Inherently Unequal: The Betrayal of Equal Rights by the Supreme Court, 1865-1903 1st Edition

I have never read a book that put such a spotlight on the one place were all men are created equal should have been enforced. But we learned that lady justice was not blind but saw America in black and white and administered justice also in black or white. Decisions were base not on law or the constitution but on the attitudes of the justices and the prevailing beliefs of the majority population. Blacks had no rights than a white person was bound to respect. The courts validated that blacks don't enjoy the same rights as whites and did everything in its power to make blacks second class citizens. What this book exposed was the hypocrisy of the entire justice system. After reading this book you realize that the struggle for equal rights was, is and continues to be elusive.

This relatively small volume, an overview of the Reconstruction era, focuses on the patently flawed judgments of the US Supreme Court over the last three decades of the 19th century in cases dependent on the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Those decisions essentially encouraged Southern states and individuals in their actions to segregate black Americans from mainstream society and institutions, often enforced by terrifying violence - done with near impunity.What stands out in this book is the unconscionable abdication by the Supreme Court of its responsibility of being the last recourse for the average person to obtain justice, in this case newly freed men. As noted by the author, Alexander Hamilton's contention that an independent supreme judiciary, appointed for life, would be above political and social pressures sadly proved to be decidedly wrong.The beginnings of this shameful period in American history began with the attempt by Pres Andrew Johnson to permit the Southern states to rejoin the Union with no conditions attached - as though secession had not occurred and the Civil War not fought. However, Congressional Republicans, in the vast majority, were not about to stand by passively and watch the Southern states pass Black Codes that reinstituted the control and subjugation of blacks. Congress refused to seat Southern state representatives selected in white-only elections.Continually acting against Johnson, so-called Radical Republicans passed a great deal of legislation in the late 1860s that sought to reorient Southern society. A series of Reconstruction acts created five military districts in the South, resulting in the voidance of the Black Codes and forcing the participation of blacks in the political process to draft new state constitutions. A condition for the re-entry of a state was the ratification of the 14th Amendment, which supposedly put the newfound status of freedmen beyond the whims of presidents, governors, and legislatures. Section I declared,"All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."It could be thought that this Amendment, combined with enforcement acts authorized in Section V of the Amendment and the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which disallowed discrimination based on race and color against any citizen wishing to access public places, such as inns, transportation systems, places of amusement, etc, would have secured for freedmen at least a minimal place in society. However, the Supreme Court through a series of tortured, narrow interpretations over the significance of the word "State," found that the Amendments simply did not apply to virtually all egregiously discriminatory acts and even found the Civil Rights Act to be unconstitutional in 1883.From today's vantage point some of the decisions are absolutely shocking. The April, 1873, slaughter of over 100 freedmen guarding the Colfax, Louisiana courthouse by a large, heavily armed, all-white band was found in the CRUIKSHANK case to not fall under the 14th Amendment because of the absence of "any allegation that the defendants committed the acts complained of with a design to deprive the injured persons of their rights on account of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Basically, "the Colfax defendants would have had to announce their plan to violate their victims' rights on account of the color of their skin in order to be culpable." The STRAUDER and RIVES decisions of 1880 made the incredible claim that blacks never serving on juries was not evidence that they were systematically excluded and furthermore had no discriminatory affect on black defendants.Given full confidence based on those rulings, all Southern states instituted regimes of "Jim Crow" by the early 20th century that discriminated against blacks by legally mandating "separate but equal" public facilities or designated areas, which were anything but, and essentially disenfranchising blacks by imposing severe conditions to register and to vote. Thus, Southern societies under the imprimatur of the Supreme Court were able to reestablish regimes where blacks were kept on the lowest rung of society via means both legal and extra-legal.Of course, Supreme Court decisions always have a political and social context. As the author shows, the tremendous expansion of the Northern economy fueled by the War pushed commercial interests to the fore of the political process. That was reflected in the appointment of corporate attorneys to the Supreme Court under the Grant and subsequent administrations. Distorting the intent of the 14th Amendment, this re-comprised Supreme Court found that due process clauses applied to corporate "persons" far more so than to freedmen.In addition, distortions of evolutionary theory, captured in Social Darwinism, were used to justify the power and superiority of the rich, as well as to validate the marginalization and alleged inferiority of blacks. Given that the racism endemic to American society now had scientific "cover" and that fairness to blacks became secondary to business concerns, it is hardly surprising the Court decisions that eviscerated the original intent of the 14th Amendment were roundly applauded.As the author demonstrates, the suppression of blacks and the reestablishment of a white oligarchy came with huge costs to the South. The industrialization occurring in the remainder of the nation largely bypassed the South. Potential workforces were poorly educated under "separate but equal," not to mention that the most capable individuals often migrated to Northern cities. Under any criteria, the South lagged behind the rest of the nation until the end of the 20th century. Seen from the present day, the inadequacies and prejudices of the 19th century Supreme Court are in little doubt, failing to address the damaged social fabric of the nation, the vestiges of which linger even today. This dense, very insightful book is an excellent complement to broader histories of Reconstruction. Some have claimed that the material in this book is already well known - that is very doubtful.

This book really show how white people felt about African Americans then and how jim crow laws are still here nut with a prettier name to call it just like slavery. It's a good read everyone should read and get a understanding how African Americans (black) people was treated

Great!

This book illustrates how African-Americans were systematically shut out Of the american dream. Picture this if you will, had the groundwork been laid out and FOLLOWED through on then, and the playing field been level there woulld be a solid middle-class throughout this country today.

This is neccesry to see the scope of how the post-Civil Ear Constitutional Amednemntss, and their implenting statutes were were hi-jacked, and twistedt to thwart the efforts of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant, and the Union Armies.

If you are in to American history and ever wondered how brutal slavery and slave owners were, then, the introductory of this book should scare the hell out of you.

Very informative. Readable. Details of how our government, in calculated ways, robbed African-Americans of their citizenship rights under the constitution of the United States. Sad..

I used this as a historical source for an academic dissertation and it was invaluable. Goldstone's interpretations are riveting and essential to any academic investigation into the Supreme Court's impact on African American Civil Rights.