The Founding Fathers created the Supreme Court in Article III of the Constitution of the United States. The most influential role of the Court, however, was defined later through the appeal process, in cases involving the laws of state and local legislatures and Congress. Landmark cases such as Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and others, which were decided in the first decades of the nineteenth century, established the court’s power of judicial review. This gave the appointed justices the power to declare a law invalid if they found it to be in violation of the Constitution. Judicial review gave the Court the power to interpret the law of the land.
With the surrender of the Confederate states and the end of the Civil War, Congress needed to set the terms under which the seceded states would return to the Union. After four long years of war, Congress also had to address the controversial issues that brought the nation to war in the first place. These included slavery and civil rights. Congress proposed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution to address the issues of freedom and citizenship, and required ratification of the first two for readmission to the Union. Within the first decade following ratification, court cases arose involving individuals demanding their promised civil rights. In the 1870s, the Supreme Court interpreted the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments in the political atmosphere of Reconstruction.
Have each student review how the Supreme Courts works. The following websites provide good information about the role of the Supreme Court. The students should take notes for a follow-up discussion.
Class discussion: Using the research and notes, discuss and clarify the following:
In the years following the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, African Americans struggled to claim the rights promised to them by the Amendment. It is important to fully understand the context of the time in which the Fourteenth Amendment was passed. Students should use their textbooks and the provided websites to gain an understanding of Reconstruction.
Have the class develop a model for analyzing documents and writings about the four cases to be considered in this lesson. They should compile a list of questions to guide them through their reading. Questions should include the following:
The class should read and discuss the Fourteenth Amendment, which can be found at this site:
The discussion should include:
Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one of the following topics for research. Each group should look for background and significant events that influenced the decisions of the Supreme Court.
Have each group share their information on the assigned topic with the class.
The following websites include the decisions and provide useful information on the assigned topics.
Have the class select one of the four appeal hearings. Divide the class into three groups:
Using the research, each group should prepare questions and arguments for a mock hearing. The Court should reach a decision
Debrief: The class should discuss the outcome of the mock hearing. The discussion should include similarities, differences, variations in arguments, and impact.
To what extent did the Fourteenth Amendment succeed in protecting the equal rights of all citizens in the United States in the decades after the Civil War?