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Assignments

Assignments, Access to Online Materials, Grading

The following assignments attempt to structure the readings, and presentations of documentary films that make up the course.  Since the schedule of classes and credit hours awarded may vary from one academic term to the next, the schedule for the coverage of the assignments will be announced at each class.

Assignments will frequently take the student to several related aspects of the course materials - including the online materials (i.e., case digests, study and discussion questions, and other links); the basic texts for the course; and/or the documentary films.

Note: Students may access study and discussion questions, the case digests, and related online materials by clicking on the brown prompts that accompany each assignment.  A digest of the assigned cases has been provided by the instructor.

Grading: Students should prepare assignments with the intention of participating in an interactive class discussion of the topics and events that are the subject of the course, and 33% of the student's grade will reflect the student's participation in class discussion.  Study and discussion questions are provided.

Note: Students will complete an examination, or substantial paper based upon the assigned readings.  No independent research is expected and therefore this course does not satisfy the College's seminar or writing requirement.

Assuming that the course meets twice per week in the Spring term, students will be permitted four absences. During the summer term, "condensed course" students are permitted one absence.  A student may arrive late or leave early by arrangement with the professor.

Week One

• Assignment 1: Read and be prepared to discuss the Introductory commentaries, regarding the basic principle of equality which is central to the course.
  
  
  
• Assignment 2: Professor Bass writes in Chapter 2 of "Unlikely Heroes" that The Code Noir, promulgated by Bienville in Louisiana in 1724, granted to "manumitted slaves" [persons freed or liberated from slavery] "the same rights and privileges, and immunities which are enjoyed by white citizens."  Although [new] and harsh Black Codes were enacted in the early nineteenth century, there were nearly 6000 free persons of color (and 8000 whites) in New Orleans in 1810.  Many of these free persons of color were wealthy, well-educated, cultured, and respected by white citizens.  Then, in 1857, the United States Supreme Court held, in Dred Scott, that even emancipated Negroes were "beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. "J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 2, p. 54.

During this period, in 1835, the prominent French social philosopher Alexis deTocqueville, published his significant work "De La Democratie En Amerique."  To begin our discussion of the history of the 1960's civil rights acts, we will reflect upon and discuss an excerpt from Tocqueville's epic work.  "[Alexis de Tocqueville C.H.C., 1805-59, French social philosopher.  Prominent in French politics, he was briefly foreign minister after the Revolution of 1848.  His fame rests on his classic work Democracy in America (2 vol., 1835), based on observations made during a trip to the U.S.  A liberal, he believed that political democracy and social equality would eventually replace Europe's aristocratic institutions.  See G. W. Pierson, "Tocqueville in America," (Original edition published as "Tocqueville and Beaumont in America" by Oxford University Press, 1938; republished by Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996)].

Assigned Reading

(To access the deTocqueville reading, click on the following prompt)

 

A note on slavery and the Civil War:  Given the importance of deTocqueville's commentary, it would be quite appropriate to suggest that this course could properly include readings and discussion on the specific topic of slavery and the Civil War.  While limitations on classroom hours and our purposeful focus on the 20^th Century civil rights movement, with special emphasis on Brown v. Board of Education and its legacy, preclude any detailed examination of Civil War historiography, it is important to recognize that deTocqueville accurately describes the roots of racial inequality and the identity of the Civil Rights Movement with the original issue of slavery and white supremacy.

In The Palmetto State, Jack Bass and Scott Poole make the following observations, in the context of the recent dialogue about the identification of the flag of the Confederacy with southern history and culture:

"The crux of the present controversy is not the flag itself but in conflicting interpretations of the meaning of the Civil War.  Some South Carolinians deny that the Civil War was fought over slavery, maintaining that it was fought over the rights of the states to control their own destinies. Slavery they believe was incidental. * * * But when South Carolina delegates walked out of the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston as a prelude to secession, their spokesman, William Preston minced no words in declaring that "Slavery is our King; slavery is our Truth; slavery is our Divine Right."  And a few months later when the signers of the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession issued the Declaration of the Causes of Secession, they specifically referred to the 'domestic institution' of slavery.  They objected that the free states have 'denounced as sinful the institution of slavery.'  They charged that the free states had 'encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain have been incited by emissaries, books and pictures to hostile insurrection.' * * * Moreover, in 1861, as President and Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis and Alexander H. Stephens each candidly acknowledged that their new nation was created for the specific purpose of perpetuating slavery.  In an address to the Confederate Congress in April of 1861 Davis declared that a 'persistent and organized system of hostile measures against the rights of owners of slaves in the Southern States' had culminated in a political party dedicated to 'annihilating in effect property worth thousands of dollars.'  Since 'the labor of African slaves was an is indispensible' to the south's production of cotton, rice, sugar and tobacco, Davis said, 'the people of the Southern States were driven by the conduct of the people of the North to the adoption of some course of action to avert the danger with which they were openly menaced.'

