Procedures

• STEP 1.

  As a class, view the following video and answer the questions below to lay the foundation for students to understand this case:

• VIDEO CLIP: Reconstruction and the Historical Background of the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (3:31)

  • Explain rights and treatment of African-Americans during the Reconstruction Era.

  • What does Mr. Kirsanow mean by this era being tumultuous? What examples does he provide?

• STEP 2.

  Students can either work independently or in groups to view the following video clips. They should take notes using the handout below:

  Handout: Supreme Court Case: Civil Rights Cases (1883) (Google Doc)

• VIDEO CLIP: The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments and the Constitutional Basis for the 1883 Civil Rights Cases (2:21)

  • What does the 13th Amendment do? Why is Section 2 important?

  • What are included in the different parts of the 14th Amendment?

  • Explain what the 15th Amendment does.

• VIDEO CLIP: The Civil Rights Act of 1875 and the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (5:23)

  • How did Frederick Douglass and Senator Charles Sumner work together to pass legislation to ensure full citizenship for African-Americans?

  • Explain what the Civil Rights Act of 1875 did.

  • How were the five Civil Rights Cases of 1883 similar? Why were they consolidated?

  • How did people react to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

• VIDEO CLIP: The Majority Opinion in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (4:46)

  • What was the decision in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883?

  • What is meant by the State Action Doctrine? * How do you think this is different than actions by private entities (i.e. individuals and businesses)?

  • What does Ms. Danielle Holley-Walker mean by this decision being "activist?"

  • Explain the arguments that Bradley includes in his majority opinion that relate to the 13th and 14th Amendments.

• VIDEO CLIP: The Importance of the Dissenting Opinion in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (4:08)

  • Why was Justice John Harlan's dissent important to civil rights leaders following Reconstruction?

  • What arguments did Justice John Harlan make in his dissent?

  • How does Mr. Kirsanow argue that Harlan's dissent is incorrect?

• VIDEO CLIP: The Impact of the 1883 Civil Rights Cases on African-Americans (2:32)

  • Explain how black Americans were affected by the ruling in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883.

  • What laws and policies were put into place after the ruling?

• VIDEO CLIP: The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 and the Commerce Clause (2:24)

  • How was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

  • What parts of the Constitution were used to justify the Civil Rights Act of 1964? How was this different than Civil Rights Cases of 1883?

  • How did the 1883 Civil Rights Cases impact the enforcement of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments?

• VIDEO CLIP: The Legacy of the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 (2:21)

  • Summarize the impact of the Civil Rights Cases of 1883.

• STEP 3.

  As a class, discuss the significance of this case, the precedent it set, and its legacy.

• EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  Comparing Supreme Court Cases- Compare and contrast the Constitutional arguments that are made in the Civil Rights Cases (1883) to those in the following Supreme Court cases:

  • Landmark Supreme Court Case: Brown v Board of Education

  • Landmark Supreme Court Case: Slaughterhouse Cases

• EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  Additional Writing Prompts-

  • Should the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause be applied to discrimination by non-state actors like private businesses and individuals? Support your argument with information from the Constitution and the Civil Rights Cases of 1883.

  • How does the Commerce Clause of the Constitution provide Congress the power to pass anti-discrimination legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

  • How would the history of the United States be different if the Civil Rights Act of 1875 been upheld?