Final answer:
The momentous decision for desegregation in the Brown v. Board of Education case was influenced by legal challenges by the NAACP, social science research on the impact of segregation, and global Cold War politics. The unanimous Supreme Court decision highlighted the incompatibility of segregation with the Fourteenth Amendment, leading to the end of the 'separate but equal' doctrine.
Step-by-step explanation:
The events leading to the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision were culmination of various factors including legal struggles, shifts in public opinion, and international pressures during the Cold War. Crucially, meticulously planned legal strategies by the NAACP led by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall challenged the 'separate but equal' doctrine. The Supreme Court unanimously overruled its decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, acknowledging that segregated public education engendered feelings of inferiority among Black children and violated the Fourteenth Amendment. This was influenced not only by domestic racial justice efforts but also by global Cold War politics, with the State Department supporting desegregation to undermine Soviet propaganda that criticized American racial policies.
Furthermore, social science research like the 'doll test' by Kenneth and Mamie Clark influenced the decision by demonstrating the psychological effects of segregation on Black children. The unanimous decision to desegregate was monumental, but it was met with stiff opposition, particularly from Southern states where many officials used the 'Southern Manifesto' to rally opposition to the ruling and attempted to use 'lawful means' to prevent enforcement. However, despite such resistance, the groundwork laid by earlier Supreme Court cases like Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, along with the strong moral and legal arguments presented, pushed one of the judges to break the historical precedent of 'separate but equal' and vote for desegregation.