 * * * In a speech in Savannah, Stephens made it even clearer that the establishment of the Confederacy had 'put to rest forever all the agitating questions relating to our particular institutions – African slavery as it exists among us – the proper status of the Negro in our form of civilization.  This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.'  He added that the Confederacy was 'founded upon' what he called 'the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition.' * * * Running successfully for Governor of South Carolina in the critical election of 1860, Francis W. Pickens left little doubt of his support for disunion and even war to perpetuate slavery.  His sentiments were echoed by his old friend Edward Bryan, who declared in the campaign, 'Give us slavery or give us death!' * * * I would be willing to appeal to the gods of battles' he defiantly declared, 'if need be, cover the state with ruin, conflagration and blood rather than submit.'"

As Bass and Poole observe, these are not interpretations by historians; they are statements made at the time by Confederate leaders explaining what they were doing and why.

[Bass, J. and Poole, S., The Palmetto State (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2009, pages 48-49).  For a discussion on the subject of the last paragraph of the excerpt from deTocqueville's commentary, see David Reynolds, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War and Seeded Civil Rights (Vintage Books, 2005).  Professor Reynolds is a recipient of the Bancroft Prize (for his book Walt Whitman's America), the Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award and the Gustavus Myers Award. His book on John Brown has been acclaimed by The Seattle Times, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Nation and many other reviews].

Review the United States Constitution: Fifth Amendment (1791), Thirteenth Amendment (1865), Fourteenth Amendment (1868), Fifteenth Amendment (1870); Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, 1871, 1875.

Week Two

• Assignment 3: Read, and be prepared to discuss the introduction and first section (Plessy and the Tripartite Model) of the Professor's digest of the article by Professor Jack Balkin and the digest of Plessy v. Ferguson.  You may also wish to read the Professor's digest of the Slaughter-House Cases and The Civil Rights Cases.  You may access the digest of the Balkin article and the case digests by clicking on the following prompts:

 » J. Balkin, Plessy, Brown and Grutter 26 Cardozo Law Review 101

 

• Assignment 4: Read the excerpt from Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others," (1903), from "The Souls of Black Folk," (Vintage Books Ed.).

 Assigned Reading

In Chapter 1 of his civil rights legislation text, Professor Theodore Eisenberg notes that "overt racism in America peaked in the early twentieth century, a fact reflected in the federal government's attitude toward blacks. Presidents Taft and Wilson oversaw the adoption of segregation in federal employment [and] neither Warren Harding nor Calvin Coolidge showed any inclination to rise above the worst racial attitudes of their times." Eisenberg notes the establishment of the Civil Rights Division within the U.S. Department of Justice, in 1939, as a major shift in federal enforcement activity, leading to important decision in Screws v. United States, and United States v. Classic.  However, he suggests that this period was, generally, not distinguished by federal promotion of civil rights, and that even President Franklin Roosevelt was reluctant to propose or endorse civil rights legislation. Although A. Philip Randolph - the distinguished leader of black union efforts - had proposed the need for such legislation, it was not until President Truman created a presidential civil rights committee in 1946 that the federal executive demonstrated proactive leadership on the issue.  However, Eisenberg observes, Southern political power in Congress precluded significant civil rights legislation, and Truman's success was marked primarily by the Justice Department's role in the Supreme Court's decision in Shelly v. Kraemer (prohibiting judicial enforcement of racially restrictive covenants).  Truman also issued a series of Executive Orders prohibiting racial discrimination by federal contractors, and establishing some level of equal opportunity in the military.  This period of relative inactivity, and opposition to civil rights legislation, was characterized, following World War II, by renewed violence against blacks, and a renewed demand for action to protect and enforce basic civil rights.  The United States Supreme Court's decisions in Smith v. Allwright, and Brown v. Board of Education produced a confluence of social activism and judicial activism that led to the passage and sustaining of the modern civil rights legislation that is the focus of the balance of our discussions.

