“The government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and major social transformations to attain the system of constitutional government and its respect for the freedoms and individual rights, we hold as fundamental today.”
More from Thurgood Marshall
“The Ku Klux Klan never dies. They just stop wearing sheets because sheets cost too much.”
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”
“A man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for…”
“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here…”