America has been through many different things. Firstly, many leaders have came and gone throughout the years. Secondly, many wars have took place and had some positive outcomes but also the negative.Thirdly, there has been many laws put into place. To sum it all up, America had faced multiple things. I am going to be talking about what it was like for newly freed slaves during the Reconstruction Era and how African-Americans came out of slavery and into the American way of life. The Reconstruction Era was a period after the war where the federal government brought the Confederate states back into the Union. When Reconstruction began the Civil War had just ended. It was basically where America was striving to become a full running country …show more content…
Firstly, the whites didn't like this and looked at them with disgust. Secondly, it was a working progress, they had to face many hardships to get their rights back. Thirdy, they had many strict rules to follow, like a curfew and to always carry an identification. To sum it all up, it was not easy for them during this time. Plessy vs. Ferguson gives us a great example of how blacks were treated during this time period. Plessy decided to test one of the laws that was blocking opportunities for blacks to do certain things. Plessy was ⅞ white and ⅛ black, but in the eyes of the law he was 100% black. To test this law he then bought a train ticket. He was required to ride in the blacks only section of the train but he decided to sit in the whites only. Regardless of where he sat he was both white and black so he tested it out to see what the result would be. Once Plessy was caught he was asked to move but he refused. He was thrown into jail. Along came Ferguson, he presided over Plessy's trial for his crime. Plessy was then found guilty for what he had done. Plessy's lawyers began to argue that Louisiana had broke Plessy's Fourteenth Amendment. Which allows rights to anyone born in the United States. It also implies that no laws should be made to take away the rights of U.S. citizens. This was not fair at all, the African Americans were not treated
Ferguson case allowed legal segregation to continue for more than 60 years in the south. Homer Plessy, a light-skinned, calm, well dressed, 1/8th black man, entered the first class railroad car on June 7, 1982. “When he took his seat, Plessy triggered a series of legal actions that would eventually reach the Supreme Court of the United States.”(Fireside, 5) Plessy had absolutely no intention of reaching his destination. He was charged with a crime for not moving to the car in which he belonged. This was one of the first sit in’s in the United States. The Louisiana Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court ruled against him. They said that the cars were “separate but equal” even though this was untrue and that it was constitutional. Finally, the ruling was overturned in 1954. Plessy vs. Ferguson was the most criticized decision the court made of all
In 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy as seven-eighths white man was arrested for sitting in the “whites” section of the train, as he was one-eighths black. His sitting in the non-colored section of the train was a violation of Louisiana state law that required separate rail cars for whites and blacks. After being arrested, he was taken to court where a judge Ferguson ruled against him. The civil rights organization that Plessy took part of and was defending him was undeterred and took their case to the Supreme Court, placing Ferguson as the defendant.
Plessy V. Ferguson was a court case that took place in 1896 in New Orleans. This case was held due to an incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow Car where at the time in Louisiana, all colored people had to by law, which required separation of both whites and colored people. This action resulted in Plessy’s arrest in 1890. Even though Plessy argued that this violated his constitutional rights, the court ruled that a state law that “states merely a legal distinction “between those that are white and colored did not conflict with the 13th and 14th amendments. Restrictive legislation bases on race continued following the Plessy decision, its reasoning was not overturned until Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954.
Ferguson where a man named Plessy refused to move to the colored train cart. He was arrested for breaking a law in Louisiana that white and black must go in separate but equal train carts.After going to court he was later found guilty with the reasoning that the actions used were and holds the tradition and values of this state. A case similar to this is the Brown v. Board of Education which is a group of several cases throughout states like Kansas,Virginia,and Delaware where black children wanted to go into white schools. It violates the 14th amendment because it is known that during the 1940’s black schools had the lowest budget and there was a saying that if black people had a poor education then they would stay in their place in the class system segregation invented.There are many cases of this happening not only in schools but at jobs and communities. By having poor paying jobs and because of that living with bare necessities and not having a good education there was no way black people could have advanced in society to be not be looked down upon.There was also a belief that encouraged a poor education system was a belief that black kids weren’t intelligent enough to deserve a good
For example, the Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896), Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), John F. Kennedy’s introduction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plessy v Ferguson after refusing to sit in the black car that was separated from the whites, Plessy attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. Homer Plessy was 7/8 Caucasian. Plessy was arrested for refusing to move to an all black car and was charged for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute that rules “separate but equal”. Plessy was found guilty, appealed and filled a petition for writs of prohibition and certiorari to the Supreme Court. Plessy claimed that the ruling violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments. In the holding however, the court upheld the Louisiana Law and claimed that segregated train cars did not violate the fourteenth Amendment of the
The outcome of the famous Plessy vs. Ferguson of 1896 demonstrated the United States blatant unfair treatment toward African Americans and their insistence on dominating those of African lineage. Even fifty years after the final verdict in this case, the government did not allow black citizens to legally integrate into white schools. Also, fifty percent of African Americans were poor, therefore creating a wealth gap. The accumulation of these circumstances led many black people to migrate to some of the northern states.
