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Homer Plessy Was A Separate Divided Out Equal Analysis

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Rebecca Dasema Ms. Houghton Dual Credit American History 08 September 2017 The Beginning of “Separate BUT Equal” Introduction On June 7th, 1892, Homer Plessy paid for and rode the East Louisiana Railway from New Orleans to Covington. He paid for first class and was riding alongside white counterparts. This may seem like a harmless ordeal to some, but a key fact is missing. Homer Plessy was an “octoroon”, meaning he was one-eighth black. Under Louisiana law, people of color were forced to sit separately from whites due to the Separate Car Act. Even though Plessy was only one-eighth black, he was still considered a “person of color” and was forced to move into a separate accommodation. Homer Plessy,outraged, refused to comply and was imprisoned. Plessy then filed a complaint against the state of Louisiana claiming that the reason for his arrest went against the Fourteenth Amendment. While on trial, Judge John Howard Ferguson decided that the state of Louisiana “could choose to regulate railroad companies that operated only within the state”, thus finding Plessy guilty of his refusal to leave the white accommodation. Homer Plessy's case Plessy v. Ferguson eventually reached the Supreme Court where they found Homer guilty once again. This case can best be understood by the legitimacy of Homer Plessy’s standing in court , the idea of equality, and the Fourteenth Amendment. `Legitimacy of Standing The fact that the Supreme Court

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