Blake Winters
Period 1 law studies
3 October 2017 “Plessy v. Ferguson” and “Brown v. Board of Education”
Everyone has the right to be equal with one another, right? Well not In the two cases, "Plessy V. Ferguson" and "Brown v. Board of Education", they show that we are not equal, but how we can fix these issues. These cases show that we are getting closer to complete equality.
To begin, the “Plessy V. Ferguson” case was an act of protest and how a one-eighth black man purchased a first class ticket and sat in a white reserved seat. You may think that this would not be a big deal because this man is only one eight black and seven eighths Caucasian, well this created so much controversy. Just because Homer
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The people of color weren’t getting the same treatment as the Caucasian people. They weren’t even getting the same textbooks, they got outdated textbooks that were irrelevant compared to the newer ones the white kids would get. They didn’t get school supplies if they did it was very limited, maybe a pencil or even a notebook if they were lucky. Brown saw this very clearly so he decided it was time to take this to court. He went to the Supreme Court, his argument was supported by the fourteenth amendment, “The history of the Fourteenth Amendment is inconclusive as to its intended effect on public education.”, because it was separating children only for there race. Brown won his case which was revolutionary and a year later the government implemented a rule were the federal district courts had to supervise the school to see if they were segregating the children because of race.
To compare, the two cases “Plessy V. Ferguson” and the “Brown V. Board of Education” were protesting the rights of people with color and how we should all be equal even if our skin is a different color. At first Plessy’s case was ruled unconstitutional until after Brown brought his case to court and it was constitutional, so now Plessy’s case will now be signed and ratified to become a law. The case “Brown v. Board of Education” will forever be one of the most revolutionary cases of all time. If it weren’t for people like this who stand up for what they believe in then we would still be
Plessy v. Ferguson , a very important case of 1896 in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the legality of racial segregation. At the time of the ruling, segregation between blacks and whites already existed in most schools, restaurants, and other public facilities in the American South. In the Plessy decision, the Supreme Court ruled that such segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This amendment provides equal protection of the law to all U.S. citizens, regardless of race. The court ruled in Plessy that racial segregation was legal as long as the separate facilities for blacks and whites were “equal.”
The Plessy V. Ferguson and Brown V. Board of Education are two cases that changed the way that we live today in a quite dramatic way. The Plessy V. Ferguson was a case that promoted segregation. The majority voted for segregation and the minorities opposed the idea and the key precedent that was established after this case was that the U.S. Supreme Court didn't base their trial off of the constitution and instead based their trial upon the statement 'separate but equal'. The Brown V. Board of Education case was a case that completely opposed the idea of 'separate but equal' because the whole case revolved around the fact that a mother wanted her children to go to a school that was easier to get to however it was a school that was only for white children so the mother decided to take the case to court and the majority voted on letting the African American students attend white schools and the minorities voted otherwise. The key precedent that was established after this case was that segregation in schools violates the 14th amendment and it should not be permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court. These two cases were important for the transformation for the America we have today, and they influenced America's thought process and actions significantly.
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'
Such as Tim McGraw states," Everyone should have their own opinion and be able to voice it, no matter what it is. Of course, that does not mean your opinion is always right but, you're certainly entitled to your opinion." In these cases, Loving versus Virginia , Shelly versus Kraemer, and Brown versus Board of education, it will show different people's opinions on things and it will explain how different color race weren't allowed to go to school with certain color people and such. It will also explain the freedoms that whites had that African Americans didn't. Many people have decisions on certain things, such as: Shelley vs. Kraemer case, Brown vs. Board of education case, and the Loving vs. Virginia case.
Assassinations, riots, and boycotting all led up to the society we have today. Whites and blacks were not allowed to be friends, class mates or even be around each other. They had separate things which listed whites only and blacks only. This included schools, railroad cars, and busses.Two key cases are Plessy v.s. Ferguson and Brown v.s. Board of Education. The majority and minority’s decisions for these two cases set precedent that will effect everyone in America. These landmark cases are closely related because they helped provide the true intent of the 13th and 14th amendment. In addition, Plessy v.s. Ferguson and Brown v.s. Board of Education effectively help revolutionize the interpretation of the 13th and 14th amendment.
