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Plessy V Ferguson Historical Background

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The case of Plessy v Ferguson in 1896 was a landmark decision in United States history that solidified the legality of segregation and the "separate but equal" doctrine. This ruling has far-reaching implications for African Americans and the civil rights movement as a whole. To fully understand the significance of this case, it is essential to examine the historical context, key figures involved, and the long-lasting impact it had on American society. Historical Context: In the late 19th century, America was still grappling with the aftermath of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Although the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in 1865, African Americans continued to face widespread discrimination and segregation in many aspects …show more content…

This act of civil disobedience led to his arrest and subsequent trial in the Criminal Court of New Orleans. Judge John H. Ferguson upheld the state law, prompting Plessy to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Jim Crow laws violated his rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments. Key Figures: Homer Plessy was a key figure in the case, known for his willingness to challenge the status quo and fight for equal rights. His actions brought national attention to the issue of segregation and sparked a legal battle that would shape the course of civil rights in America. Judge John H. Ferguson played a crucial role in upholding the state law, setting the stage for the Supreme Court's final ruling. The Impact: The Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was a devastating blow to the civil rights movement and African Americans as a whole. By endorsing the "separate but equal" doctrine, the Court effectively sanctioned segregation and allowed for the continued oppression of an entire race. This ruling provided legal justification for discriminatory practices and reinforced the idea of white supremacy in American

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Case Brief - Plessy v. Ferguson Homer A. Plessy v. John H. Ferguson was a US Supreme Court case between Homer Plessy, the plaintiff, and John Ferguson, the defendant. The year this case took was place was 18961. This case almost entirely deals with the Louisiana Law passed six years prior that provided “equal but separate” railway carriages for white and colored races. The constitutionality of this law was brought into this case as Homer Plessy, who refused to sit in the colored only rail car, argued it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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The famous Plessy vs. Ferguson case is a symbol of American intolerance and oppression because the “separate but equal” principle created a benchmark for racial segregation but American democracy and progress is illustrated in women’s desire for equal opportunity when Bradwell applied to be a lawyer in the case Bradwell vs

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Decided in 1896, the Plessy v Ferguson law was a landmark constitutional law case of the US Supreme Court. This case upheld state segregation laws for public places under the belief of the slogan “separate but equal.” It all began when Homer Plessy purchased a first class ticket to travel from New Orleans to Covington, La, taking a vacant seat in a white only car. This was ironic because he was seven eighths percent white and one out of eight percent black. He was arrested for breaking the law of 1890 stating that colored and whites have to sit in separate car’s riding a train due to the slogan separate but equal; emphasizing that everyone has the right to ride a train as long as they sit different cars (McBride, 2007).

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On June 7th, 1892, Homer Plessy boarded a Louisiana train with a first class ticket. Plessy was one-eighth black, and was therefore an easily white-passing man. When he seated himself in the whites-only carriage of the train, he was soon forcibly removed and placed under arrest. The reason for his imprisonment was for ‘violating an act of the General Assembly of the State,’ as specified in the Supreme Court’s transcript of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. At the time, a law was in place in the state of Louisiana dictating that people of color and whites must sit in separate train carriages.

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Plessy Against The Court Think of a time when people were separated by the way they looked and the way they were born. During the twentieth century, many African Americans were discriminated because of their race and were separated from others in many ways. Others would determine where they belonged in society by the color of their skin. At this time, state legislatures promoted an act called the “Separate Car-Act” supporting that the 13th and 14th Amendment do not count against transportation separation. A man named Homer Plessy tested how far it takes to change the way the South is controlled.

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Plessy v. Ferguson The Supreme Court of Plessy v. Ferguson, argued on April 13, 1896, involved a man identified as Homer Adolph Plessy. Plessy was a man of seven - eighths Caucasian and one - eighths of African descent in the State of Louisiana who was denied to sit in a passenger train car reserved for “whites only.” The case questioned the Supreme Court whether Louisiana’s law mandating racial segregation infringes the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

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The effects of Jim Crow were deeply imbedded into the culture of America. Jim Crow became a powerful force in white America through legislation, racism, and housing differences. After the falling out of the white supremacist ability to hold power, the elite whites found “loopholes” to pass legislation in order to maintain the racial hierarchy to oppress. A major turn in this was the Supreme Court decision of Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896, ruling that “separate but equal” is constitutional.

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Plessy vs. Ferguson, one of the bigger cases in the turning point for rights, gave the black community a big boost forward. There was a man named Homer Adoph Plessy that had a problem with the way things were going at the time and he wanted equal rights. But there was another man named John Ferguson who thought that everything was just skippy. They went to court to settle their quarrel.

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For nearly a century, the United States was occupied by the racial segregation of black and white people. The constitutionality of this “separation of humans into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life” had not been decided until a deliberate provocation to the law was made. The goal of this test was to have a mulatto, someone of mixed blood, defy the segregated train car law and raise a dispute on the fairness of being categorized as colored or not. This test went down in history as Plessy v. Ferguson, a planned challenge to the law during a period ruled by Jim Crow laws and the idea of “separate but equal” without equality for African Americans. This challenge forced the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of segregation, and in result of the case, caused the nation to have split opinions of support and

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Legal Opinion of Overturning Plessy v Ferguson Sentence By: Estephanos Bekele Homer Plessy was an innocent man living in the state of Louisiana. He was a Creole, meaning that he was 7/8th white and only 1/8th black. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the law, he was considered African American. The SAA was the Separate Accommodations Act, created in 1890, for the state of Louisiana, was meant to force the blacks to sit in the back of trains, while whites were allowed to sit in the front of vehicles (Wikipedia Contributors).

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Plessy v. Ferguson dealt with segregation in transportation of railroad cars, while Brown v. Board of Education dealt with the segregation in our schools. These were both landmark Supreme Court cases, that helped lead the current generation on a new path, while helping the future generation start a new one. These cases pushed our society and humanity out of the mindset that one race is superior to another, white over black or black over white. The cases defined the 14th amendment and what it meant. In America at the time, people weren't treated the same and the 14th amendment states that you can't be discriminated on an account of race.

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The Plessy vs Ferguson case occurred in 1890 and involved violations of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment rights about the “separate but equal” controversy. Homer Plessy was an eighth of African American. In the 1890s, segregation was legal

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If African Americans didn’t follow the rules in these segregated areas, they would be jailed, abused, or even killed. Segregation in the South started to get so bad, to the point where actual laws and rules were supporting it that would negatively affect African American communities. The most notable law was the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case ruling that ruled blacks and whites should be separate but equal.” This court case started when a mixed man named Homer Plessy seated himself in an all-white train, knowing it wasn’t permitted. The train conductor would then challenge Plessy and get him arrested for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act of 1980.

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Throughout the history of the United States of America, a struggle to reach racial equality has been evident. The case Plessy v Ferguson made separation by race, in other word segregation, legal. But, in order for this separation to occur, an equal position or place must be present, creating the phrase “separate but equal.” Even though equal accommodations must have been present for segregation to be legal, inferiority was still strongly implied due to the separation. Due to this court case, it caused the struggle to reach racial equality much more difficult due to the legalization of segregation.

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525 Words | 3 Pages

Plessy v. Ferguson, a case challenging the law reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. Upholding the law, the court said that public facilities for blacks and whites could be “separate but equal.” Soon the South had to be separate according to the

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