ipl-logo

Why Is Plessy V. Ferguson Important

1146 Words5 Pages

Short Essays
Identify and give the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson In 1892, even though slavery has ended but there are still racial discrimination in the society. Homer Plessy sat in the railroad car that for only for “white”. Even though he is not fully black but he has some ancestors from France and Spain, he was consider Creole and has to sit in the area for “colored”. He did not move when he was told too. Therefore, this was taken to court when the Judge John Howard Ferguson ruled him guilty of sitting at the seat in the railroad car. He later took the case to the Supreme court. Plessy argued that this violated the 13th and 14th Amendment, while the Supreme Court Judge argued that this did not go against the 14th Amendment, and that white and colored people are not suppose to be in the public places together. The impact of this court cases led to segregation, which is the idea that of “separate but equal”. For the next couple of years, public places like water fountains, schools, and bathrooms are split between the colored and whites.

Summarize and analyze the …show more content…

This also included the slaves that are freed. It does not allow states to take aways a person’s "life, liberty or property, without due process of law”, meaning that a person is still free unless guilty through court. The 14th Amendment actually impacted the court case Plessy vs Ferguson. Plessy argued that because he was guilty for sitting at a seat meant for the white in the railroad car. He is stating that his natural rights are being taken and therefore the judge is violating the 14th Amendment. Even though Plessy took his case to the Supreme Court, he is still guilty. Later, Brown vs. Board of Education court case ruled that with the segregated schools in Kansas, the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment definitely impacted the the white and

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast Plessy Vs Ferguson

661 Words | 3 Pages

Plesssy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of education both dealt with one of America 's biggest problems segregation. Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education both delt with segregation, Plessy v. Ferguson was on the Louisiana rail road act, Brown v. Board of Education was on the separate but equal clause, and they were both related. In Plessy v. Ferguson was a dispute between on Louisiana rail road act which made it illegal for whites and blacks to sit together in a rail car. Homer Plessy was a man who severed as the vice president for the Justice, Protective, Educational and Social Club in New Orleans.

Read More

Plessy Vs Ferguson Case Study

1002 Words | 5 Pages

The petitioner of the case was Homer Plessy, and the respondent of the case was John H. Ferguson. The hearing began on April 13th, 1896, and came to a conclusion on May 18th, 1896. This case was one of the beginning cases for Separate but Equal, and is still remembered to this day. This case all started when Plessy, who was seven eighths white, sat down in the “white” train car and was asked to leave and sit in the “colored” train car.

Read More

Lum V. Rice Case Study

1170 Words | 5 Pages

Notаbly absent from the opinion, as it was in Plessy, is any citаtion to a Supreme Court cаse that considered whether the prаctice of segregating schools was a violation of the Fourteenth Аmendment. It was an open question for the Court. The Court аdmitted that the precedent to which it cited involved discriminаtion between whites and blacks rаther thаn other rаces. However, the Court found no аppreciable difference here—"the decision is within the discretion of the state in regulating its public schools, and does not conflict with the Fourteenth Аmendment."

Read More

Research Paper On Plessy V Ferguson Trial

1638 Words | 7 Pages

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.

Read More

How Did Anna Julia Cooper Challenge The Status Quo?

1043 Words | 5 Pages

Plessy v Ferguson, 1892, a cornerstone in racial discrimination, dictated that public places, including railway cars, were considered separate but equal. This ushered in the Jim Crow laws that pushed the separate but equal laws at an alarming pace, causing further oppression for the African Americans. Between 1887 and 1950, nearly 5,000 African Americans were lynched all because of the color of their skin. The war may have been over for the states, but in the hearts of the black person, it had only just

Read More

Plessy V Ferguson Historical Background

518 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Homer Plessy Case Study

1015 Words | 5 Pages

He said that the Separate Car Act did not conflict with the Thirteenth Amendment because it did not reestablish slavery or constitute a “badge” of slavery or servitude. His answer relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Civil Rights Cases in 1883 which found that racial discrimination against African Americans in places of public amusement, public conveyances, and inns impose no badge of involuntary servitude or slavery, but at most infringes rights which are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment but pointed that the Act did not come into conflict with the Amendment (History.com Plessy v. Ferguson). Brown argued that the legal equality was adequately respected because it provided each race equal accommodations and because the racial segregation of passengers did not itself imply the inferiority of either race. In contrast, social equality in public conveyances and areas did not exist and could not be legally created (“Plessy v. Ferguson”). He said, “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” (“Landmark