Week Three

• Assignment 5: Read the excerpt from Myrdal, G., "An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy."  Gunnar Myrdal was a Swedish sociologist and economist.  His study of race relations in the United States is a famous part of his study of economic and social development.  Myrdal served as executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe from 1947 - 1957, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.

 Assigned Reading

 

• Assignment 6: Read and be prepared to discuss Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944), and all of the readings related to the Supreme Court's decisions in Brown v. Board of Education.  You may access the case digests and related readings by clicking on the appropriate prompts.

 

 

 

Week Four

• Assignment 7: Read the second part of Professor Balkin's article, (Brown v. Board of Education and the Rise of the Model of Scrutiny Rules) and then read J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Preface, Prelude and Chapters 1 & 2.  [Review the Author Section of the course page and reflect on Professor Bass' background in Constitutional Law, Southern History and Journalism, and the style of Unlikely Heroes as you begin reading the book.  This is not a ponderous book.  Many historiographers have written brilliant histories, but have approached this particular subject in burdensome detail which obscures the essential inquiries of the cultural biographer/historian.  It is important to read Unlikely Heroes carefully and to contemplate the dialogic relationships that are developed throughout the book, and that define law, politics, religion and society during the first two decades following the Supreme Court's seminal decisions in Brown v. Board].

•  Assignment 8: Read J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapters 3, 4 and 5 and also prepare Browder v. Gayle,  142 F. Supp. 707 (D.C. Ala. 1956), affirmed, 352 U.S. 903 (1956).

 

Week Five

• Assignment 9: [In class documentary film] "Eyes on the Prize" Volume 1, "Awakenings" [The selected Volumes of these PBS acclaimed documentaries – which are now a part of the PBS American Experience Series, will be viewed and discussed in class].
  
  
• Assignment 10: J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 6, and Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 270 F.2d 594, (5th Cir. 1959).

 Judgment reversed, Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960).

 
Week Six

• Assignment 11: J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 7, and Bush, et al. v. Orleans Parish School Board, 138 F. Supp. 336 (E.D. La. 1956); Oleans Parish School Board v. Bush, 242 F.2d 156 (5th Cir. 1957).

Read Cooper v. Little Rock Ind. Sch. Dist., 358 U.S. 1 (1958).

 

• Assignment 12: [In class documentary film]: "Eyes on the Prize," Volume 1, "Fighting back" Part 1: The desegregation of Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

 

Week Seven

• Assignment 13: Read J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 8, and then read the additional commentary on Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 (1960); [In class documentary film] "Eyes on the Prize" Volume 2, "Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961) (The Lawson Workshops, The Nashville Sit-ins, and the 1961 Freedom Rides).

 

• Assignment 14: J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 9, Meredith v. Fair, 298 F.2d 696 (5th Cir. 1962).

[In class documentary] "Eyes on the Prize," Volume 1, Part 2: James Meredith's Enrollment at the University of Mississippi.

 

 

Week Eight

• Assignment 15:  J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 10; [In class documentary]: "Eyes on the Prize," Volume 2, "No Easy Walk" (The Birmingham direct action campaign).
  

 

 

 

 

• Assignment 16: Dixon v. Alabama State Bd. of Education 186 F. Supp. 945 (M. D. Ala. 1960), reversed, Dixon v. Alabama State Bd. of Education, 294 F.2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 930, 82 S.Ct. 368, (1961).

Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536 (1965).

 

Week Nine

• Assignment 17: J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapters 11, 12 & 13 (The Court's response to judicial and political resistance of Brown's mandate; the Supremacy clause (Article VI) and the use of the so-called doctrine of interposition by political segregationists; conflict and judicial leadership within the Court.)

• Assignment 18: [In class documentary] "Eyes on the Prize," Volume 3, "Mississippi: Is This America? (1962-1964)."

 

Week Ten

• Assignment 19: The Passage of Federal Civil Rights Legislation: Read the professor's digest of R. Loevy, "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law That Ended Racial Segregation."  You may access the reading by clicking on the prompt.  

