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Naturalization Law Passed
*provided the first rules in granting national citizenship of the United State.
*limited naturalization to immigrants who were "free white persons" of "good moral character".
*not included were: indentured servants, slaves, free blacks, and later Asians.
*women were included, but it also declared that "the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States...." Citizenship was exclusive through the father. -
Emancipation Proclomation
*executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War.
*proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states then in rebellion, thus applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at that time.
*Proclamation immediately freed 50,000 slaves, with nearly all the rest (of the 3.1 million) freed as Union armies advanced. -
14th Ammendment Radified
The ratification of the 14th Amendment -
*granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and forbid states from denying any person life, liberty or property, without due process of law and must give equal protection under the law.
*Guarantees that states cannot take away rights granted to an individual who is a citizen of the United States.
*State governments must provide a system for education equally to all people in the state. -
Courtcase: Plessy v. Ferguson
*Supreme Court ruled that states could enforce the segregation of blacks and whites on intrastate railroads as long as the accommodations were roughly equal for each group.
*This decision emphasized the separate part of the law more than the requirement of equal.
*Although the decision was related to railroads it extended to other aspects of life including education. -
Founding of the NAACP
*originally called the National Negro Committee was created to secure the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
*made up of white liberals and prominent black members.
*created a legal defense fund in 1939 and instrumental in helping to argue future cases about school segregation. -
Courtcase: Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County
*first major case that challenged the segregation of those of Mexican descent.
*ruled segregation was illegal because speaking English was not required by state law and therefore discrimination because Mexican American children needed special education because they did not speak English was not justified.
*this case spurred others to forge ahead with legal battles against segregation of Mexican Americans. -
Courtcase: Briggs v. Elliot
*first case of the NAACP to go to trial regarding segregation in schools.
*study showed that Clarendon County school board spent $179 per year to educate each white child, while only $43 per year was spent on each black child.
*white student were given free textbooks, black children had to pay for them.
*over 30 school buses were provided for white students, and none for black students.
*average class size in white schools was 28 and the average of 47 in black schools.
*school board won case. -
Courtcase: Brown v. Board of Education
*Oliver Brown sued Topeka Board of Education because his daughter could not go to school at the white school near their home, instead she had to travel six blocks and a half hour bus ride to get to her school.
*a unanimous decision in favor of Brown was handed down by the Supreme Court.
*Chief Justice Warren declared, “in the field of public education the “separate but equal” has no place.
*Chief Justice Warren also stated that he knew it would be difficult to implement the Court’s decision. -
Courtcase: Brown v. Board of Education II
*this court case dealt with implementation of desegregation of schools.
*asked that desegregation happened “with all deliberate speed.”
*placed primary responsibility for resolving problems of desegregation on school authorities in each school district.
*from 1955-1960 federal judges would hear more than 200 school desegregation cases.
*border states reach 70% integration within about two years, Southern states were hardly changed. -
Little Rock Nine
*the Little Rock, Arkansas school board announced that nine black students would be admitted to Central High school at the start of the 1957-58 school year.
*the governor, Orval Fabus, objected and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school on opening day.
*President Eisenhower convinced Fabus to withdraw the guardsman
*Eisenhower has to dispatch one thousand soldiers to protect the students.
*Central High School closed the following year and reopened in 1959 desegregated. -
Civil Rights Act Adopted
*guaranteed equal political, social, and economic rights to all Americans.
*rights given to people of every race, color, religion, or national origin.
*although schools are not specially listed equal rights in other parts of life would encourage equality to carry into schools. -
Courtcase: Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District
*Mexican Americans were officially recognized by the federal courts as an identifiable group in the public schools. -
Title IX part of Education Amendments Act
*stated that no school receiving government money could discriminate based on sex.
*new sports were funded for girls.
*girls received admission, scholarship, and courses -
Title IX Regulations Passed
*Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issues final Title IX regulations.
*includes provisions prohibiting sex discrimination in athletics and establishes a three-year window for educational institutions to comply. -
Public Law 94-142
*also known as Education for All Handicapped Children Act
*aided states in protecting rights and meeting the needs of children with disabilities.
*enabled creation of Special Education teachers and classrooms.
*this later became known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
*allowed schools to become integrated with students who previously would have been considered unteachable. -
Resegregation in American Schools Published
*report has initial warning signs about the resegregation of American schools.
*author, Gary Orfield, writes, “we are clearly in a period when many policymakers, courts, and opinion makers assume that desegregation is no longer necessary.”
*the report spurred a 2002 joint conference with the following conclusions drawn about the recent increase in segregation: recent court decision outlawing race as main factor in student assignment; residential segregation; and private schools. -
A Multiracial Society with Segregated Schools: Are We Losing the Dream? Published
*findings show that racial segregation has returned to US at highest levels seen in 3 decades.
*0n average white students go to school with at least 90% white students, and only 14% of white students attend multi-racial schools.
*one sixth of all Black students attend schools with 90-100% minority students.