Read More

Plessy Vs Ferguson Essay

697 Words | 3 Pages

Ferguson. Plessy v. Ferguson is known as the case that put Jim Crow laws on the map and with is an era of discrimination and segregation in the United States. The case was brought to the Supreme Court in 1896, Mr.Plessy was a man from Louisiana who went on a train and took an empty seat where white people were normally accommodated , the interesting tidbit was that the rail line had no policy of distinguishing passengers based off of race or ethnicity. However a conductor of the train went up to Mr. Plessy and told him to move with the threat of ejection and or imprisonment. After refusing to move from his seat he was arrested and was taken to court to talk of issues regarding racial mixing

Read More

Why Is Plessy V. Ferguson Important

665 Words | 3 Pages

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), a case regarding constitutional law of the US Supreme Court, that was upheld on a seven to one vote. Homer Plessy (1862-1925), an African American passenger on a train, sat in the whites-only train and declined when told to sit in the Jim Crow car, this action broke Louisiana law, The Separate Car Act. Judge John H. Ferguson (1838-1915) of the Criminal Court of New Orleans, the defendant, upheld the law, which was being challenged by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment. Ferguson was an American Louisiana judge and lawyer who served in many cases, but is most known for Plessy v. Ferguson.

Read More

Plessy V. Ferguson Case Study

496 Words | 2 Pages

The case was looked into as a racial matter of discrimination for Plessy being an African American. Plessy was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute that provided for segregated “separate but equal” railroad accommodations. African American man mistreated, it is true a broke a state law, but the situation could have been treated more maturely, and professionally. Police and citizens should not have discriminate Homer Plessy for being an African American. Rejecting Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Court ruled that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between whites and blacks did not conflict with the 13th and14th Amendments.

Read More

Plessy Vs. Ferguson And Brown Versus Board Of Education

516 Words | 3 Pages

Supreme Court Decisions Setting Precedent Discrimination may not seen as big a problem today, but people had to fight for that problem, and court cases set precedents for today. The case of Plessy versus Ferguson and Brown versus Board of Education helped change the way we view discrimination today. The case of Plessy versus Ferguson decided that segregation was legal as long as everything was equal. But on the other hand, Brown versus Board of Education included separate but equal schools made African-American children feel inferior to the white children. 1896, Supreme Court heard the Plessy versus Ferguson case.

Read More

Plessy V. Justice Brown Essay

313 Words | 2 Pages

The 14th amendment was not in conflict because that deals with someone being deprived of life, liberty, or property and equal protection in laws. Plessy was not deprived of life, liberty or property because it was a state law that separation was necessary constitutional. Touching on the fact that Plessy is 7/8 Caucasian Mr. Justice Brown states, “It is up to the state, some holding that any visible admixture of black blood stamps the person as belonging to the colored race, others that it depends upon the preponderance of blood, and still others that the predominance of white blood must only be in the proportion of three fourths.” After this court decision it enabled the foundation for Jim Crow laws to be put in place and stay there till mid

Read More

Jim Crow Era Research Paper

1677 Words | 7 Pages

In 1890, the state of Louisiana created an ordinance that required that railroads “provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” (Course Reader 17). One African American, Homer Plessy, tested out the new law by sitting in a “whites only” portion of a train, and was promptly arrested. This spawned the now infamous Plessy v. Ferguson case. The decision that the Supreme Court held was that the state of Louisiana did not violate the 14th Amendment by establishing and enforcing a policy of racial segregation in its railway. The rationale behind this decision was that this separation will help the two races to come together on their own terms to reach social quality, rather than relying on legislation and the government.

Read More

Legal Separation Of African Americans In The 1920s

1156 Words | 5 Pages

Oliver Brown, whose child was denied entry to a white Topeka school, fought to break the ruling of the Plessy v. Ferguson case from 1896. The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson stated that the separation of schools were constitutional as long as both schools were equal. Brown believed the African American schools in Topeka were not equal to the white schools. He believed his daughter’s rejection was a violation of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. However, the court ruled the schools to be “substantially” equal enough that the denial was constitutional under the Plessy doctrine.

Read More

Seggregation In The 1950's

603 Words | 3 Pages

The racial climate of the 1950's has marked the history of the United States. Seggregation was in its culprit, and Jim Crowe Laws were deep seeded in society. The concept of "separate but equal" ruled in schools, transportation facilities, and public places. White's were separated from blacks in various places including concerts, regardless of the fact that the performers were blacks. The court rule of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), set the code of conduct for society in which public facilities where constitutional if they operated under the unfair, and racist ideology of "seperate but equal" (Altschuler,36).

Read More

More about Why Is Plessy V. Ferguson Important

Related Topics

Open Document