Charters of Freedom
The Unconventional Journey to the 27th Amendment
The 27th Amendment exemplifies the intricate (sometimes centuries-long) process of constitutional change in American history. When one imagines “recent” constitutional amendments, topics like the Equal Rights Amendment or voting age may come to mind. However, the 27th Amendment is unique in that it is both the most recent and one of the oldest amendments in America’s Constitution.
From “Separate but Equal” to “With All Deliberate Speed”
The Supreme Court’s May 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson cemented the Jim Crow social order in its declaration that separate spaces for Black and white Americans were “equal.” It was not until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that the era of legalized racial segregation began to chip away…