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Plessy Vs Ferguson Case Study

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The Plessy decision set the precedent that “separate” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were “equal”. “Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896) was a landmark constitutional law case of the US Supreme Court. It upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal". The decision was handed down by a vote of 7 to 1 with the majority opinion written by Justice Henry Billings Brown and the dissent written by Justice John Marshall Harlan.”(Plessy vs. Ferguson 1896, Teaching with documents, 2006) Plessy vs Ferguson was a mixed man name Plessy fighting against the Supreme Court judge Ferguson. In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed a law called The Separate Car Act. Which required that there would be separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads. Which included separate railway cars. On June 7, 1892 Plessy bought a first class ticket at the Press Street Depot and boarded a “white only” car from the East Louisiana Railroad in …show more content…

They believed he was trying to challenge the law so they hired a private deceive with arrest powers to detain Plessy. Once Plessy sat in the “white only” railway car he asked to leave and to sit in the “black only” car. Plessy refused and was arrested by the private detective. Plessy was ordered trails in Orlean Parish.” 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,[8] 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.” (Plessy vs.

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