The correct answer is c. The decision used strict constructionism by refraining from attempting to decipher the intent behind the Fourteenth Amendment.
The decision being referred to here is Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld racial segregation in public facilities, including education. The Court's reasoning in this decision was largely based on an interpretation of the Constitution using strict constructionism. They did not examine the intent behind the Fourteenth Amendment, which was intended to grant equal protection under the law to all citizens, regardless of race.
Instead, the Court narrowly interpreted the amendment and held that separate educational facilities for different races were constitutional as long as they were "separate but equal." This interpretation allowed racial segregation to persist for several decades before being challenged and ultimately overturned by the civil rights movement and subsequent Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Explain how this decision legally interpreted the Constitution prior to the civil rights movement.
a The decision used strict constructionism by explaining the federal power to legislate education within state borders.
b The decision used liberal constructionism by citing the precedent of separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
c The decision used strict constructionism by refraining from attempting to decipher the intent behind the Fourteenth Amendment.
d The decision used liberal constructionism by interpreting the amendment’s author’s intent to explain the Fourteenth Amendment.
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