Civil War: The Plessy Vs. Ferguson Case

First, one could look at the contention of civil rights. Du Bois feels that Washington wants African Americans to give up their civil rights and he does not agree with this at all. Washington feels that African Americans should be friends with the same people that oppressed them. Washington says, “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” (573). One can see that Washington feels

Ferguson case forced African Americans to feel “less than” and inferior to white people. They were reminded on a daily basis that society truly did not value them and did not consider them equal. Although segregation became illegal many years ago, the effects of Plessy vs. Ferguson are still felt today. History is destined to repeat itself and there is no doubt that it is being repeated now more than ever. It is hard to put into words the impacts that the ruling had and continues to have on society. The simple answer would be to turn on the news and watch it unfold before your eyes. Whether it be through protests or random acts of violence, a percentage of people in this country have seemed to regress and channel the hatred and emotion that the people who considered Plessy vs. Ferguson a victory had. While we may not be forcing “non-white” people to use a separate bus or bathroom, a case can be made that they are not receiving the same level of treatment that white people

First off, Plessy v Ferguson is a prime example for the use of the fourteenth amendment’s equal protection clause protecting Homer Plessy, enforcing a “separate but equal” mindset among the people touched by this court case, and demonstrated the strength of the equal protection clause. Homer Plessy In the 1892 incident, Plessy refused to sit in Jim Crow car (expression meaning Negro, racial segregation directed toward African Americans), breaking Louisiana law. At first the Supreme Court didn’t believe his constitutional rights were violated. Their reason behind this is that it was a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between whites and people of color. To them, it did not violate the 13th or 14th amendment. This state law was Louisiana's, the law was about providing “separate but equal accommodations for the

Booker T. Washington (1895-1915) was born a slave, but through hard work, dedication, and education pulled himself out of poverty to become the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. In 1895 he delivered an address at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta in which he offered what came to be known as the "Atlanta Compromise." Washington suggested that blacks should forgo immediate agitation for political and social equality with whites, and work first to lay a firm foundation of vocational education and economic strength within the black community. In return for that self-imposed restraint, whites would support blacks in their efforts to lift themselves up.

Du Bois and Washington had a goal of obtaining education for all blacks, but went about it differently. Washington wanted blacks to accept discrimination just to receive an education for vocational skills. That’s where Washington and Du Bois disagreed. Du Bois wanted to educate blacks so they can gain political and civil rights. Washington expanded his political views and believed that the blacks deserved political rights, but they should not try forcing to get them. Du Bois believed Washington’s idea of blacks becoming submissive for education would only benefit the whites. Before even helping blacks receive an education, Washington made sure he had one of his own. Washington was determined to get an education when he became aware that there was a school for all races in Virginia. Later, He attended Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute by working as a janitor until receiving a scholarship. Washington believed for blacks to obtain economic success they had to be compliant to whites. Washington also believed “that to get into a schoolhouse and study in this way would be about the same as getting into paradise” (Washington 4). This demonstrates his ideas in which education was a major requirement in order to succeed.

In 1892, the Plessy v. Ferguson case had emerged from a conflict from Louisiana’s Separate Car Act. The law required that railroads have “separate but equal accommodations,” prohibiting African American and White passengers from entering besides the one they were assigned to based on race. Homer Plessy, a seven-eighths White and one-eighth African American bought a rail travel ticket in Louisiana for the White car and took a seat. He was later told to move to the African American car, after refusing to move he was arrested and charged for not complying with the Separate Car Act.

The Plessy v. Ferguson case generated nationwide contention in the United States exclusively because the outcome would decisively affect every citizen in the country. This case was the spark that ignited the flame in our nation that led to the desegregation of schools. Plessy vs. Ferguson elucidated the racial inequality evident in the educational system at that time and brought to light the standard of the ‘separate but equal’ and how it affected both races. The struggle to achieve equality was made even more difficult by the legislation of racism in the Plessy v Ferguson case.

