Read the passage from the opinion of the court in Brown v. Board of Education, written by Justice Warren.
An additional reason for the inconclusive nature of the Amendment's history with respect to segregated schools is the status of public education at that time. In the South, the movement toward free common schools, supported by general taxation, had not yet taken hold. Education of white children was largely in the hands of private groups. Education of Negroes was almost nonexistent, and practically all of the race were illiterate. In fact, any education of Negroes was forbidden by law in some states. Today, in contrast, many Negroes have achieved outstanding success in the arts and sciences, as well as in the business and professional world. It is true that public school education at the time of the Amendment had advanced further in the North, but the effect of the Amendment on Northern States was generally ignored in the congressional debates. Even in the North, the conditions of public education did not approximate those existing today. The curriculum was usually rudimentary; ungraded schools were common in rural areas; the school term was but three months a year in many states, and compulsory school attendance was virtually unknown. As a consequence, it is not surprising that there should be so little in the history of the Fourteenth Amendment relating to its intended effect on public education.
The Fourteenth Amendment stresses that anyone born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen and cannot be deprived of their rights. Which detail from the passage supports the court’s reason for not using previous rulings on effects of the Fourteenth Amendment to decide this case?
The 14th Amendment specifies that people of different races should be segregated in public schools.
In the North, both white children and African American children were educated equally.
The 14th Amendment’s impact on public education was not addressed in previous cases.
In the South, the 14th Amendment was thought to cover the private education of white children.
