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What is Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessyv. Fergusonis a legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court put forward the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine, according to which la...
What did Plessy v. Ferguson establish?
Plessy v. Ferguson established the constitutionality of laws mandating separate but equal public accommodations for African Americans and whites. T...
Why was Plessy v. Ferguson important?
Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent,...
How did Plessy v. Ferguson affect segregation in the United States?
Plessy v. Ferguson strengthened racial segregation in public accommodations and services throughout the United States and ensured its continuation...
What was the Plessy v Ferguson case?
Supreme Court on May 18, 1896, advancing the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. What is Plessy v.
How did Plessy v Ferguson affect segregation?
Ferguson strengthened racial segregation in public accommodations and services throughout the United States and ensured its continuation for more than half a century by giving it constitutional sanction. The U.S. Supreme Court ’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka explicitly rejected Plessy ’s “separate but equal” doctrine as it applied to public education and implied its unconstitutionality in all other spheres of public life.
Why was Plessy v. Ferguson important?
Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent, it prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for more than half a century until it was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v.
What is the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson?
For the article summary, see Plessy v. Ferguson summary . Plessy v. Fer guson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “ separate but equal ” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. Plessy v.
What is the meaning of Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessy v. Ferguson was the first major inquiry into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment ’s (1868) equal-protection clause, which prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions.
What was the purpose of the Separate Car Act?
In his lone dissenting opinion, which would become a classic of American civil rights jurisprudence, Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan insisted that the court had ignored the obvious purpose of the Separate Car Act, which was, “under the guise of giving equal accommodation for whites and blacks, to compel the latter to keep to themselves while traveling in railroad passenger coaches.” Because it presupposed—and was universally understood to presuppose—the inferiority of African Americans, the act imposed a badge of servitude upon them in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, according to Harlan. The effect of the law, he argued, was to interfere with the personal liberty and freedom of movement of both African Americans and whites. Because it thus attempted to regulate the civil rights of citizens on the arbitrary basis of their race, the act was repugnant to the principle of legal equality underlying the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal-protection clause. “Our Constitution is color-blind,” Harlan wrote,
Which Supreme Court case allowed separate but equal facilities?
The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which permitted “separate but equal” facilities, guaranteed that the racial worldview, with its elements of separateness and exaggerated difference, would continue to flourish.…
What was the Plessy decision?
Sandford, in which the Court ruled that black Americans could not be citizens under the U.S. Constitution, and that its legal protections and privileges could never apply to them.
What was the law in Plessy v. Louisiana?
The State of Louisiana, Plessy's lawyers argued that the state law which required East Louisiana Railroad to segregate trains had denied him his rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, which provided for equal treatment under the law. However, the judge presiding over his case, John Howard Ferguson, ruled that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies while they operated within state boundaries. Plessy was convicted and sentenced to pay a $25 fine. Plessy immediately sought a writ of prohibition.
What car did Plessy ride in?
However, under Louisiana law, he was classified as black, and thus required to sit in the "colored" car. On June 7, 1892, Plessy bought a first-class ticket at the Press Street Depot and boarded a "Whites Only" car of the East Louisiana Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana, bound for Covington, Louisiana.
What was the law that required blacks to sit in separate cars?
In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, a group of prominent black, creole of color, and white creole New Orleans residents formed the Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens) dedicated to repeal the law or fight its effect. They persuaded Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race who was an " octoroon " (person of seven-eighths white and one-eighth black ancestry), to participate in an orchestrated test case. Plessy was born a free man and was a fair-skinned man of color. However, under Louisiana law, he was classified as black, and thus required to sit in the "colored" car.
What did the Louisiana court reject?
The Court rejected Plessy' s arguments that the Louisiana law inherently implied that black people were inferior. With the strike of a gavel the court ushered in racial segregation in the United States by giving states the power to enact criminal statutes that separated black people from society.
What was Plessy charged with?
Plessy was charged with boarding a "whites-only" car, Plessy pleaded not guilty, contending that the law was unconstitutional. He was convicted at the district level. Plessy appealed his case but the conviction was sustained by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
What was the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court that codified the constitutional doctrine for racial segregation laws. In the eyes of the court as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, African-Americans could be served separately from the white population.
What did Harlan do in the Plessy case?
And his dissent in the Plessy case could be considered his masterpiece in reasoning against the prevailing racial attitudes of his era.
What was the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson?
