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Resolution against the Fourteenth Amendment by Lee-Jackson Camp, 1958

CONTENT WARNING

Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation. 

Context

In 1958, the members of the Lee- Jackson Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans drafted a resolution in which they suggested the Fourteenth Amendment was illegal as it, in their opinion, had not been properly ratified. The justification they used for their resolution was connected to how the amendment was passed after the Civil War. Congress required the states of the former Confederacy to ratify the amendment before it readmitted senators and representatives into Congress from those states. The Supreme Court refused to hear their case questioning the validity of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The SCV was founded in 1896. By the mid-1950s it had so called camps in many states and communities which included male descendants, not merely sons, of Confederate soldiers. The organization was one of many heritage groups that preserved historic sites and records, commemorated the dead, and encouraged reverence for the past. The defeat of the Confederacy, the abolition of slavery, and the enforcement of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth amendments and the Civil Rights laws of the 1860s changed the culture of the old South. 

Many of the heritage organizations like the SCV reacted with hostility when the Supreme Court relied on the Fourteenth Amendment to strike at the heart of the states' historic right to regulate their domestic affairs, including public education and race relations. The 1958 SCV resolution was a reaction to the Supreme Court landmark decision in Brown v The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas in which segregation was found to be unconstitutional.  

Citation: Resolution against the Fourteenth Amendment. Lee-Jackson Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Richmond, to Governor James Lindsay Almond, Richmond, January 31, 1958. Virginia, Governor (1958–1962: Almond), Executive Papers, 1958–1962, Accession 26230, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia

Standards

USI.1, USI.9, USII.1, USII.8, USII.9, VUS.1, VUS.7, VUS.14

Suggested Questions

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Be the Journalist: You are writing a story about the SCV resolution for a current newspaper. What information would you need to write your story? Who might you interview? Why? Explain.

Current Connections: Organizations like the SCV have been vocal about recent events, especially events which occurred during the summer of 2020. Why do you think they have become more vocal? How have their opinions shaped current discussions about civil rights?