 

Week Eleven

• Assignment 20: J. Bass, "Unlikely Heroes," Chapter 14, The Fifteenth Amendment and voting rights, revisited.

United States v. Louisiana, 225 F. Supp. 353 (D. La. 1963) affirmed, Louisiana v. United States, 380 U.S. 145 (1965).  [In class documentary]:  "Eyes on the Prize" Volume 3, "Bridge to Freedom (1965)."

 

 

Week Twelve

• Assignment 21: Read J. Bass, Chapter 17, "No More Deliberate Speed" and the professor's digest of Judge Wisdom's opinion in U.S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education.
  
  

 

• Assignment 22: [In class documentary] "I AM A MAN: From Memphis A Lesson In Life." In preparation for the documentary, read the following commentary:  

 

Week Thirteen

• Assignment 23: Continued southern resistance to the integration of places of public accommodation and to the elimination of racial discrimination in voting rights:  Read the professor's digests of Miller v. Amusement Enterprises, Palmer v. Thompson, and Allen v. State Board of Elections.

   

  » Miller v. Amusement Enterprises

  » Palmer v. Thompson

  Allen v. State Board of Elections

   
  

• Read J. Bass, Chapter 18 and the last section of Professor Balkin's article:
  
  
  

  » J. Balkin, Plessy, Brown and Grutter, 26 Cardozo Law Review 101

  
  

NOTE: All students in the course will receive a DVD of the Stetson College of Law 2004 symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board.  Panelists included John Hope Franklin, Jack Bass, John Seigenthaler, James Patterson, Robert Belton, Gene Patterson and Raymond Arsenault.

Consider also the observation of Dr. C. Vann Woodward, the Sterling Professor of History at Yale, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize, and one of America's leading scholars on the history of Jim Crow laws, Brown v. Board of Education, and its immediate lessons and legacy, on the occasion of the publication of the third revised edition of his book, in 1974:

From the Preface to the Third Revised Edition of
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
(October, 1973, c.v.w.)

"The previous revision of this book, published in its original edition nearly twenty years ago, brought the account [of the Civil Rights Movement] up to the events of August, 1965.  That was a fateful month in the strange career of segregation and the movement against it.  On August 6 [1965], the President signed The Voting Rights Act, and on August 11 the terrible riot in Watts initiated four summers of violent racial explosions all over the country.  Thus, within a week, a historic movement reached a peak of achievement and optimism, and immediately confronted the beginning of a period of challenge and reaction that called in question some of its greatest hopes and most important assumptions. * * *

[To explain the developments in the decade following the summer of 1965], it would help to recall a certain ambivalence that black people have felt all along toward integration in white America, an old ambivalence that had been buried and put aside during the long struggle against segregation and discrimination.  While resenting and opposing compulsory segregation, they had clung at the same time to the desire for enough racial distinctiveness and separation to enable them to preserve a sense of cultural identity and racial pride and unity.  Even the most complete victory over segregation would not satisfy that need, for few wished to deny racial identity or lose it in a white society.  The ambivalence created a tension between those leaders who were concerned mainly with protest against racial prejudice, injustice and segregation, and those concerned with the preservation and fostering of racial identity, pride and autonomy."

Epilogue

"Direct action is not a substitute for work in the courts and the halls of government. Bringing about the passage of a new and broad law by a city council, state legislature or the Congress, or pleading cases before the courts of the land, does not eliminate the necessity for bringing about mass dramatization of injustice in front of a city hall. Indeed direct action and legal action complement one another [and] when skillfully employed, each becomes more effective."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Every generation has its central concern, whether to end war, erase racial injustice, or improve the condition of the working man.  Today's young people appear to have chosen for their concern the dignity of the individual human being.  They demand a limitation upon excessive power.  They demand a political system that preserves the sense of community among men.  They demand a government that speaks directly and honestly to its citizens.  We can win their commitment only by demonstrating that these goals are possible through personal effort.  The possibilities are too great, the stakes too high, to bequeath to the coming generation only the prophetic lament of Tennyson:

Ah, what shall I be at fifty  Should nature keep me alive  If I find the world so bitter,  When I am but twenty-five?  * * *


Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control.  It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature, nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine destiny.  There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live."

 Robert F. Kennedy, "To Seek A Newer World" (Doubleday, 1967)