1966: Katzenbach v. Morgan

"The persons referred to include those who have migrated from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to New York and who have been denied the right to vote because of their inability to read and write English"
—Justice Brennan

Al Ravenna, photographer. *Puerto Ricans demonstrate for civil rights at City Hall, New York City.* 1967. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The U.S. Supreme Court landmark case Katzenbach V. Morgan (1966) addressed the constitutionality of section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which held that no state shall impede suffrage to individuals lacking English language literacy. Ultimately, Justice Brennan, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act was constitutional under Section 5 of the 14th amendment and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

By 1965, a series of constitutional amendments and federal laws had revoked and made illegal poll taxes, literacy tests, and threats to voting. The Jones Act of 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans endowing them suffrage and permitting many to migrate to the U.S. mainland. However, many Puerto Ricans faced disenfranchisement, including Ms. Cardona, who in Cardona v. Power (1966), unsuccessfully filed suit for being denied suffrage due to her lack of English literacy. A 1921 New York voting law, impeded Puerto Ricans from voting without documentation of completed 6th grade coursework at an approved elementary or high school where English was the “language of instruction.”

John P. Morgan and Christine Morgan filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act, which conflicted with New York laws requiring English proficiency. On November 15, 1965, a three judge panel ruled in favor of the Morgans by declaring section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach appealed the district court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Brennan delivered the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 13, 1966 and held the constitutionality of section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act under section 5 of the 14th Amendment, which granted Congress power to enforce the 14th Amendment, and the U.S. Supremacy Clause, which permits federal law to triumph over state laws, ultimately, striking down New York voting laws requiring English proficiency.

Timeline

March 2, 1917	The Jones Act of 1917 grants Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship.
November 1921	New York voters pass a state amendment adopting English literacy requirements to vote.
August 6, 1965	The Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbids racial discrimination in voting.
November 15, 1965	A three panel federal district court rules the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.
June 13, 1966	The Supreme Court rules Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act constitutional under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Resources

The following resource is available online at the Library of Congress.

U.S. Reports: Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641 (1965)
View a digitized version of the Katzenbach v. Morgan decision (U.S. Reports Collection, Law Library of Congress).

Staff in the Hispanic Reading Room can provide access to these books at the Library of Congress. If you cannot visit the Library in person, please contact us using Ask a Librarian for assistance. In many cases, you can also find these materials at your local library.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

