Plessy V Ferguson

The landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson is a Constitutional case in which it had to be decided who the constitution meant when it said "all men are created equal." This case is very important to our constitution and to the people being governed by the constitution because it brought up issues that hadn't been discussed in the U.S before. This case shows the degree of federalism and how much the government paid attention to it. The amendments in the constitution do not apply to a simple race or ethnicity. Throughout history laws have been made and destroyed at the cost of colored people, in the Plessy v. Ferguson case it is shown that due to the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments all citizens have equal protection under the law. Plessy was denied his right, as well as other colored people because they belonged to different bathrooms, they belonged to different train cars and they belonged to different water fountains at this time in history, but Plessy'

The U.S is known for its liberty and equality. However, the Supreme Court once had to decide on the rights for African Americans. Since the abolishment of slavery, one court case before the Supreme Court sided against the African American plaintiff fighting for equal rights. In this case the plaintiff, Homer Plessy was arguing his right to ride in a "white only" train car. Unfortunately, he lost his case in Plessy vs Ferguson. Decades later, another plaintiff, Oliver Brown, also took a case before the Supreme Court. Conversely, in this case, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Brown vs Board of Education. This decision began the integration of schools. Despite the fact that these two cases took place almost 60 years apart, they both dealt with a similar issue.

From 1861-1865, the Civil war raged throughout the states, so when it ended the Fourteenth Amendment made provisions for the newly freed slaves with the intention of equality. The Civil Rights act of 1875 stated all races were entitled to equal treatment in public accommodation, so as an act of civil disobedience, Homer Pleassy, a shoemaker, entered a train car for white citizens, sat down, and identified himself as a black man.

Brown V. Board Education was one important because it ended school segregation. Most of the people who wanted this to happen were mostly people in school. Also is mostly the African American people who wanted this changed for their own good. Also there was this time this African American family sued a school because her daughter was not allowed to be teacher in a white public school.

The Supreme Court Case of Plessy versus Ferguson in 1896 is one of the most known cases that later influenced future decisions of equality, race and freedom. The plaintiff Homer Adolph Plessy was born March 17, 1862 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a successful shoemaker who planned an act of civil disobedience against the system of racial segregation. Plessy was seventh eights white and only one eight African American. His great grandmother was from Africa and according to the state of Louisiana and the law he was classified black regardless of his light skin appearance. John Howard Ferguson was an American lawyer who was a judge in Louisiana. He was born on June10, 1838 in Chilmark, Massachusetts. Involved in the Knights of Pythias he also

In the court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the supreme court ruled that “separate but equal” was allowed. This allowed for the continuation of racism in public industries, such as the education system (separate schools) , transportation system, and food services. This ruling brought the rise of Jim Crow laws in the South and continued to sanction segregation for 50 years. In the North, this ruling instantiated laws that required racial segregation, such as separate but equal schools. Overall, this law prolonged racism and had a very negative effect on coloreds in America in the period after its ruling.

In 1892 and in the 1950’s two cases were tried to the United States Supreme Court that would forever change black and white segregation in America. There’s amendments set in place so that America could grow from skin color based segregation, and states tried finding loopholes around these amendments. In case of Plessy vs Ferguson took place where the 14th Amendment was violated. Later in the 1950’s a case called Brown vs Board of Education was also violating the 14 Amendment. Both cases were taken to court and tried against the government for unjust violations of the 14th amendment.

