What clause was violated in Brown v. Board of Education?
Asked by: Dr. Bertrand Prosacco | Last update: January 28, 2026Score: 4.2/5 (60 votes)
In Brown v. Board of Education, the clause violated was the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, establishing that "separate but equal" facilities in public education are inherently unequal and unconstitutional.
How did Brown v. Board of Education violate the Equal Protection Clause?
In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v.
What constitutional clause was used in Brown v. Board of Education?
Although he raised a variety of legal issues on appeal, the central argument was that separate school systems for Black students and white students were inherently unequal, and a violation of the "Equal Protection Clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
How did segregation violate the 14th Amendment?
The Court said, “separate is not equal,” and segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Warren wrote in his first decision on the Supreme Court of the United States, “Segregation in public education is a denial of the equal protection of the laws.
What role did the 14th Amendment play in Brown v. Board?
Separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the unanimous Court.
Ending School Segregation | Brown v. Board of Education
What clause of the 14th Amendment is most relevant to Brown v. Board of Education?
Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the unanimous Court. The Supreme Court held that “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
What is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment?
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.
Did the 14th Amendment get rid of the Black Codes?
The 14th Amendment revoked the Black Codes by declaring that states could not pass laws that denied citizens their constitutional rights and freedoms. No person could be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process (fair treatment by the judicial system), and the law was to be equally applied to everyone.
Why was the 14th Amendment considered unsuccessful?
For many years, the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states. Not only did the 14th Amendment fail to extend the Bill of Rights to the states; it also failed to protect the rights of Black citizens.
What is clause 18 known as?
Although Necessary and Proper Clause is the modern term for the constitutional provision, historically it was often called the Sweeping Clause.
Which clause of the U.S. Constitution was at the center of the argument in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka multiple choice question?
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from segregating public school students on the basis of race. This marked a reversal of the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v.
What does the 14th Amendment say about Education?
Through its Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, and by incorporating the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment has addressed issues such as which students share a classroom and whether students can be expelled without a hearing or made to recite prayers.
Is segregation legal in the U.S. now?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 still bars discrimination, and segregated facilities, in the United States. But civil rights groups have feared that Mr. Trump's war on D.E.I. programs has signaled the federal government's willingness to retreat from enforcing it.
How far did Linda Brown walk to school?
Linda Brown had to walk about six blocks to a bus stop to catch a bus that took her to Monroe Elementary, a segregated Black school about two miles from her home, while a white school, Sumner Elementary, was only four blocks away, making her daily walk difficult and highlighting the inequality that led to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. She often walked through railroad yards and crossed busy streets in the cold to get to the bus stop, a journey that took a significant amount of time each morning.
What crisis erupted directly due to the Brown v. Board of Education decision?
Daisy Bates and The Little Rock Nine
The decision outraged many white citizens including Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the protection of the nine students, and, on September 25, 1957, they entered the school.
What stopped the black code?
Railing against the Black Codes as returns to slavery in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Second Freedmen's Bureau Bill.
What did the 14th Amendment stop?
The amendment prohibited former Confederate states from repaying war debts and compensating former slave owners for the emancipation of their enslaved people.
What is the pig law?
“Pig Laws” unfairly penalized poor African Americans for crimes such as stealing a farm animal. And vagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed. Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies, with harsh sentences and fines.
What famous court decision did the 14th Amendment overturn?
The decision of Scott v. Sandford, considered by many legal scholars to be the worst ever rendered by the Supreme Court, was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens of the United States.
Who won in Baker v Carr?
The Court split 6 to 2 in ruling that Baker's case was justiciable, producing, in addition to the opinion of the Court by Justice William J. Brennan, three concurring opinions and two dissenting opinions.
Can a president overturn a Supreme Court ruling?
No, the President cannot directly overturn a Supreme Court decision; only the Court itself (through a new ruling), the Constitution (via amendment), or new legislation by Congress can overturn a major ruling, though Presidents can try to influence future decisions by appointing new justices or challenge rulings through appeals, and historically, some have selectively enforced or ignored certain rulings, as seen with Lincoln and the Dred Scott case.
What is clause 3 of the 14th Amendment?
Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment disqualifies those who have already held a public office from holding "any office" if they participate in an "insurrection or rebellion" against the United States.
How was the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied to education in Brown v. Board of Education?
The Supreme Court unanimously overruled the reasoning of Plessy and held that separate schools for blacks and whites violated the Equal Protection Clause. Brown was a decisive turning point in a decades-long struggle to dismantle governmentally imposed segregation, not only in schools but throughout American society.
What is clause 4 of the 14th Amendment?
Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4: The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.