HST 300 exam 1
davis v. sitka school board
- 1906 Nelson Act: authorized funds for public schools in Alaska for white children & children of "mixed blood who lead a civilized life" - Alaska --> federally-managed district - even if students acted, dressed as white people & practiced as presbyterians they weren't allowed at the school bc race - Judge ruled the children not "civilized" enough for school
law
- a unique and powerful force in American history - a critical arena that has linked race and rights throughout American history - lens of analysis --> Approaching law thru narrative; Not just case law, but people & lived experiences; Law as a reflection of historical moments, politics, & morality - blinding social force
3/5 Compromise
-each slave would count for 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes (article 1 section 2)
privileges and immunities
Justice Bushrod Washington: § Protection by the gov. § Life, liberty, & happiness § Property § Right to travel across states § Right to use courts
natural law
o A nebulous combination of religious, philosophical, and political principles o Inalienable rights: Life, liberty, property
Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903)
o Description: § "Indian's Dred Scott decision" § 1892: Federal negotiators led by David Jerome, claim 2.26 million acres in exchange for $2 million § Required by treaty to obtain signatures from 75% of Kiowa voting-age men to approve § Use a combination of fraud, forgery, bribery, and outright refusal to abide by the treaty terms to submit the sale to Congress - approved in 1900 § Kiowa leaders go to court in protest § Unanimous Supreme Court rules on the validity of the Jerome Agreements o Significance: § Extends Congress's plenary power, rejects any constitutional basis for Native American sovereignty, reasserts a relationship of dependence § Congress may violate existing treaties at will § Just a few years later Congress uses this plenary power to take control of revenues/finances from wealthy Osage nation
john marshall harlan
o Description: § "The Great Dissenter", justice on the S.C. who dissented against the rulings in Plessy v. Ferguson and the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 · Civil Rights Cases of 1883 Congress could not punish discrimination against blacks by private persons but only by those acting in an "official" or "state" capacity · Plessy v. Ferguson "our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens," U.S. has no class system o Significance: § He expressed the justified fear that the majority of the court was consigning black citizens of the United States to a permanent "condition of legal inferiority" § One of the only S.C. justices to dissent on civil rights cases § Wrote a dissent stating that segregation violated the 14th Amendment because it used the law to sanction inequality among races
homer plessy
o Description: § A 29-year old shoemaker in New Orleans § Selected by a group of Afro-Creole activists to test the separate car act § Plessy could "pass" as white, had one African American great grandparent § Arrested by design after purchasing a first class ticket and identifying himself to the conductor as Black o Significance: § His case went all the way to the Supreme Court where they declared "separate but equal" § Justice John Marshall Harlan dissents "there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens" "Constitution is color-blind" § Effect wave of new segregation laws passed to disenfranchise African American men throughout the South · Restricted the vote for African American men
slaughterhouses cases (1873)
o Description: § A Louisiana case regarding the creation of a single slaughterhouse site for all butchers § A group of butchers sue claiming that the law violates the "privileges and immunities" protected by the 14th Amendment § 5-4 decision in favor of the state o Significance: § The majority sharply limits the scope of the 14th Amendment's protections § Minimalist approach to the "privileges and immunities" inherent in national citizenship and thus protected by the federal government · Access to navigable waterways and seaports · Protection on high seas and when traveling abroad ** ruled that a citizen's "privileges and immunities," as protected by the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment against the states, were limited to those spelled out in the Constitution and did not include many rights given by the individual states***
williams v. mississippi
o Description: § A murder conviction and death sentence for an African American man (Henry Williams) in Mississippi § Williams claims he was denied equal protection under the law under 14th amendment because of the biased jury that decided his sentence (no blacks could serve on a jury) · In 1890, Mississippi officials had enacted poll taxes, literacy tests, a grandfather clause, and a requirement that only registered voters could serve on juries § The Supreme Court unanimously upholds the Mississippi voting restrictions as constitutional o Significance: § Other Southern states created new constitutions with provisions similar to those of Mississippi's through 1908, effectively disfranchising hundreds of thousands of blacks and tens of thousands of poor whites for decades. § Effect of sanctions on black communities; what S.C. is willing to do § Stripped African Americans of their right to equal protection under the law under 14th amendment
1850 fugitive slave law
o Description: § Additional incentives for federal officials to re-enslave accused fugitives § Federal marshals may require any member of the public to assist in enforcement and to fine those who refuse participation § His new law forcibly compelled citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves o Significance: § Act was passed due to increased pressure from white Southerners, law that applied to white population but affected the black population
henrietta wood
o Description: § American enslaved woman who become free, was free for 6 years, kidnapped by Zeb Ward and forced back into slavery for 17 years; took years to "win" her verdict and only won 1/8 of what she asked for; had son named Arthur Simms o Significance: § She won the largest verdict ever awarded for slavery reparations in the United States § Her willingness to sue the man who ruined her life set an example for all enslaved and newly emancipated African Americans