A chiefly odious ruling was written in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Argued before the Court in 1896 and ultimately overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Court, heard the case of a man named Plessy. One-eighths black, Plessy boarded a white-only car only which resulted in his arrest and jailing for violating of discriminatory segregationist statutes. The Court, under Justice Henry Billings Brown’s majority opinion, affirmed these segregationist policies establishing the infamous ‘separate but equal’ doctrine. As history would prove, the accommodations made for nonwhite Americans in many cases failed to even approach the threshold of equal. Plessy v. Ferguson stands in direct conflict with the promise of “equal justice under law”. With such a narrow interpretation of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, which in part provided for equal protection under law, the Court yielded great deference to a harsh sociopolitical environment, ultimately sanctioning the segregation that would defile the American dream for many years, until Brown v. Board. The only dissenter in this case, Chief Justice John Harlan’s now-canonic phrase “our Constitution is color-blind,” (Hutchison, 427) reminds us that, contrary to the idea of the majority in this

1. Plessy v. Ferguson, Guinn v. United States, Buchanan v. Worley all dealt with the Jim Crow laws or Seperate but equal legislation. The Jim Crow laws were laws written to separate blacks and whites in public areas/meant African Americans had unequal opportunities in housing, work, education, and government. Seperate but Equal legislation was the judicial precedent established by in the Plessy v Ferguson decision that enabled states to interpret the equal protection provision of the fourteenth amendment as a means of establishing segregation. The blacks tried to take action to reduce the Jim Crow laws by trying to make life better. They developed universities, churches, political appointments and jobs.

Since the founding of the United States, there has been many supreme court cases that impacted America. Cases like Brown V Board of Ed., and Plessy V Ferguson. On May 17, 1954, Brown V board of education was a supreme Court case in which the Court declared that laws separating public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional. In 1890, Homer Plessy was arrested and tried for violating louisiana law ‘separate but equal’ by sitting in an all white railroad car, which led to the Plessy V Ferguson case.

Before 1954, Americans lived “separate, but equal.” This practice was legally established in the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, yet it was overturned as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court almost 60 years later. In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Plessy v. Ferguson was overruled. The Court argued that because the separate facilities (in this case, schools) were not equal, then it was unconstitutional to separate people by race. “…Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, … Any language in Plessy v. Ferguson contrary to this finding is rejected…” they ruled.

Slavery has existed for about 245 years, when Africans arrived to America in 1620s. It wasn’t until Dec.6,1865 when slavery officially was brought to an end. Just 150 years ago Africans were being discriminated and being killed for no reason. During this period of slavery, great leaders were born to inspire and put in end to slavery.

Ferguson case decision and the "separate but equal" doctrine, after believing that it had no place in public education and it was unconstitutional because segregation disobeyed the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection of the laws. It could be argued that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. The Supreme Court looked over four state cases in which African-American minors fought for admission into their community’s public schools through a non-segregated foundation. They had been constantly denied admission to schools attended by white children due to laws that permitted and even required segregation. The rights that came with the Fourteenth Amendment were taken away from these students due to segregation and the school system’s failure to follow the equal protection of the laws. In virtually all of these cases, the district court denied the minors relief due to the "separate but equal" doctrine declared by the Supreme Court during the Plessy v. Ferguson court case. The youths clearly stated that the public schools were not equal and could not be made equal; thereby denying them equal protection of the law. Black students were offend educated in poor facilities, schools with smaller funding per pupil and schools where there were more students per teacher, which gave students less individualized attention. The question while looking at these racially related cases was whether the doctrine

During the 19th century there were laws that legalized segregation and limited the rights of innocent blacks. Segregation and discrimination was happening everywhere, schools, work, public places, and blacks weren’t allowed where the whites were able to be. Taxes were required for people to vote and so were literacy tests for people to be tested to see whether they were able to vote or not. If your ancestors voted before you did then you are eligible to vote but, if not then you were not eligible to vote before 1867. Court cases determined the outcome of laws and segregation laws.

On june 7, 1892 Plessy v Ferguson purchased a first class ticket he took possession of a vacant seat in a white car. He was arrested and convicted of violating the 1890 law of having no blacks in a all white car. Plessy v Ferguson challenged the law that it was an illegal arrest.He set a lawsuit against the state of louisiana. Plessy v Ferguson was seven-eighths white and one-eighth black he had the appearance of a white man. Plessy v ferguson and other many other black people were being treated unequally because you could clearly see that all white cars were more well put together than colored people cars. They had white people and colored people separated because of segregation laws put in place. The 13th and 14th amendments had the supreme