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Virginia Supreme Court Case Study

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Even though the Dred Scott and Korematsu cases stunted equality growth in America, there have been some accomplishments in equality. For example, before women were discriminated against because they were seen as unfit to do the laborious work of men. However, there have been some steps to increase gender equality. The United States v Virginia Supreme Court Case was a landmark case that stopped the all-male admission policy of Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The United States sued VMI because there was no equal education opportunity for women, and therefore violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Instead of allowing women to be accepted, Virginia proposed the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL). However, this …show more content…

The argument said the Constitution’s equal protection laws stops VMI from stopping women from going to VMI. Also, Justice Ginsburg stated that the VWIL did not provide the same education as the education at VMI. “But he thought it was evident that the proposed VWIL program, in comparison to VMI, fell ‘far short… from providing substantially equal tangible and intangible educational benefits to men and women’” (Justice Ginsburg, Majority Opinion, United States v Virginia). The VWIL was supposed to be an all women’s version of VMI but lacked the quality of teachers of VMI. Therefore, the women attending VWIL were denied equal rights to an education. Also, VMI’s admission policy did not promote educational diversity as it said it did. “Inherent differences’ between men and women, we have come to appreciate, remain a cause for celebration, but not for the denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual’s opportunity” (Justice Ginsburg, Majority Opinion, United States v Virginia). Just because one person is a woman and not a man does not mean that they should have different rights and experiences as the man. The gender of a person should not define whether they get a quality education. The verdict of the United States v Virginia Supreme Court case was a grand step in promoting equality in America because it was a significant …show more content…

Dred Scott was denied his freedom and citizenship to the country he was born in just because of his race. The Dred Scott decision affects all aspects of American life at the time, and eventually influenced President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves. Almost a hundred years later, Korematsu fought against racial inequality as well. The Korematsu v the United States decision prevented the development of Asian Americans in society for years after. The fear of one led to fear of the whole group, and even though Korematsu tried to fight against this discrimination he failed. The United States v Virginia court case fought against discrimination, this time succeeding in the battle. While the effects of the discriminating are still felt today, the decision in the case was a giant step in the right direction for equality. Now, young, new leaders can rise up to promote more diversity and equality in all aspects of American

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