American Constitutional Law Volume I by Ralph A. Rossum; Alan Tarr; Vincent Phillip Munoz
Call Number: KF4550 .R5975 2020
ISBN: 9780367233334
Published/Created: 2019-08-02
American Constitutional Law 11e, Volume I provides a comprehensive account of the nation's defining document, examining how its provisions were originally understood by those who drafted and ratified it, and how they have since been interpreted by the Supreme Court, Congress, the President, lower federal courts, and state judiciaries. Clear and accessible chapter introductions and a careful balance between classic and recent cases provide students with a sense of how the law has been understood and construed over the years. The 11th Edition has been fully revised to include several new cases, including Trump v. Hawaii (2018), in which Chief Justice Roberts held that Korematsu v. United States "has been overruled in the court of history"; Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018), in which Justice Alito's majority opinion provides the most compelling argument to date against federal commandeering of state officials; and Sveen v. Melin (2018), a Contract Clause case that shows the Court's continuing refusal to give a textualist reading of that provision, even in the face of Justice Gorsuch's compelling and amusing dissent. A revamped and expanded companion website offers access to even more additional cases, an archive of primary documents, and links to online resources, making this text essential for any constitutional law course.
American Governance by Stephen Schechter (Editor)
Call Number: JK421 .A625 2016
ISBN: 9780028662497
Published/Created: 2016-02-12
While high school and college students will find in American Governance clear and authoritative depictions of ideas that are core to the U.S. system of governance, their teachers will be able to use this resource as an extension of, or even as a substitute for, the textbooks supporting government and civics classes. Public library patrons as well as readers in institutional libraries (newsrooms, government libraries, etc.) will find answers in American Governance on all questions related to the variety of ways by which the American people govern themselves from their constitutions and governments to the political norms and ideals that guide their actions as citizens and leaders; to local communities, civic associations, and political associations people form for collective deliberation and action; and to the relationships they form with their elected representatives. Features and Benefits Approximately 700 original, peer-reviewed entries written by content specialists about America s complete system of governance. An authoritative source of scholarship on essential topics of American governance presented in a clear and compelling manner. Satisfies the national standards for civics and government. Includes approximately 300 images. Includes primary source documents."
Building a Latino Civil Rights Movement by Sonia Song-Ha Lee
Call Number: F128.9.P85 L44 2014
ISBN: 9781469614137
Published/Created: 2014-05-26
In the first book-length history of Puerto Rican civil rights in New York City, Sonia Lee traces the rise and fall of an uneasy coalition between Puerto Rican and African American activists from the 1950s through the 1970s. Previous work has tended to see blacks and Latinos as either naturally unified as "people of color" or irreconcilably at odds as two competing minorities. Lee demonstrates instead that Puerto Ricans and African Americans in New York City shaped the complex and shifting meanings of "Puerto Rican-ness" and "blackness" through political activism. African American and Puerto Rican New Yorkers came to see themselves as minorities joined in the civil rights struggle, the War on Poverty, and the Black Power movement--until white backlash and internal class divisions helped break the coalition, remaking "Hispanicity" as an ethnic identity that was mutually exclusive from "blackness." Drawing on extensive archival research and oral history interviews, Lee vividly portrays this crucial chapter in postwar New York, revealing the permeability of boundaries between African American and Puerto Rican communities.
Latinos and American Law by Carlos R. Soltero
Call Number: KF4757.5.L38 A52 2006
ISBN: 0292714114
Published/Created: 2006-09-01
To achieve justice and equal protection under the law, Latinos have turned to the U.S. court system to assert and defend their rights. Some of these cases have reached the United States Supreme Court, whose rulings over more than a century have both expanded and restricted the legal rights of Latinos, creating a complex terrain of power relations between the U.S. government and the country's now-largest ethnic minority. To map this legal landscape, Latinos and American Lawexamines fourteen landmark Supreme Court cases that have significantly affected Latino rights, fromBotiller v. Dominguezin 1889 toAlexander v. Sandoval in 2001. Carlos Soltero organizes his study chronologically, looking at one or more decisions handed down by the Fuller Court (1888-1910), the Taft Court (1921-1930), the Warren Court (1953-1969), the Burger Court (1969-1986), and the Rehnquist Court (1986-2005). For each case, he opens with historical and legal background on the issues involved and then thoroughly discusses the opinion(s) rendered by the justices. He also offers an analysis of each decision's significance, as well as subsequent developments that have affected its impact. Through these case studies, Soltero demonstrates that in dealing with Latinos over issues such as education, the administration of criminal justice, voting rights, employment, and immigration, the Supreme Court has more often mirrored, rather than led, the attitudes and politics of the larger U.S. society.
Pioneros II by Virginia Sánchez Korrol; Pedro Juan Hernández
Call Number: F128.9.P85 S264 2010
ISBN: 9780738572451
Published/Created: 2010-05-03
Following World War II, Puerto Ricans moved to New York in record numbers and joined a community of compatriots who had emigrated decades before or were born in diaspora. In a series of vivid images, Pioneros II: Puerto Ricans in New York City 1948-1998 brings to these immigrants' stories and struggles, culture and values, entrepreneurship, and civic, political, and educational gains. The Puerto Rican community's long history and achievements not only influenced American culture, but opened pathways for the New York's other Latino immigrant communities that would soon join them.

The following external websites can be useful for expanding your research on Katzenbach v. Morgan.

Cardona v. Power, 384 U.S. 672 (1966) External
Read the full opinion and summary of the Cardona v. Power case from Justia US Law.
Cornell Katzenbach v. Morgan External
Read a transcript of the proceedings and official decision from the Katzenbach v. Morgan case from Cornell Law.
Oyez, Katzenbach v. Morgan External
Read the summary and full decision of the Katzenbach v. Morgan case provided by Oyez.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
View information about this act from the "Our Documents" website. The Our Documents initiative is a cooperative effort among National History Day, The National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps.

Al Aumuller, photographer. Group [of Puerto Rican children] in C class / World Telegram & Sun photo by Al Aumuller. 1947. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Hilda Hernandez, originally from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, registers to vote. 1960. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Jefferson Miller, photographer. Johnny Colon School of Music, East 104th Street, between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue, New York, New York. 1982. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States

Caribbean, Iberian & Latin American Studies: Ask a Librarian