Ferguson Vs Plessy Research Paper

There was more information supporting Plessy than there was supporting Ferguson, but Plessy was found guilty. Plessy was not guilty though.

Plessy got arrested because he sat in a train car specifically for white people. Plessy refused to move to another car for blacks and got arrested (Duignan, Brian). His first court appearance was in 1892. Plessy was found guilty against the State of Louisiana. They said railroad companies could run their business however they wanted as long as they provided equal cars for different races. Plessy’s first appeal was also in 1892. The Louisiana Supreme Court decided that the Separate Car Act was also constitutional, so Plessy’s argument was rejected. Plessy then appeared in the Supreme Court in 1896. The

Whites generally had better buildings, schools, bathrooms, water fountains, etc. The governments knew about blacks not being treated equal, but didn’t do anything to stop it (Legal Information Institute). The fourteenth amendment was made to prevent discrimination against blacks. The fourteenth amendment makes sure that all citizens are treated equal (US Const.). This proves that blacks were not treated fairly because even though the governments knew that they were not treated equally they choose not to do anything to help them. Louisiana made a law that if a black person rented or bought a room or apartment in the same hotel or apartment building that a white person was already staying in the black person would be arrested. They would have to pay a fine from twenty-five to one hundred dollars. They would also have to spend ten to sixty days in prison. Most blacks saw this as another way to keep the two races separated from each other (National Park Service). This wasn't fair to them and also went against the fourteenth amendment (US

Black and white marriage wasn’t allowed in most of the southern states (National Park Service). This law went against the ninth amendment. The ninth amendment says that you have rights not written in the constitution as long as they are not specifically taken away. This was unfair and took away their rights (US Const.). Louisiana made a law that there had to be separate buildings for blind people. This was ridiculous and unfair because they couldn’t even see each other. They weren’t allowed to be cared for on the same grounds as each other. They were blind, so they didn’t or wouldn’t know if there were blacks in the same building as them. This was another law that was used to keep blacks and whites further apart (National Park