Landmark+Cases+in+Education+during+the+1800s


 * 1. Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878) **
 * Summary:** This landmark case involves Thomas Jefferson’s belief that individuals should have religious freedoms, and that there be a separation between church and state. Also, that the Federal Government have a neutral position toward religion. The First Amendment of the Constitution grants religious rights and freedoms and bans the government from endorsing a religion. At the time in Utah, George Reynolds practiced polygamy which was permitted by his religion. However, the Supreme Court held the position that polygamy was unconstitutional and not protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of religion. At the time, the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was already signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1872 which outlawed polygamy in the United States with the primary focus in Utah. Reynolds argued that it was part of his religious duty to practice polygamy and was one of his rights under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court acknowledged his argument but counter-argued by stating that there already was a law prohibiting bigamy. If they allow polygamy then they might as well allow other types of illegal activities that are endorsed by other religious groups. In conclusion, religion can’t interfere with or be superior to the law of the land.
 * Impact on Education Today:** Under the First Amendment in the Constitution, there are two clauses: the //establishment clause// and the //free exercise clause//. The //establishment clause// is the separation of church and state law in which the government can’t support or show preference towards a religion over another. The //free exercise clause// allows individual religious freedoms, however, these freedoms need to be legal and under the law of the land. This means that public schools are to remain neutral in regards to religious matters and states can’t inhibit or aid any particular religion. If a student violates a school rule because he or she is exercising their religious freedoms, there may not be protection under the First Amendment, especially if other students are being harmed or threatened. Lastly, school-sponsored prayers or Bible readings are considered illegal activities because they cannot be justified under the First Amendment.

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education to use tax dollars to support a high school for white students only, this case was the first to spearhead the movement of integration within the public schools until Brown v. Board of Education.
 * 2. Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education****, 175 U.S. 528 (1899)**
 * Summary:** This class action suit was one of the earliest legal cases that dealt with racial segregation in American public schools. African-American citizens of Georgia sued the Board of Education of Richmond County because taxes were used to pay for high schools for white students only. The plaintiffs were property owners and tax payers and at the time there was a tax levy for $45,000 to build more schools. They demanded relief for some of the taxes that would only support “whites-only” high schools. The plaintiffs argued that the board could not legally levy a tax for the support of a high school unless African-American students received the same educational facilities. They stated that it was against their Constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause. The case went to the Supreme Court of Georgia where the petition was dismissed, then made it to the U.S Supreme Court in which economic arguments were used against the plaintiffs. The courts claimed that there were more black children than white children where they lived, and as a result, the board of education couldn’t afford for all children to attend high school. The courts declined the tax relief for the plaintiffs and concluded that the case didn’t violate the Fourteenth Amendment. The courts also argued that the plaintiffs never mentioned the “separate but equal” issue, and therefore couldn’t further the case. Lastly, the court stated that public taxation to support schools was a state’s right, not a federal jurisdiction.
 * Impact on Education Today:** This was one of the first racial discrimination cases that surfaced in the Supreme Court. Even though the courts ruled in favor of the board of

[|Georga's Segregation during the 1800s]