Essay about The Civil Rights Movement in the USA - 1293 Words

The American declaration of independence stated, that: â€Å"All men are created equal†. But in the 19th century only whites were born with equal opportunities. Africans were imported as slaves and had to work on the fields of the whites. Until 1865 the Negroes were treated and looked at as something lower than human. They were compared to apes, and therefore just owned the same rights as animals. They were raised believing that whites were superior. It took them years to realize that they have to stand up for their rights. The uprising turned into a brutal civil war. After the war, the slaves were freed. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment of the U.S. constitution prohibited slavery, discrimination and denegation of the right†¦show more content†¦This was considered illegal and Plessy got arrested. Plessy chose to fight his case in court, because the segregation laws violated the fourteenth amendment. Four years later, the case was brought to the Supreme Court. The justices ruled against Homer Plessy. Their decision was that segregation is legal as long as equal facilities were provided. Justice Henry Billings Brown summarized, The object of the [Fourteenth] amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to endorse social, as distinguished from political, equality. . . If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same pl ane. This was the opinion of most Justices and the majority of the white population at that time. From this quote you can see how the people still believed that the races were not the same and had to be kept separate. This was considered normal in the court and in the social life. The fact, that the races were not treated equally, even though stated within the law, was ignored by the white population. The ruling of the Supreme Court in this case became law. It did not gain the Negros any more rights or equal opportunities. Still, it was the first step towards desegregation. It also made people realize that there was still injustice between the races. Justice JohnShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War Civil Rights Movement1660 Words   |  7 Pagesmind, their pride played a heavy factor in the determination of them reaching that goal or falling short. In many instances, the pride of many outweighed that of the main contributor and history was changed in the course of it. 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The historic showdown between James Meredith and the University of Mississippi gives perspective on the place of African-Americans