Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Famous Court Cases pertaining to the Fifteenth Amendment

Case #1
Guinn v. United States


Conflict: When Oklahoma joined the United States, its legislative agreed to let men of all races vote, as the 15th amendment stated. However the Oklahoma state began to pass laws pertaining to the process of voting such as literacy tests. These tests were mandatory and could only be bypassed if the grandfather of the voter could be validated as a foreigner or a military soldier before 1866. Of course this rule oppressed the African-American population because most of their families were in the country for generations and they had no soldiers in their families.



Output: The U.S Supreme Court declared the grandfather clauses in the Maryland and Oklahoma constitutions to be a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment and therefore null and void. This also affected similar laws in the constitutions of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia.



Case #2
Georgia v. Ashcroft


Conflict: Following the 2000 Census, the Democratic-controlled Georgia legislature passed a redistricting plan that was backed by many black leaders because it would have spread black voters and influence across several districts rather than concentrating them in a select few. Georgia's Republican governor objected to the plan because he said it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which discourages the dilution of minority voting strength. 



Output: The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the legislature's plan.

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