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Engel V Vitale Essay

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Taking place in 1962, Engel v. Vitale was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that raised the issue of school-sponsored prayer in public schools. Steven Engel, a New York parent, along with a group of other parents, was completely against any sort of prayer, whether voluntary or not, in public schools. Engel, a person of Jewish faith, and his group were supported by various Jewish organizations in their fight against the New Hyde Park school board. William Vitale, the president of this school board, was supported by twenty-two states through an amicus curiae brief. The case spurred from Vitale and other parents’ concerns with the fact that every day, after reciting the pledge of allegiance, students of New York State schools were given the option to recite a prayer, …show more content…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time of Engel v. Vitale was Justice Earl Warren (served August 5, 1953 to June 23, 1969; appointed by President Eisenhower), who attended law school at the University of California at Berkeley. Before serving on the Supreme Court, Warren worked as the District Attorney of Alameda County in California, and eventually as the Attorney General of the state of California. Hugo Black (served August 18, 1937 to September 17, 1971 as an associate justice; appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) attended the University of Alabama Law School and was at one time a member of the Ku Klux Klan. However, according to Black, who often ironically voted in favor of African American interests, this membership was simply for political advancement purposes. William O. Douglas (served April 17, 1939 to November 12, 1975 as an associate justice; appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) was known before serving on the Supreme Court from his work at the massive Wall Street law firm Cravath, Henderson & de Gersdorff and then as a professor at

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