Ferguson 1896. In this case a man named Plessy was on the train but on the white car he was 7/8 white. While at this time said that whites and blacks would receive services of all sorts separate but ostensibly the same they guaranteed. Though in reality the blacks weren't getting quite the same services. So that the penalty for not moving to the right car on the train was 25 dollars or 20 days in jail. This is a violation in civil rights because every American has a right to equal services.in other words every one should be able to get the same services. Source:"The Supreme Court stated that the state was not authorized to distinguish between citizens according to their race, but, notwithstanding this, petitioner was required by the conductor, under penalty of ejection from said train and imprisonment, to vacate said coach, and occupy another seat" the Supreme

cases: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (in Kansas), Briggs v. Elliott (in South Carolina),

The Plessy vs. Ferguson case and the Black vs. Board of Education are cases that were brought to the Supreme Court in order to stop the 'separation but equal' law due to the fact that colored people had the same rights as the whites but were never actually treated equally. Some people judge a person on their looks and color, and that makes people feel as if they should be ashamed of who they are but it's better to be true to who you are. These cases make people think about what African Americans had to deal with in the 1800s and 1900s and it's shows how far America has come. The cases made our world a better place by raising awareness for colored people, the cases showed that the idea of 'separate but equal' conflicted with the 14th Amendment which made it unconstitutional for children of color to attend different school facilities just because of the feeling that colored people are inferior. The Supreme Court may not have realized it at first but they eventually made the right decision, but here are some reasons that the idea of "separate but equal" didn't represent what the Constitution stands for. Segregation was and still is a problem in our world, some people just can't treat others equal, these are

A man by the name of Homer Plessy was sent to jail for sitting in the "white" car in Louisiana. He was not completely black because his skin was very light, and could easily pass as a white man. Because of this he intentionally sat down in that seat which got a numerous of citizens attention. Shortly after this, the court case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In conclusion, the final verdict was that it violated the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The impact this court case had on the United States was that it created and guaranteed the 'separate but equal' doctrine, (Plessy vs. Ferguson).

There were African Americans thought they should go about living in society and dealing with segregation and inequality in the twentieth century. Two African American men both voiced their very different ideas about how the former slaves needed to react to gain equality and how they might go about abolishing the segregation laws in the early twentieth century. W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were those two men with different views on how to deal with those issues. African Americans, at the time, either felt like segregation and inequality needed to be waited out and sooner or later it would go away or that it was unacceptable and that everyone should have the same rights as the whites, immediately. Both views had very good points and both aided in the abolishment of segregation. However, reacting to segregation and inequality seemed to have a larger impact in less time than no reaction and just trying to let it fade did. This is also related to the issue of which way would be best to help improve the lives of all African Americans, educationally and in other aspects.

Ferguson greatly influenced the lives of many Americans as it degraded the lives of countless African Americans limiting them from economic advancement, minimal educational possibilities, and frequent mistreatment and embarrassment. It was determined that distinctions made based on race were certainly constitutional. However, it is evident that the Court appeared to regard the separation of races as inconvenient to the people, and not a practice that would diminish the opportunities and rights of African American people. As such, rulings like the Plessy v. Ferguson case were decided based on race as oppose to the individual itself; such decisions should be made based on a person’s individual value as oppose to a person’s race or color. As black individuals were ordered below all others in all areas of life, such laws were put into place into order to sustain the authority of white individuals, establishing the goodness of

An example of this would be from the Robert v. City of Boston case. The general school committee of Boston was given the power by the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts to provide instruction of colored students in separate schools initiated for them, and to ban their attendance from other schools. The constitution and laws of Massachusetts states that anyone, without variance for age, sex, birth, color, origin, or condition, are equal before the law. However, if it’s applied to people in different conditions, none of which was stated will be of any value. Many other cases after this one had to do with interfering with equality of the negro’s, and separations between the two races such as schools, railways, and theaters. An example of this would be when West Virginia set a law that discriminated against society, which indicated

     The African- American Community has been blessed with a multitude of scholars. Two of those scholars include Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du bois. Both of these men, had a vision for African- Americans. They wanted to see the advancement of their race of people. These great leaders just had different viewpoints as to how this should be accomplished. Mr. Washington’s viewpoints are based on his own personal experience and understanding of politics. Mr. Du bois’ viewpoints came from his knowledge of the importance of education and its ability to break down barriers of color.