court case before the Supreme Court. He
argued that segregation of public schools was
unconstitutional. The supreme court ruled that
segregated schools were unequal and overturned the
1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of “separate but equal”.

10. OLIVER BROWN

11. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)
• What do you think the implications were for segregated
schools after the ruling of the Brown v. Board of Education
case? Did they change? Did the schools close?
• Do you think public schools were able to facilitate all
students and enforce equal education after the court ruling
of Brown v. Board of Education?
• What problems or concerns do you think students faced in
school in 1955?
• What would public education look like today if the Supreme
Court had not ruled in favor of Brown?

12. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA V.
BAKKE (1978)
• Allan Bakke was a 35 year old Marine veteran who was
denied admittance to University of California, Davis
Medical School because of the university’s racial
quotas. He was denied admittance despite having a
higher GPA than other minority applicants. At the time
of his application, 16 minorities were accepted over
him because of affirmative action. The case was
eventually called before the U.S. Supreme Court and
challenged affirmative action. The grounds for Allan
Bakke’s case was that he was excluded from admission
to the university solely on the basis of race. The
Supreme Court ruled in the favor of Bakke and struck
down the affirmative action policy used by the
university, claiming that the university violated the
rights of white applicants.

13. ALLAN BAKKE

14. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA V.
BAKKE (1978)
• What was the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision
in the case of Regents of the University of California v.
Bakke?
• What does this court case imply about affirmative action?
• What would you do in Allan Bakke’s situation?
• Do you think there are affirmative action policies still in
practice today?

15. CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 209 (1996)
• California Proposition 209, also referred
to as the California Civil Rights Initiative,
is a California ballot proposition
approved in 1996. The proposition,
modeled after the Civil Rights Act of
1964, amended the California state
constitution to prohibit state
government institutions from
considering race, sex, or ethnicity during
employment application processing. It
also prohibited considering the above in
the areas of pubic employment, public
contracting, and public education.

16. CALIFORNIA PROP. 209

17. CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 209 (1996)
• How did proposition 209 change employment and
educational opportunities for people in California?
• Do you think proposition 209 benefits or hurts minorities?
Explain your answer.
• How has proposition 209 shaped California into what we
can see today?
• Do you support or oppose this proposition?

18. GROUP COLLABORATION AND ASSIGNMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
• Move into five groups.
• Using your guided worksheet, discuss and compare notes with
your group. (ten minutes)
• Each group will be assigned one court case or policy to lead a
class discussion based on the answers to the teacher lecture
questions, as well as providing additional information to facilitate
a robust student led exchange of ideas.