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The Landmark Case Of Plessy V. Ferguson

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Blake Palmer 10/3/17 Comprehensive Law Studies Fighting Separate But Equal Laws 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." Brown v. The Board of Education is the reason for diversity in schools. These cases are very important to our constitution and to the people being governed by the constitution because it decided the fate of our nation and of our people. They show the degree of federalism and how much attention the government devoted to it. The amendments in the constitution do not apply to a simple race nor ethnicity. Throughout history laws have been made and destroyed at the cost of colored …show more content…

Plessy did not get the arrest overturned even though it was a violation of the 14th amendment where all people are equal under the law and under the government. Paradoxically, the court that didn 't have the arrest overturned saw the constitution as a document that only protected its creators like in the Dred Scott case. They saw it as a document, that was a very important document that kept white citizens equal under the law. In 1841 John Quincy Adams made an argument involving the fact that since the constitution didn 't acknowledge the fact that slaves existed then they must be people who "enjoy" their rights like a free, rich, white male would. In the times of Plessy it was custom of the white people to not accept black or colored people and it was certainly not a time where they could go to school together or sit in the same train car. It was also not a custom of the government to protect the rights and feelings of colored people, this was the purpose of Separate but Equal. Separate but Equal laws were not an effective way for the colored people of this time to be equal, equal is the same not separate, riding in a separate train car is not equal it is not fair, it is not constitutional. The Supreme Court decided to keep the separate but equal laws in their majority decision. The importance and reason for the constitution is to make sure that the people have fair laws and are guaranteed rights no matter the person, race, or

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