The amount of ignorance and prejudice in the segregation and reconstruction era of the United States guaranteed an experience full of harassment and immediate, wrongful judgement for anyone without a white complexion. In 1959, the percentage of the total black population living in poverty was over 55% (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). The majority of this is due to the unjustified discrimination towards the blacks of this time period. Likewise, this greatly reflects in the decisions made in this time era. Supreme Court cases were very bias during the reconstruction and segregation era of the United States. Three specific cases are important to understanding the depth of the situation: Dred Scott vs Sanford (1846), Plessy vs Ferguson (1896), and Brown vs The Board of Education (1954).
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Sanford was a surprising one. Dred Scott, a former slave, and his wife sued for their freedom after their former slaveowner, an army surgeon, died. The Scott's believed that they could win their freedom "on the grounds that they had been held in bondage for extended periods in a free territory and were then returned to a slave state." Despite the common verdict in these types of cases, the adjudication was negative. Scott lost the case, due to the fact that "slaves were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the Federal Government or the courts". In addition to that, the US Supreme Court "had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory". Although this case was devastating to the Scotts, it's obscure ruling moved the United States one step closer to the Civil War (Dred Scott v. Sanford
Sanford was a surprising one. Dred Scott, a former slave, and his wife sued for their freedom after their former slaveowner, an army surgeon, died. The Scott's believed that they could win their freedom "on the grounds that they had been held in bondage for extended periods in a free territory and were then returned to a slave state." Despite the common verdict in these types of cases, the adjudication was negative. Scott lost the case, due to the fact that "slaves were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the Federal Government or the courts". In addition to that, the US Supreme Court "had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory". Although this case was devastating to the Scotts, it's obscure ruling moved the United States one step closer to the Civil War (Dred Scott v. Sanford