Summary of Geoffrey R. Stone & David A. Strauss's Democracy and Equality

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The case of Brown v. Board of Education is perhaps the most important Supreme Court decision in American history. It held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbids racial segregation in public schools.#2 Segregation was a way of life in many southern states, and it was only starting to change in the North, especially in the border states, during the early 1950s.#3 The Supreme Court ruled in favor of integration in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, but it took a decade for schools to be fully desegregated. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made the difference, and the rate of desegregation increased quickly after its passage.#4 The aftermath of Brown showed how difficult it is for courts alone to root out entrenched practices, despite massive resistance, without the help of Congress and the executive branch.