The Long Struggle for Freedom: From Civil War to Civil Rights

This is part four of our ongoing series "That Was A Long Time Ago'. We are examining the impact of the legal system has shaped the present

We have now moved past the Dred Scott Decision. In the intervening years, the Civil War brought an end to slavery in the United States. This monumental shift posed a new question: what should be done with the newly freed slaves? The answer seemed clear, as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments granted them citizenship and equal protection under the law. These amendments effectively nullified or even reversed the infamous Dred Scott Decision, which declared that the "Negro" could not be American citizens.

This period, known as Reconstruction, was meant to integrate freed slaves into American society. However, after Reconstruction ended, a dark era began. The advent of Jim Crow laws, segregation, Black Codes, and vagrancy laws ensued. These laws had the devastating effect of placing Black people back into a state akin to “second slavery.”

It essentially made it illegal to be Black in America. Freedom for Black Americans would have to be fought for all over again. This situation becomes even more glaring when viewed in light of the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. All of the discriminatory laws enacted during this period should have been adjudicated as unconstitutional. Yet they were upheld. Again, these oppressive, discriminatory laws were passed POST 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments being ratified. When discussing the history of Black America, this fact gets overlooked and ignored.

The hypocrisy of the Supreme Court was made manifest; there was no writ of mandamus issued to protect Black Americans. The Supreme Court failed in its most sacred and solemn trust: to secure justice for American citizens. Sadly, this failure would not be the last. And the long struggle for equality continued.