Plessy Vs Ferguson

In order to show how the “separate but equal” doctrine came to be, as a class we created a mock trial of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The idea of separate but equal allowed states to segregate black and white people through public services and accommodations for over 60 years. Despite this idea of equality in the doctrine, many people took advantage of it, as it gave both black and white people an influence on whether they were inferior or superior.

Since the creation of our country, African Americans have dealt with prejudice. They have faced many challenges and obstacles, such as segregation. After all of the slaves were emancipated, most public facilities participated in the separation of colored and white people. One of the facilities that was segregated, included the bus system. African Americans had to sit in the back of the bus and, when necessary, had to give up their seat to any white bus rider. Document 1 and 4 show the segregation in schools, which invigorated children and parents, because this made many African Americans students feel inferior. The conclusion of “separate but equal” did not seem to be working in the education system. Restaurants were also segregated. White males and females were given much better service, and restaurants were often separated. Another way African Americans faced inequality, was through the denial of constitutional rights. In many instances, African Americans guaranteed rights were taken away from them. For example the 14th Amendment was violated, which guarantees equal protection of the law and it forbids any state from making laws that

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 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson is known for having established the precedent of “separate but equal.” The case originated in Louisiana and was specifically made to the separate passenger cars that were for the black and white races. The Supreme Court, in this case, upheld the right of Louisiana to separate the races and “this decision provided the legal foundation to justify many other actions by state and local governments to socially separate blacks and whites” (Zimmerman, 1997). It was not until the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 that the highest court in the land outlawed the principal of segregation and the concept of “separate but equal.”

In 1951 schools were separated by skin color, or segregated. The Brown v. Board of Education trial was brought to court because a third-grader, Linda Brown, was not allowed to attend the elementary school that was closest to her house. She wa required to take the bus to school across town instead. In the trial the point that “Education for Negroes is almost nonexistent(13).” This is an example of how there were old problems in the Fourteenth Amendment that needed to be changed. Another issue that was brought up in the trial was that, “Segregation… has a tendency to retard the educational and mental development of negro children…(19).” Without the proper education at segregated

In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court case upheld the constitution of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. This case examined one key issue, was it constitutional to make black people sit in separate cars from white people? In 1890, Homer Plessy broke the law in Louisiana, by sitting in the white people car and he was 1/8 black and 7/8 white. The state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required railway companies to have "separate but equal." There was punishment for not following the law which if a person would sit in the wrong car they had to pay $25 fine or go to jail for 20 days. Plessy was asked to move, but he refused and was arrested. When he was sent to jail he argued that Separated car acts violated the 14th amendment. Plessy took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court and it was

African Americans were never treated the same as other Americans. One day a black man who looked white named Homer Plessy got sick of sitting in a Jim Crow car so he decided to purchase a first class ticket in the white’s only section on the train. Plessy told the conductor that he was 1/8 black and he refused to move from the car. Removed from the train Plessy was in jail overnight and was released on a 500 dollar bond. Homer Plessy protested that his 13th and his 14th amendments rights were violated. This case became known as Plessy v. Ferguson. This case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.

The arguments against segregation were presented by Thurgood Marshall, James Narbit Jr. and George Hayes. The lawyers claimed Separate but Equal Doctrine was violated and that Plessy was unconstitutional in the first place, as it violated the right of equal protection. Also, psychological

Furthermore, there was a young girl named Linda Brown who attended a school very far away from her house. On the other hand, there is a school not to far from her ,but it’s an all white school. So Linda Brown and her family took it to court saying that blacks not being able to go to any school is a violation of the 14th amendment. The lower courts shut them down so they appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The dissenting opinion was "We conclude that the doctrine of 'separate but equal ' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." —Chief Justice Earl Warren. This was the precedent that was established and the final decision.The majority opinion was “The "separate but equal" doctrine adopted in Plessy v. Ferguson has no place in the field of public education.(Find Law)”.Which means that they are saying that since the last case happened on a rail car and not public education it shouldn’t have

The Supreme Court ruled that education was extremely important and "the very foundation of good citizenship" 1. In addition, the Supreme Court said segregation implied inferiority in a child and made them not want to try as they wouldn't be recognized if they did 1. The court supported good education as being necessary to succeed in life. They ruled access to a good education was “a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”

Plessy v Ferguson: Plessy v Ferguson was a Supreme Court case ruled that segregated ‘equal but separate’ a public compromise for both colored and whites don’t violate the fourteenth amendment that made segregation legal.

The key holding of the Court was that, even if segregated black and white schools were of equal quality in facilities and teachers, segregation by itself was harmful to black students and unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s ruling did not take into account the majority opinion in Plessy versus Ferguson. Had it done so, the outcome would have been quite different. In the case of Plessy versus Ferguson, it was clear that there was some bias. Not only did it restore white supremacy but it violated the Fourteenth Amendment as well. This is because black facilities were undoubtedly unequal to those of the whites for that the white facilities were made with more quality, to say the least. Many whites were elated when the separate but equal facilities’ ruling was put into effect. For them, it was another moment to prove that the blacks were inferior. Though Kansas is not a southern state, members of the Supreme Court knew that many racists were going to be upset had the plaintiffs won. However, they did not let that hinder the outcome of the case. Because they knew what was right is right and what is wrong is wrong, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The opinion was that, “Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment…” They go on to say, “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race… deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does.” They go on to explain that to separate others solely because of race places a sense of

We have come to understand public education in the United States as a core principle of one’s rights as a citizen in spite of it not explicitly guaranteed within the Constitution. Despite the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, we continue to witness the fight for complete and total integration within our public schools and thus, racial equality. The 14th Amendment forbid states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, but was unclear in terms of it’s exact intention with respect to public education. As a result, were unable to see the effective use and enforcement of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments until approximately the 1940s for a number reasons, but I believe that structural racism is the foremost cause. Today, we find ourselves struggling to achieve full integration within our public school system due to the covert intentions behind structural racism and therefore, it’s ability to overpower the law. Structural racism has the ability to impact legal authority in such a way where we end up with a lack of appropriate enforcement legislation at the Supreme Court level and a lack of acknowledgement and remedies for de jure segregation and thus, it is the primary cause of the current segregation within the American public school system.

Let's take a step back and look at the “Civil Rights act of 1875” which made it criminal to deny any individual of any race or color equal treatment(The Civil Rights Act of 1875). This act was a huge step for African Americans in becoming equal. Louisiana put in place a law that required separate rail cars for those of color and whites. Controversy then struck when Homer Adolph Plessy sat in the white only section of the rail car, when asked he then refuse to move to the car for blacks and was arrested Despite the fact that he half white and half black which gave him equal opportunity for either railcar. In this case which became known as the Plessy versus Ferguson case they ruled that the state law is within constitutional boundaries and did not violate the equality of the citizen. If Plessy was treated equally why was he not allowed to sit next to a white american if they were constitutionally equal. The hope that emerged from the civil rights act was then taken away. Congress shut down the Civil rights act claiming that the fourteenth amendment did not give congress any jurisdiction to prevent discrimination from private peoples. Keep in mind that the fourteenth amendment gave U.S. citizenship to any natural born or naturalized citizen, including free slaves (14th Amendment). Once congress shut down the