Answer the questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Answer the questions - Essay Example The Thirteenth Amendment, adopted on the 6th of December, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except on a special scenario when such was done as punishment for criminal activities while the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted on the 9th of July, 1868, addressed rights of US citizens and protection of the laws at an equal level of the citizens (Linder). Justified by a 1890 state of Louisiana law of Separate Car Act under the US’s numerous state laws that championed racial segregation under a policy of â€Å"separate but equal†, Homer Plessy was arrested and tried for an act of violation of the stated law. Plessy’s act of defiance happened when he boarded a ‘whites only’ railroad car instead of the ‘blacks only’ railroad car. Plessy was of mixed race and was categorized as colored under the current state laws. The ruling made in 1892 in Orleans Parish under John Howard Ferguson, the presiding judge, upheld Plessy’s convictio n that violated Louisiana’s state laws and charged him with a $25 fine. Subsequent rulings after Plessy’s writ of prohibition by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the United States Supreme Court upheld Ferguson’s ruling (Linder). Plessy vs. ... There was need then for the laws to be amended in order to ensure adherence to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments that many violated, US citizens felt were disregarded. The state of Tennessee vs. John scopes The state of Tennessee vs. John scopes was a landmark case in the US that happened in 1925 in the state of Tennessee. The trial was of significance as it pointed out the right to liberty of association and knowledge, especially on matters concerning spirituality, after the enactment of the Butler Act in Tennessee that prohibited teaching of the evolution theory in educational institutions within the state (Linder). On the 7th of May, 1925, John scopes was arrested for defying Butler’s Act for teaching the theory of evolution. Given American Civil Liberties Union’s commitment to protect any person that would be brought to trial for defying Butler’s Act, it utilized the services of Clarence Darrow, an exceptional and experienced criminal defense attorney back then to defend Scope. Despite exemplary defense by the attorney and a weak performance by Bryan, the prosecutor, the obvious discrimination right from the religiously pious judge led to a charge of guilt to Scope, with a fine of $100. An appeal to the state supreme court reversed the previous charge and granted ACLU and Scope victory (Linder). The outcomes of the case after appeal was an offset of the liberties that US citizens gained in religious alignment. After the trial, it was reported that a total of 22 cases in different other states shared the same fate and the laws defining the Bible as the main book for truths for the US citizens were eased to accommodate more religious liberty and affiliation to either the scientific teachings