Separate-But-Equal Doctrine Essay

The history of the United States is characterized with constant political change. The definition of citizenship, who it belongs to, and the rights of different citizens has evolved. Originally, only white men were considered citizens, but the modern view of the government is that all people born in the United States are citizens, regardless of race, sex, or color. All people are required to be treated equally under the law. This change was implemented because of large social movements and interest groups. Individuals are responsible for advocating their own views and effecting change by actively participating in politics as an individual, as part of groups, and as members of communities. The relationship between the individual and the community

The separate-but-equal doctrine ruled that as long as African Americans were given access to institutions of equal standards, segregation would not count as a violation of African Americans’ rights and citizenship. Under separate-but-equal doctrine, African Americans didn’t have access to equal institutions, which led to several court cases. The landmark case that marked the end of the separate-but-equal doctrine was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case in 1954. The textbook states that the court case, “established that the segregation of races in public schools violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” (Bardes, Shelley & Schmidt, p. 139) This court case can be interpreted more broadly to say that segregation as a whole was a violation under the 14th amendment. Since this court case only applied to public schooling, there was a great need for a social movement to end segregation as a whole. In the 1950s, the Civil Rights movement began as a rapid change in how African Americans were treated under the

The Civil Rights movement was characterized by a series of protests, both violent and nonviolent, leading to legislation in favor of African American and non-white rights being fully protected by the government. The textbook describes the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as, “the most far-reaching bill on civil rights in modern times, [which] banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.” (Bardes, Shelley & Schmidt, p. 141) The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination and forced the equal treatment of African Americans. As the country continued to enact pro-African American policy, African Americans and non-whites were integrated into the core of American politics.
Women were also integrated into American politics with the right to vote under the nineteenth amendment. In 1920, the 19th amendment guaranteed that voting rights would not be denied by basis of sex. Similar to discrimination against African Americans, women slowly gained dignity through interest groups and social movements. The women’s suffrage movement was established in 1869, and over the course of five decades, the interest group effectively promoted and caused the establishment of women’s rights in the United