Ferguson case of 1896 in which the Supreme Court upheld the legality of racial segregation. At the time of the case, segregation between blacks and whites already existed in most schools, restaurants and other public facilities. In the Plessy v. Ferguson case, the Supreme Court that such of a segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The 14th Amendment provided equal protection of law to all U.S. citizens regardless of the citizens race. The court ruled that the Plessy v. Ferguson case was legal as long as black and whites were equal. After this law came to be, public schools, public transportation and other public facilities were made separate; but they never had made these places equal. Equality represents what the United States stands for. We the people work together in marches, protests to oppose discrimination on the basis of race and gender. The Sacco and Vanzetti case showed the world that the how justice system in the United States really was. Sacco and Vanzetti received an unfair trial and were sentenced to death, not due to the evidence being presented, but due to their political beliefs and ethnic backgrounds. As Americans, we tend to be afraid of what happens and due to these fears we forget about what it truly means to be an American. This is the world we live in and quite some times, things are unfair; it’s the way the world
The case “Plessy v. Ferguson” was a test of a Louisiana law’s constitutionality. It took 50 years to realize it, but the constitutionally and morally right way was to end segregation. This case was never about Plessy not being able to ride on a white only car on a train headed to Covington, Louisiana. It was about a group of black citizens trying to stop segregation from ever
In these cases a lot of people were mistreated and judged. They were discriminated because of the color of their skin. Only because they wanted things to be fair, right, and equal. In the Plessy v. Ferguson case there was discrimination. They ignored and discriminated colored people because they were colored. They wanted to seem like they really cared and let them be able to go the same place they go but the colored people
The Supreme Court has significant impact on molding the society of the United States, so does it play an important role in the process of the realization of equal protection on the right to education. From Plessy to Brown, every case that had milestone meaning indicated the evolution on the equal protection of the right to education, and also marked the progress of American civilization. However, there are different points between Plessy and Brown. Brown v. Board of Education was educational case of black race, but Plessy v. Ferguson is not it; the result of Plessy is isolation but equal, the Brown show us that
There was no clarification on what race would be considered white or what would be considered black. During this incident, “Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white and one-eighth African American, purchased a rail ticket for travel within Louisiana and took a seat in a car reserved for white passengers. (The state Supreme Court had ruled earlier that the law could not be applied to interstate travel.) After refusing to move to a car for African Americans, he was arrested and charged with violating the Separate Car Act.”(Duignan 2017). Judge Ferguson ruled that the separation was fair and did not violate the fourteenth amendment. The state Supreme Court also backed up this decision. The case was brought to the Supreme Court and "The law was challenged in the Supreme Court on grounds that it conflicted with the 13th and 14th Amendments. By a 7-1 vote, the Court said that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between the two races did not conflict with the 13th Amendment forbidding involuntary servitude, nor did it tend to reestablish such a condition." (History.com Staff 2009). This decision set the key precedent of Separate but Equal in the United States. Racial segregation kept growing.
The case of brown v. board of education was one of the biggest turning points for African Americans to becoming accepted into white society at the time. Brown vs. Board of education to this day remains one of, if not the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the better of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was not simply about children and education (Silent Covenants pg 11); it was about being equal in a society that claims African Americans were treated equal, when in fact they were definitely not. This case was the starting point for many Americans to realize that separate but equal did not work. The separate but equal label did not make sense either, the
Brown v. Board had a major impact on the United States of America. It created a place that truly is free. Where all people are under the protection of the law. Where people of any color or religion or class can get along and have the same rights as any other person in this country. This case banished the mindset of “separate but equal” and established the new precedent of “together and equal and free.” That is why Brown v. Board is so
The Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case was a very important case for Americans. This case was a United States Supreme Court case in where the court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be against the constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in this court case changed the history of race relations in the United States. On May 17, 1954, the Court got rid of segregation by race in schools, and made all education opportunities equal as the law of the land. Without this case, we would not be where we are today. It shaped the United States completely as a whole. It was the first time something regarding race was put a lot of emphasis on. This case redefined our nation's values and ideals, and
The next critical Supreme Court ruling on the issue of civil rights was in 1892 with the Plessy v. Ferguson case. Homer Adolph Plessy was a shoemaker from the state of Louisiana. Although Plessy was seven eighths white and only one eighth black. According to the law in Louisiana, he was still required to use the facilities designated as "colored". In an attempt to challenge the law, Plessy, with the support of civil rights activists, bought a ticket for the first class coach on the East Louisiana Rail Road. Plessy boarded and sat down in the first class coach. Just after the train departed the station the conductor confronted Plessy. The conductor asked him if he was black, Plessy told him he was and that he refused to leave the coach. The train was stopped; Plessy was arrested and formally charged at the fifth street police station.
This was considered illegal and Plessy got arrested. Plessy chose to fight his case in court, because the segregation laws violated the fourteenth amendment. Four years later, the case was brought to the Supreme Court. The justices ruled against Homer Plessy. Their decision was that segregation is legal as long as equal facilities were provided. Justice Henry Billings Brown summarized, "The object of the [Fourteenth] amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to endorse social, as distinguished from political, equality. . . If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane."