The Southern Manifesto was a document signed in 1956 by 101 politicians from the Southern United States. It was a response to the Supreme Court's decision in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The manifesto argued that the ruling was an overreach of judicial power and promoted the idea of states' rights. The signers of the Southern Manifesto sought to resist the integration of schools and maintain segregation. They believed that the federal government was infringing on the rights of states to govern themselves. This document reflected the widespread opposition to civil rights reforms in the South during the 1950s and 1960s.