indian removal act 1830
o Description: § Authorized the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for white settlement of their ancestral land § Federal government will provide "aid in moving" according to Section 5 § Lead to infamous "Trail of Tears" where 30-50% of Indians died o Significance: § Took land from Native Americans under federal law; gives President all the power to take land because under law "domestic dependent nations" and "ward to guardian" relationship § U.S. inherits its "discovery" claim from the British & LA Territory Purchase
14th amendment (1868)
o Description: § Birthright citizenship § Equal protection under laws § Right to vote for 21-year old males only (white) § Controversial amendment addressing such issues as the rights of citizens, equal protection under the law, due process, and the requirements of the states o Significance: § This amendment was passed to protect the civil rights of freed slaves after the Civil War § Guaranteed citizenship to emancipated slaves citizenship = same rights as citizens under the Constitution § The power of enforcement is outlined in Section 5 this clause gives Congress the power to pass appropriate laws to enforce all of the provisions of this amendment plenary power
1875 civil rights act
o Description: § Congress had been debating this act since 1870, lame duck session passes it § Prohibits racial discrimination in public accommodations; prohibited exclusion of African American citizens from jury duty § Contested and deeply controversial o Significance: § Very controversial question of federal power v. state power · Can federal government trespass on rights of private business? § Last major Reconstruction statutes § The S.C. declared the act unconstitutional in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 · Not authorized under the 13th or 14th amendment · 14th amendment provided equal protection for everyone this act extended those protections to include public services
doctrine of discovery
o Description: § Court manufactures a distinction between "Indian title" and "legal title" § Native Americans retained an "occupancy right" rather than a "property right" in the land § Invokes a European concept of diplomatic relations, giving property rights to white Christian "discoverers" § The "discovering" nation has paramount sovereignty over aboriginal inhabitants o Significance: § Used to dehumanize, exploit and subjugate Indigenous peoples and dispossess them of their most basic rights § Used religion as an excuse to rob Indigenous people of their basic human rights because the Catholics = superior race
dawes act 1887
o Description: § Divides existing reservation lands into plots for individual ownership § Surplus lands will revert to government ownership for transfer to white settlers § Goal break communal ownership/identity and promote individual farming o Significance: § Goal was to force assimilation of Native Americans into US society § Federal government was using the law to strip Native Americans of their culture & lifestyle legally
william wirt
o Description: § Former U.S. Attorney General, part of Cherokee legal team along with Sergeant & Underwood; represent Cherokee nation in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia § Also argues in Worcester v. Georgia Georgia's regulation of Cherokee affairs violated the U.S. Constitution and asks the Court again to recognize Cherokee sovereignty o Significance: § Significance of white man who held a powerful position in government to represent Native Americans in court
black codes
o Description: § Granted minimal rights, but explicitly deny many basic privileges of citizenship § Restrict jury service, service in state militias, voting rights § Limitations on land ownership, jobs § Require lengthy labor contracts § Courts can "apprentice" black children to white farmers o Significance: § Created in reaction to the 13th amendment limited the rights of freed slaves
Zebulon Ward
o Description: § Kidnaps and jails Henrietta Wood and sold her back into slavery in KY after she was free for several years § Had a really harsh father who treated him inferior compared to his siblings maybe why he turned out evil? § Over the course of several years, was in charge of 3 state prisons eventually making himself a millionaire in that time period · He would work men so hard and make money producing hemp products; an abusive tyrant § Pro-Union but pro-slavery o Significance: § He is the perfect example of how the white & wealthy were not even punished by the law; he practically received "a slap on the wrist" by only having to pay 1/8 of what Wood asked for § Ward's white privilege gained him the law on his side making Wood essentially lose her case in the grand scheme
worcester v. georgia (1832)
o Description: § The Cherokee Nation returns to the Supreme Court in 1832 to challenge the conviction of white missionary Samuel Worcester § Worcester lived and worked in the Cherokee Nation; engages in civil disobedience and is arrested under a new Georgia law in 1831 § Sentenced to 4 years hard labor and appeals to the Supreme Court § In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Wirt argues that Georgia's regulation of Cherokee affairs violated the U.S. Constitution and asks the Court again to recognize Cherokee sovereignty § Georgia refuses to participate in the case § In March 1832, the Supreme Court rules in Worcester & the Cherokee Nation's favor o Significance: § Declares Georgia's actions against the Cherokee "repugnant to the constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States." § Marshall's opinion acknowledges Cherokee sovereignty, limits the extent of the "doctrine of discovery," and declares Native American nations "distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights as the undisputed possessors of the soil," and entitled to powers of self-government (although still with limits)
prigg v. pennsylvania (1842)