Ferguson established that the policy of “separate but equal” was legal and states could pass laws requiring segregation of the races. By declaring that Jim Crow laws were constitutional, the nation’s highest court created an atmosphere of legalized discrimination ...
Which court held that equal but separate accommodations for White and Black people did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14?
Dissenting: Justice Harlan. Ruling: The court held that equal but separate accommodations for White and Black people did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Plessy v. Ferguson. On June 7, 1892 a New Orleans shoemaker, Homer Plessy, bought a railroad ticket and sat in a car designated for White people only.
What party was Harlan in?
He served as a Union officer in the Civil War, and following the war, he became involved in politics, aligned with the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877. On the highest court, Harlan developed a reputation for dissenting.
What were the three amendments to the Constitution?
Following the Civil War, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 13th, 14th, and 15th, seemed to promote racial equality. However, the so-called Reconstruction Amendments were ignored as many states, particularly in the South, passed laws that mandated segregation of the races.
How many paragraphs are there in the Harlan v. Harlan case?
The day after the decision was announced, May 19, 1896, The New York Times published a brief article about the case consisting of only two paragraphs. The second paragraph was devoted to Harlan's dissent:
What was the law that required the white and colored races to have separate accommodations on the railroads?
Louisiana, in 1890, had passed a law, known as the Separate Car Act , requiring “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on the railroads within the state. A committee of New Orleans citizens of color decided to challenge the law.
What was the reaction to the Plessy case?
The country's reaction to the ruling was quiet. Just thirteen years earlier Civil Rights cases were in the news, but Plessy was lightly reported and commented on outside of the black newspapers. According to author Harvey Fireside, The New York Times only ran a brief article on the case, saying that it was confined to railroad travel in Louisiana and not Congress's power to regulate commerce. The article also went on to name other cases cited in the decision.
What was the Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessy v. Ferguson is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that "separate, but equal" facilities were constitutional. This case was decided in 1896 and was not overturned until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
What did the Supreme Court decide in 1896?
Decision: With seven votes for Ferguson and one vote against, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory racial segregation was not in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite never using the term "separate, but equal," the court's ruling established that principle as a means ...
Why was Homer Plessy in jail?
The thirty-year-old Plessy was jailed for not sitting in the "Colored" car.
Why was the Louisiana law constitutional?
Decision: Judge Howard Ferguson ruled that the Louisiana law was constitutional because the state had the right to regulate railroad companies that only ran in the state.
Who was the only dissenter?
Justice John Harlan was the only dissenter. In his opinion, he wrote:
Was Justice Harlan's prediction correct?
Justice Harlan's prediction proved to be correct. Segregation continued throughout the United States. It extended beyond just railroad cars, to waiting areas, steam ships, street cars and many other areas of public life.
What was the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for Black people.
What were the segregated public facilities in the Cummings v. Board of Education case?
Intrastate railroads were among many segregated public facilities the verdict sanctioned; others included buses, hotels, theaters, swimming pools and schools. By the time of the 1899 case Cummings v. Board of Education, even Harlan appeared to agree that segregated public schools did not violate the Constitution.
What happened to Plessy in 1892?
On June 7, 1892, Plessy bought a ticket on a train from New Orleans bound for Covington, Louisiana, and took a vacant seat in a whites-only car. After refusing to leave the car at the conductor’s insistence, he was arrested and jailed. Convicted by a New Orleans court of violating the 1890 law, Plessy filed a petition against the presiding judge, ...
What was the Black resistance to segregation?
As Southern Black people witnessed with horror the dawn of the Jim Crow era, members of the Black community in New Orleans decided to mount a resistance. At the heart of the case that became Plessy v. Ferguson was a law passed in Louisiana in 1890 “providing for separate railway carriages for ...
What did the Southern Black people see as the promise of equality?
Southern Black people saw the promise of equality under the law embodied by the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment to the Constitution receding quickly, and a return to disenfranchisement and other disadvantages as white supremacy reasserted itself across the South.
What did Harlan argue about segregation?
Harlan argued in his dissent that segregation ran counter to the constitutional principle of equality under the law: “The arbitrary separation of citizens on the basis of race while they are on a public highway is a badge of servitude wholly inconsistent with the civil freedom and the equality before the law established by the Constitution,” he wrote. “It cannot be justified upon any legal grounds.”
When was Plessy v Ferguson?
Then, on May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in Plessy v. Ferguson. In declaring separate-but-equal facilities constitutional on intrastate railroads, the Court ruled that the protections of 14th Amendment applied only to political and civil rights (like voting and jury service), not “social rights” (sitting in the railroad car of your choice).
