The Judiciary

Carllene Brooks
April 28, 2016
Professor Murdaco
Poiltics




Task: Summarize this weeks'  lecture

            Rudyard Kipling once said " If history were taught in the form of stores, it would never be forgotten". This quote suggests that if history were taught more effectively in school then people would never forget it and would also have knowledge in that area. Stores change frequently( they either get knocked down or rebuilt) as well as history.  In this weeks' lecture,  we were asked to look at the many different cases that were turning points in history. However the three cases that I want to speak briefly about are Brown vs. Board of Ed( 1954), Loving vs. Virginia( 1967), and Roe vs. Wade ( 1973). All three of these cases have made significant changes in our nation as well as tie into today's current issues that we are facing.
       Without delay, Brown vs. Board of education was one of my favorite cases. I say this because it gave all children of all races the equal opportunity for the same education. This case ended legal segregation in all public schools. As well as highlighted the changes in both national and social policy. Prior to gaining a better understanding of this case, I never really understood why we were separated due to the color of our skin. At the end of the day we are all human beings, we all deserve the right to equality, as well as the right to the same educational and job practices. I understand that during these times the white race was the " superior race" and we were frowned upon by them. They figured that since they were the superiors, they deserved the best education tools, the best job opportunities, as well as the right to make the decisions. According to PBS. org, the case came about because a little girl's parents( African American) decided to sue because they wanted her to attend an al white school in her neighborhood. ( I think this ties to the Ruby Bridges story). Apparently the decision overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision( 1896). This law/ case allowed state- sponsored segregation, apply to public education.
       Meanwhile, a few years later, another case that caught the nation by storm was the Loving vs. Virginia case ( 1967). This case in my opinion was the start of having two races come together to fight for what they wanted as well as fight for their love. The background for this case prohibited  interracial marriage. Mildred( black) and Richard Loving ( white) were both sentenced to a year in the Virginia jail because of their marriage. How can you punish two people for loving one another; regardless of their skin color they shouldn't be held accountable or punished for their union. Their marriage violated the states' anti- miscegenation law/code. The Supreme Court determined that this prohibition was unconstitutional and they decided to end all race- based legal restrictions on marriage in the U.S. One text to world connection that can be made from this piece of history is the recent decision by the courts to legalize same sex marriage in some states. History does indeed repeat itself.
        Finally, the last case that I want to speak about is Roe vs. Wade. The main idea of this case were the issues surrounding abortion. This case is similar to Donald Trump's view on the topic. According to the Due Process clause of the 14th amendment; it extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion . This case definitely reshaped national politics which divides much of the United States into pro- choice and pro- life camps.
   In closing, we can see that these three cases amongst all the others were turning points in history, and if these events never occurred, who knows what our nation would be like today. As individuals we often forget or have the wrong perception of what has happened in both history and current events. The more knowledge we have on these issues the more we will be able to understand the work we live in.