Role of the United States Supreme Court in Obtaining Equality for Blacks during Reconstruction

The role played by the United States' Supreme Court in obtaining equality for Black Americans was one of immense stature. The Supreme Court is the court that can only consider federal questions, or anything to do with federal law. Since obtaining equality for Blacks was such a trivial process and the legislation that was involved was open to much interpretation, much responsibility rested with the Supreme Court from 1896 to 1996 in determining what rights Blacks should have. With the end of the American Civil War, Blacks were granted their freedom however they were still inferior to whites with legal enactments such as the Black Codes. As time went on, Blacks were continually discriminated against, especially in states south of the Mason Dixon Line (the Southern states that had believed in slavery). As time progressed and more liberal thinkers were added to the Supreme Court, Blacks began receiving status almost equal to whites. The focus of this paper is to show just how big and invaluable of an effect that the Supreme Court had on granting Blacks the rights that were enjoyed by whites, and through test cases surpassed any notion of it attempting to constrain the Black race as an inferior one.…