Overview
- Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the separate but equal doctrine. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African-American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. Rejecting Plessys argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Supre…
- In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed a law (the Separate Car Act) that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, a group of prominent black, creole, and white New Orleans residents formed the Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens) dedicated to repeal the law. They eventually persuaded Home…
Plessy And Ferguson Foundation
- Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, descendants of the players on both sides of the Supreme Court case, have announced the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation for Education and Reconciliation. The foundation will work to create new ways to teach the history of civil rights through film, art, and public programs designed to create understanding of this historic case an…
Background
- Incident
In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, a group of prominent black, creole of color, and white creole New Orleans residents formed the … - Trial
In his case, Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, Plessy's lawyers argued that the state law which required East Louisiana Railroad to segregate trains had denied him his rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, which prov...
- In 1892, Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which segregated carrier cars by race. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a light-skinned black man, sat in a \"White\" car, identifying himself as black in order to challenge the law. The thirty-year-old Plessy was jailed for not sitting in the \"Colored\" car.
- After the Compromise of 1877 led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, Democrats consolidated control of state legislatures throughout the region, effectively marking the end of Reconstruction.Southern blacks saw the promise of equality under the law embodied by the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment to the Constitution receding quickly, and a …
- The State of Louisiana passed a law saying that whites and blacks had to ride in different cars on trains, but required that the train cars be \"equal.\" Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth black (meaning that one of his eight great-grandparents was black) was arrested for riding in a whites-only car. He challenged the Louisiana law, saying it was against the United States Constitution. …
Decision
- On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court issued a 7–1 decision against Plessy that upheld the constitutionality of Louisiana's train car segregation laws. Justice David J. Brewer did not participate in the case because he had left Washington just before oral arguments to attend to the sudden death of his daughter.
- The Supreme Court, in a 7-1 decision, ruled that the Louisiana law was valid. They said that requiring whites and blacks to ride in separate trains did not harm blacks in any way. Justice John Marshall Harlan was the only justice who thought the law was against the Constitution. He thought segregation made blacks feel inferior. He said that the Constitution is \"color blind\" an…
- The Fuller court headed by Justice Henry Billings Brown decided to maintain and honor the Louisiana Separate Car Act (1890), which justified the “equal, but separate” train car accommodations according to race.
- In a 7 to 1 decision handed down on May 18, 1896 (Justice David Josiah Brewer did not participate because of the death of his daughter), the Court rejected Plessy’s arguments based on the Fourteenth Amendment, seeing no way in which the Louisiana statute violated it. In addition, the majority of the Court rejected the view that the Louisiana law implied any inferiority of blacks…
Significance
- Plessy legitimized the state laws establishing racial segregation in the South and provided an impetus for further segregation laws. It also legitimized laws in the North requiring racial segregation as in the Boston school segregation case noted by Justice Brown in his majority opinion. Legislative achievements won during the Reconstruction Era were erased through mean…
- The Plessy v. Ferguson verdict enshrined the doctrine of separate but equal as a constitutional justification for segregation, ensuring the survival of the Jim Crow South for the next half-century. Intrastate railroads were among many segregated public facilities the verdict sanctioned; others included buses, hotels, theaters, swimming pools and schools. By the time of the 1899 case Cu…
Issue
- Does Louisiana’s Separate Car Act violate the Thirteenth Amendment? Does Louisiana’s Separate Car Act violate the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
Facts
- Homer Adolph Plessy, who agreed to be the plaintiff in the case aimed at testing the laws constitutionality, was of mixed race; he described himself as seven-eighths Caucasian and one-eighth African blood. Convicted by a New Orleans court of violating the 1890 law, Plessy filed a petition against the presiding judge, Hon. John H. Ferguson, claiming that the law violated the E…
Legacy
- For sixty-four years the law stood, until Brown v. Board of Education overturned the rule and worked to undo \"separate, but equal\" doctrine.
Results
- After the Compromise of 1877 led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, Democrats consolidated control of state legislatures throughout the region, effectively marking the end of Reconstruction. Southern blacks saw the promise of equality under the law embodied by the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment to the Constitution receding quickly, and a …
Aftermath
- Over the next few years, segregation and black disenfranchisement picked up pace in the South, and was more than tolerated by the North. Congress defeated a bill that would have given federal protection to elections in 1892, and nullified a number of Reconstruction laws on the books.