“The law was challenged in the Supreme Court on grounds that it conflicted with the 13th and 14th Amendments...Plessy’s violation of the local law was actually a challenge to..laws separating the races. Following the Civil War, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution,...seemed to promote racial equality.” (Robert McNamara). While the 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment included citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, forbidding states to restrict simple rights of citizens. And the 15th amendment granted black men the right to vote. “The Court endorsed the "separate but equal" doctrine, ignoring the fact that blacks had practically no power to make sure that their "separate" facilities were really "equal" to those of whites. It was not until the 1950s and the 1960s that the Supreme Court began to reverse Plessy... and later cases abolished the separate but equal doctrine in other areas affecting civil rights as well.” (Encyclopedia, Plessy v. Ferguson
The Plessy v Ferguson case impacted the plight of African Americans because the Congress reinforced legislation. As well, the rights he had were being violated and did not conflict the case with the 13th and 14th amendments. This case was filed as segregation ‘separate but equal’ document. As the Supreme Court made discrimination legal, African Americans decided to fight for their rights. ‘’The Supreme Court ruling did not fully eliminate segregation but it was an attempt to give blacks rights. After the Supreme Court case made discrimination legal, African Americans started to fight for their rights, such as integrating schools’’ (Pamphile, S, N/d). The Court tried avoiding any topic with the 14th amendment, but instead brought up different
Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court case that took place in 1896. It made segregation legal in public places and didn’t violate the fourteenth amendment. Plessy v. Ferguson ruling allows “separate but equal” doctrine if provided with equal service for all parties. The Grandfather Clause helped people who didn’t have the requirements to vote, vote unless their ancestors had voted before 1867.
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
All throughout American History and even in today, numerous minorities have succumbed to brutal separation and imbalance. African Americans were one of such minorities that extraordinarily experienced the consequences of being dominated by white supremacy. After the finish of the Civil War and the Reconstruction time frame tailing it, many individuals, particularly the Southern whites, were to a great degree against African Americans getting equivalent rights in the American culture. Because of this, these adversaries made every effort to constrain and even completely strip African Americans of their rights. A great example of this imbalance is the Plessy vs Ferguson case which took place in 1896, where Homer Plessy a 30 year old shoe maker
Ferguson was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1896 regarding Jim Crow railroad cars in Louisiana. The Court decided by 7 to 1 that legislation could not overcome racial attitudes, and validated the South's segregationist social order. They ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional under the "equal protection" clause in the Fourteenth Amendment while in reality the quality of African American life was grotesquely unequal to that of whites. Intended for the law community the legal analysis of the Plessy v. Ferguson case (seen under circumstances of determining constitutionality) did its job in contributing the legitimate context under which the case was tried and judged. The Legal Information Institute of the Cornell University of Law provided this analysis of the Plessy v. Ferguson case with objectivity and forthrightness, simply recounting the case in a legal procedural fashion with tight diction. The analysis the institute offered was supported by direct primary source material used in the case. Plessy v. Ferguson was a seminal case for which Tourgée acted as Homer Plessy’s attorney, defending the Citizens Committee and Civil Rights and advocating that, "…citizenship is national and knows no color”. His argument was that “separate but equal” laws could not be equated to slavery, but ultimately lead to it. ." This was Tourgée’s last significant fight in the civil rights arena as he lost the case leading to the legalization of
The extreme denial of due process of law arose during this time. People who committed crimes against African Americans failed to be arrested or prosecuted, and African Americans who were accused of wrongdoing were not assured a fair trial. The Supreme Court Case of Plessy vs Ferguson in 1896 set the legal precedent and made it possible for states to enforce racial 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
The case was about a colored person trying to gain respect for the colored people that were treated badly. Plessy sat in a white person's seat at the court when they were challenging the law and he got arrested for doing so. He said that he was black and caused him to get arrested. Plessy said that he doesn't care if their are two factories as long as they are treated equal. Henry Brown said that our constitution was color blind and only cared about the whites. Plessy says that every human being should be equal depending on their skin color. He wanted the public, restaurants, restrooms, theaters, and public schools to allow blacks and whites to be treated equal.