Tow #11 - Brown Vs. The Board of Education

                In the first half of the 20th century, school segregation, either by law or custom, was practiced across the United States. Buildings and programs for African Americans were always inferior, especially in the South. They worried that African American children they considered intellectually inferior would drag down educational quality for the their own kids. Caucasians feared the specter of their children mixing socially with African Americans, and frequently warned of behavior such as interracial dating. Above all, Caucasians resisted the fundamental threat to their supremacy that school integration posed. In 1954, America was still a society divided along racial lines. Even schools were divided into those catering to either Caucasian or African American students. Oliver Brown of Topeka in Kansas believed it to be in violation of his 14^th Amendment right to Equal Protection. He brought a case against the Board of Education to the court. White segregationists argued that, while they may go to different schools, the fact that they have similar buildings, accessibility and subjects mean that African American students were getting an education equal to that received by Caucasian students; separate but equal, in other words. The plaintiffs argued, however, that the fact that it was separated meant that there was a difference and unless remedied, they would never be equal. The Supreme Court sided with Brown and declared school segregation as unconstitutional. Brown’s side argument of fact was that that segregation in education was against the constitution. This was a fact and could be argued with reason and evidence. Brown’s argument of value was that segregation is a terrible law, both of these arguments ultimetly led to Brown’s argument of policy, which was that the law of segregation should be dissolved, and a new policy should be put in place where all races of American can receive an equal education and have the same opportunities. In the end, Brown’s case was won in the civil court. This could be traced back to good arguments, evidence, and reasoning. These are all things that make a good persuasion.