As society changes, the laws in place also do change to keep up with the development and changes in the society. In many cases, laws are made to benefit the majority of the population. In other cases, some laws have been enacted which end up imposing inequality (Barkin, 2009).
Slavery in the United States around three hundred years ago created conflict between states that supported slavery and those that were against slavery in that the states wanted to influence each other into abolishing slavery. In 1846, Dred Scott being a slave filed a case seeking his freedom. Dred Scott v. Sandford. He argued that by entering into a state that did not support slavery, he was entitled to recognize as a freed man. The courts did not rule in his favor. The U.S. Supreme Court held that African Americans did not enjoy the same rights that the Americans were entitled to and as such Dred Scott had no right to sue in the federal courts and therefore the case was out of its jurisdiction (Cromwell, 2009).
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The Dred Scott case resulted in an uproar with the public as they protested against the court and President Buchanan’s administration. The authorities supported the court decision as they felt that ruling could set a rest the matter relating to slavery in the United States and that other slave and their owners could not challenge the freedom of slaves especially in states that supported slavery. However, this aided the American Civil War that involved groups for slavery and those that were not for slavery. (Hillstrom, Hillstrom & Baker, 2000) . With an appeal, the ruling in the Dred Scott decision was overturned which further resulted in amendments to the constitution through the 13th and 14th amendments. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was enacted through the work of the civil rights movement in the United States. This act outlawed the use of religion, gender, color and race to discriminate (Civil Rights Act - Black History - HISTORY.com, 2015). The Civil Rights Act sought to protect civil rights of all people in America and ended slavery. Further, the Act made all Americans including African Americans as equal citizens.
According to Rosado, for multiculturalism to flourish there needed to be empowerment, recognition, values and respect. During the early adoption of the Cons titution, African Americans were considered and categorized as property and not as members of the community or as citizens. The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans whether considered to be free or still in slavery did not have the right to sue in the court. It was also held that United State Congress did not possess the authority to outlaw slavery in any United States territory. The Court also held that since the slaves were considered as property, the rights of slave owners needed to be constitutionally protected as per the requirements of the Fifth Amendments.
The courts held that African Americans were the property of the slave owners and thus did not have value. They were to be treated in the same manner that a property is treated. They were to receive no respect; they were to be used and sold when needed. This caused them to be subjected to oppression. Without being acknowledged as American citizens, there was no need to empower the African Americans. Also, there was no need to learn anything about the African culture. The slave owners did not see any value in their slaves. The African Americans were there to be seen only and follow the wishes of their superior (Rosaldo, 2014).
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) came into existence when President Bill Clinton assented to it in 1996. The purpose of the law was to ensure that no federal government would legally recognize the marriage of the same sex. The Act held that marriage was a legal union between two people who are not of the same sex. A man's spouse would have to be a person who is not of his gender and woman's spouse who have to be of a gender that is different from hers. The law was to ensure that no United States territory would be forced to recognize the marriage of people who shared the same gender and entitle rights to it that were similar to the rights granted to opposite-sex marriages.
The same-sex marriage of Edith Windsor and Thea Clara Spyer ended with the death of Thea in the year 2009 there making the surviving same-sex partner Edith, the sole executor of Thea’s estate. New York State laws had recognized their marriage. However, the federal law did not recognize it with led to imposing of an estate tax. Had the marriage being of between opposite sex no taxes could have been imposed on the estate. Windsor filed a suit in 2010 which declared that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. The courts ended up repealing the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 (U.S v. Windsor).
By failing to recognize same-sex marital status, DOMA failed in multiculturalism in that it failed to attach the value of a status that is accepted as right and not wrong by the state. DOMA held same-sex couple’s marriage and the children raised in such marriages were not being accorded the same status as the marriage and children rose in opposite-sex marriages. DOMA had the effect of discriminating members of society who settled for the same sex marriages. When laws are made to cause inequality of any group of human beings, it ends devaluing and demeaning them in the society and leads to creating persons who were discriminating members of the society who the law ought to treat equally and avoid instances of inequality.
References
Barkin, S. (2009), Law and Society an Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education, Inc
Civil Rights Act - Black History - HISTORY (2015). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act
Cromwell, S. (2009). Dred Scott v. Sandford: A slave's case for freedom and citizenship . Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books
Hillstrom, K.,Hillstrom, L. C., & Baker, L. W. (2000). American Civil War . Detroit: UXL
Rosaldo, C. (2014). Toward a definition of multiculturalism. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from http://www.rosado.net/pdf/Def_of_Multiculturalism.pdf
