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The Case Of Plessy V. Ferguson

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The topic of equality among all Americans has been debated for hundreds of years. In 1892 the landmark case of Plessy v Ferguson made the Supreme Court. A major precedent was set in this case that would be used for many years to come. This precedent would continue to be abided by for around six decades. However before all of that happened in 1890 a monumental statue was passed by the state of Louisiana. Even though the case of Plessy v Ferguson did not reach the Supreme Court until the year 1892, the real issue arose in 1890 when a Louisiana state statute was passed. This statue that was referred to as the Separate Car Act. The statue stated that rail companies carrying passengers in the state of Louisiana must …show more content…

However to the chagrin of Homer Plessy the third time was not the charm. The Supreme Court ended up having the same ruling as the prior two lower courts. The dissenting opinion agreed with Plessy saying that the Separate Car Act was indeed unconstitutional. Justice Henry Billings spoke for the majority, "The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either." The way the majority of the Supreme Court interpreted the fourteenth amendment of the constitution was that the amendment guarantees the right of equality. However it dose not say anything about stopping distinctions based on color, such as segregation. In conclusion the Supreme Court ruled that segregation is okay as long as the different parties are treated equally. The Supreme Court has the job of interpreting the constitution. So when a one eighth black man named Plessy Ferguson was questioning the constitutionality of the Louisiana state Separate Car Act he took it to them. The Supreme Court set a precedent that nearly lasted six decades. In summary the Supreme Court has the power to Change the way things are viewed for decades or even

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