Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Facts: At the time of the decision in this case, 17 states and the District of Columbia had segregated public schools. During the 1952-1953 Supreme Court term, five cases, including Brown, challenged the doctrine of "separate but equal" that existed in elementary and high schools. The schools involved were clearly unequal to the white schools. In South Carolina, for instance, the white schools had one teacher for every 28 students and the black schools had one teacher for every 47 students. Additionally, there were differences such as, brick and stucco versus rotting wood and indoor plumbing versus outhouses.

Decision: When the case was argued during the 1952-1953 term, the Justices could not agree on a decision, so the cases were reargued a year later. Had the decision been made after the first argument, the Supreme Court would have ruled 5 to 4 to affirm the doctrine of "separate but equal" (Plessy v. Ferguson). However, Chief Justice Fred Vinson died in the summer between the two terms and President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as the new Chief Justice. Justice Warren convinced the other Justices to join in a unanimous decision in holding that segregation in public schools was impermissible. Further, the court determined that segregated schools not only impaired educational opportunities but it stamped black children as inferior. This decision led to the desegregation of schools.