The American Constitution states that, “All men are created equal”. Dred Scott and Homer Plessy never saw the fine print where it said… except for African Americans. Scott and Plessy were victims of loop-holes in the law. In each court case, Sandford and Ferguson both sustained that the prosecution merely misinterpreted the wording of the Constitution. Whether the fight was for citizenship or being accepted into a certain area, both were simply looking to get their rights recognized under the assumption that they are included in the statement that “All men are created equal”. Loop-holes in the law have denied African Americans civil rights throughout the years. By analyzing historical court cases pertaining to racism in the language of the ruling, it shows the significance of language interpretation and how it was used against African Americans to deny them civil rights.
The Dred Scott case addresses the issue of citizenship and Constitutional rights for African Americans whose ancestors were slaves. (Rothenberg, 2014) Sandford uses the justification that, “African Americans were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration.”(Rothenberg, 2014) Saying that “African Americans were not intended to be included” is just Sandford’s interpretation of what the founding fathers meant. There was nothing written in the Constitution that stated African Americans were excluded. Regrettably, this case takes place one hundred years after the Constitution was transcribed therefore the meaning can’t be clarified by the writers. The declaration clearly states “all men”, yet Sandford’s impression is that African Americans are property therefore they are not considered men. Ultimately, loop-h...
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...ther Plessy nor Scott should have had to battle for their rights in court.
These cases are still referenced today to show how the US legally implemented institutionalized racism. Dred Scott was deprived of citizenship because his ancestors were slaves and Homer Plessy was denied equal treatment because he was a mulatto. Neither man was treated as an equivalent human being; rather they are both treated as an inferior species. The United States Constitution is abundantly clear in its interpretation and is made to have amendments when necessary as society fluctuates. The United States is obligated use it to form a better country not to deny its citizens’ rights due to loop-holes.
References
Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citizen
Rothenberg, P. (2014). Race, class, and gender in the United States. (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
The Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) ‘equal but separate’ decision robbed it of its meaning and confirmed this wasn’t the case as the court indicated this ruling did not violate black citizenship and did not imply superior and inferior treatment ,but it indeed did as it openly permitted racial discrimination in a landmark decision of a 8-1 majority ruling, it being said was controversial, as white schools and facilities received near to more than double funding than black facilities negatively contradicted the movement previous efforts on equality and maintaining that oppression on
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Homer Plessy vs. the Honorable John H. Ferguson ignited the spark in our nation that ultimately led to the desegregation of our schools, which is shown in the equality of education that is given to all races across the country today. “The Plessy decision set the precedent that ‘separate’ facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were ‘equal’” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson not only illuminated the racial inequality within our education system, but also brought to light how the standard of ‘separate but equal’ affected every aspect of African American lives.
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