In approaching this problem, we cannot turn the clock back to 1868, when the Amendment
was adopted, or even to 1896, when Plessy v.
Ferguson was written. We must consider
public education in the light of its full
development and its present place in
American life throughout the Nation. Only in
this way can it be determined if segregation
in public schools deprives these plaintiffs of
the equal protection of the laws.
-Brown v. Board of Education,
Chief Justice Earl Warren
Why did the court choose not to turn the clock
back to 1868" when considering the issue of
segregation in public schools?
The court disagreed with the Plessy v.
Ferguson decision.
The court wanted to repeal the Fourteenth
Amendment
The court recognized the value of an
education to a child's success.
The court determined that past plaintiffs had
not been deprived of equal protection
DONE