o Description: § U.S. Supreme Court reviews the arrest and prosecution of Edward Prigg under PA law for coordinating the abduction of Margaret Morgan and her children for sale into slavery in 1837 § Justice Joseph Story, overturns Prigg's conviction and asserts an expansive interpretation of the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act and the right of slaveholders to "reclaim" fugitives § States have limited authority to regulate slave catchers within their borders. o Significance: § Did Pennsylvania's law prohibiting the extradition of Negroes to other states for the purpose of slavery violate Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution? Did the law violate the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 as applied by the Supremacy Clause? · Yes & Yes · The 1788 and 1826 Pennsylvania laws contradicted the Fugitive Slave Law · Justice Story state laws put in place by slave states to recapture slaves in free states only had to be enforced by federal officials, and not state magistrates
dred scott
o Description: Bought by an army surgeon in 1833 Married Harriet in 1837 Dred's owner marries Irene Sanford in 1838 and they all move to Missouri Scotts labor is hired out in St. Louis Dred Scott sues Irene Sanford for freedom in Missouri in 1846 (Scotts were taken to a free state then brought back and enslaved again) • Temporarily win case then it is overturned, Scotts not freed until May 1857 o Significance: Scott's case challenges the S.C. to consider the ability of Congress to prohibit slavery in federal territories and the citizenship of black Americans Majority finds that Congress has no constitutional right to prohibit slavery anywhere Justice Taney African Americans could not be recognized as citizens of the United States under the Constitution Justice Curtis writes a lengthy dissent which spreads through the North northern outrage Frederick Douglass, Abe Lincoln
1866 civil rights act
o Description: Defines citizenship as a birthright, protects rights of citizens • To make and enforce contracts • To use the courts (sue, give testimony, etc.) • To own and control real and personal property • To have "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens" o Significance: To prevent the 1866 Civil Rights Act from being repealed, Congress moves toward a new Constitutional Amendment Congress passes Reconstruction Act to pressure Southern states to ratify new amendment led to 14th amendment • Equal protection under the law, due process, privileges & immunities of citizens
naturalization act of 1790
o Description: Gives guidelines for how foreign-born individuals can become U.S. citizens • "any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen ... on application to any common law court of record ... making proof to the satisfaction of such court, that he is a person of good character" o Significance: This Act left out slaves, women, indentured servants Citizenship granted exclusively through the patriarch of the family **The only U.S. statute to ever use the term "natural born citizen**
thomas ruffin
o Description: Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859 Rules on the case of State v. Mann • North Carolina case involving injury to Lydia, an enslaved woman hired by a third party o Significance: Judge Thomas Ruffin affirms an absolute power for slaveholding individuals free from judicial review or interference (State v. Mann) Sets example other limitations are imposed by law on enslaved people in the South • Restrictions on assemblies, anti-literacy laws, "hire out" slave labor
race
o a lens of analysis § Variety of racial experiences § Race as a process § Race as a defining feature of American history
15th amendment
§ "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"
blyew v. US
§ 1868: A black family in Kentucky is murdered by white supremacists in anticipation of a race war § Kentucky state laws/courts still prohibit black citizens from testifying against white people § The case is removed to federal court under the 1866 Civil Rights Act and the murderers are convicted § They appeal to the Supreme Court § A 6-2 ruling by the Court overturns the convictions, arguing that black witnesses/victims were not parties of the case and thus were not "affected" by discrimination
civil rights cases of 1883
§ A direct challenge to the 1875 Civil Rights Act § Comes from cases in Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, California, and New York § 8-1 ruling by the Court invalidates the 1875 Civil Rights Act · By targeting private businesses rather than "state actors" the law overstepped authority granted by the 14th Amendment to Congress · In private, Justice Joseph Bradley insists that civil rights protections will lead to "slavery of the whites." § Dissent by John Marshall Harlan (appointed 1877); the only former slaveholder remaining on the Court · Advocates for an expansive reading of the freedoms meant to be protected by the Reconstruction Amendments
"gag rule"
§ Antislavery petitions submitted to Congress are automatically tabled without being read or entered into the Congressional record § No resolutions on the subject of slavery can be considered by Congress
compact of 1802
§ Georgia gives up land claims § Congress "as soon as possible" will extinguish Cherokee and Creek claims to land within Georgia through "reasonable and peaceful terms."
plenary power
§ In 1871, Congress includes new language in an appropriations bill: · "Hereafter no Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty." · Congress asserts broad power to intervene in the affairs of aboriginal nations
enforcement act (1870)
§ Penalties for state officials who deny voting rights on the basis of race § Punishes "any person" who uses force or intimidation to prevent voting § Targets groups like the Ku Klux Klan § Empowers federal marshals and federal courts to address these violations
plessy v. ferguson (1896)
§ Plessy could "pass" as white, had one African American great grandparent § Arrested by design after purchasing a first class ticket and identifying himself to the conductor as Black § Albion Tourgée is his attorney, Union Army vet. § In a 7-1 ruling, the Supreme Court upholds the Separate Car Act · "separate but equal" § Justice John Marshall Harlan dissents (again): · States there is no caste/class system in the U.S. · All citizens are equal before the law
US v. Kagama (1886)
· The Court argues that the 1871 legislation effectively ended Native American sovereignty · Congress has virtually unlimited power to legislate and regulate Native American affairs · Emphasizes the "dependence" of aboriginal nations