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"Was
Plessy v. Ferguson a Case of Judicial
Activism?"
A Focus on the 14th Ammendment
I.
OVERVIEW:
The theme for
the Teaching American History
Grant was the U.S. Constitution,
and our Lesson Study Group decided
to focus on the 14th Amendment.
We settled on Plessy v.
Ferguson because it is
a provocative case within the
context of the post-Civil War/Reconstruction
Era but also because of the
direct connection with Brown
v. Board of Education.
As AP teachers, we felt it important
to choose a topic that might
enable us to make connections
with other events in American
history, therefore, using class
time in an efficient manner.
We also thought this lesson
could be easily adapted to the
needs of non-AP classes.
In order to try
the Plessy case, students had
to understand
- the 14th amendment in its
historical context.
- the particulars of how
the court operated.
- judicial decision-making
at the Supreme Court level
and how the meaning of a constitutional
amendment changes depending
on who sits on the Court (in
this case, how the equal protection
clause of the 14th amendment
was interpreted).
To assess student
knowledge and understanding,
students were asked to write
an argumentative essay in response
to the question:
Was the decision
in Plessy v. Ferguson true to
the 14th amendment, or were
the justices asserting judicial
activism?
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