Virginia History
The landmark Supreme Court ruling of 1954 that rendered public schools segregation as unconstitutional was not taken by good faith by several members of Congress. In 1956, a group of 101 congressmen, several of whom were Democrats drafted a document to counter the Supreme Court ruling. The written document was named the Southern Manifesto since the group of pioneers was mainly comprised of southern democrats. The main argument of the southern manifesto was that the Supreme Court had clearly shown an abuse of judicial powers and that limits had to be set concerning the extent to which the court was allowed to make individual decisions and formed a basis for the current political structure of the United States.
The decision to refute the court ruling was based mainly on three reasons. First, the court had shown attempts to replace established law with naked power. Also, the congressmen argued that “The original Constitution does not mention education. Neither does the 14th Amendment nor any other amendment. The debates preceding the submission of the 14th Amendment clearly show that there was no intent that it should affect the system of education maintained by the States”. Thirdly, the congressmen argued that the court was involved in an unwarranted exercise of power contrary to the constitution. The congressmen believed that the ruling would destroy the amicable relations between the white and the Negro races that had been created through 90 years of patient effort by people from both races. According to Gabriel, (2015), the reason behind the claim that the Supreme Court broke the rules is that there was confusion concerning the position of the court in decision making. The motivation behind the publication of the document was that many people were willing to sign for it as compared to those opposed to the move. Also, the congressmen were diplomatic enough to convince the citizens that only lawful means would be employed in fighting to overturn the ruling by the court.
The current structure of politics in the United States is based on diplomacy and rating the strength of an individual’s manifesto. An individual willing to contest for a political post has to prepare a manifesto that is convincing enough to win the votes of the Americans. The idea of manifesto could have been borrowed from the southern manifesto. Also, the southern manifesto revealed gaps in the laws of the land which have since formed a basis for political agendas for several parties. For example, the position of the Negro society in government has been questioned with many going for the proposition that the government should strengthen the laws governing racial discrimination to avoid civil conflicts between the Negro and white races. Racial politics have been prevalent in the United States with some white politicians giving much attention to the white population at the expense of the Negro society.
The main argument of the southern manifesto was that the Supreme Court had clearly shown an abuse of judicial powers and that limits had to be set concerning the extent to which the court was allowed to make individual decisions and formed a basis for the current political structure of the United States. The claim criticized the rule that it would cause hostility between the Negro and white races. Also, it was argued that it was not the court’s position to make decisions affecting the education system. The points raised in the southern manifesto are still evident in the current politics of the United States.