Plessy Vs. Ferguson Case Study

This was one of the biggest court cases involving the civil war. Plessy vs. Ferguson was a court case in 1890 (History). It involved Homer Plessy, a man of a mixed race, and Judge John H. Ferguson. It took place in Louisiana state court. It was because of the Car Act (LII / Legal Information Institute).

In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed a law called The Car Act. The Car Act was a law that said ‘whites’ were not allowed in ‘black’ cars and ‘blacks’ were not allowed in ‘white’ cars (TeacherTube). It also segregated train cars and cars of both races should be made equally in factories. Plessy was in an African-American protest group called the Citizens Committee to protest against the Car Act.

In the Summer, on June 7, 1892, Plessy bought a first-class ticket at the Press Street Depot and boarded a "whites only" car. Plessy looked like a

The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Plessy's lawyer argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth. A man named Tourgee were on Plessy behalf.

Tourgee built his case upon violations of Plessy's rights under the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees the same rights to all citizens of the United States, and the equal protection of those rights. Tourgee argued that the reputation of being a black man was "property", which, by the law, implied the inferiority of African Americans as compared to whites. But sadly, Plessy lost. The case ended in 1890. Since then they made a new law and it is there saying that blacks and whites are “Separate but Equal” on the plaque.

Since that Landmark was there, it wasn’t equal. It said that everyone were equal but segregated and that was not true. Whites had many advantages and Blacks were left with unequal everyday objects. Such as restaurants, theaters, restrooms, and public schools. Even factories were segregated