Plessy v. Ferguson | BRI’s Homework Help Series
How did the odious doctrine of “separate but equal” become legally permissible in the U.S.? This Homework Help narrative explores the story of the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case. Further, analyze how the idea of “separate but equal” violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment through incorporation that was later struck down in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case championing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Due to the process of incorporation, the Supreme Court was able to eventually rule that the states had to adhere to the protections listed in the Bill of Rights.
0:00 In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Reconstruction Amendments were ratified in an attempt to ensure greater liberty equality for African Americans. Equality would prove to be elusive, however, as African Americans were subjected subjected to extreme violence and intimidation. They were also held back by discriminatory laws,
0:20 grandfather clauses, poll taxes, and literacy tests often kept them from voting. Laws also required their physical separation from whites during what is known as the Jim Crow era. In 1890, Louisiana passed a Separate Car Law that required railroads to provide separate equal accommodations for white and black passengers.
0:42 African Americans viewed this separation as a violation of their right to citizenship. Did the Separate Car Law violate the constitutional rights of free people guaranteed by the 14th Amendment? That’s what the Supreme Court was taxed to answer in a landmark 1896 case. This is Plessy versus Ferguson. [music]
1:15 Homer Plessy was a biracial Creole from New Orleans. Only one-eighth African American, Plessy appeared white still classified as black. After the passing of the Separate Car Law, Plessy, together with a group of other black and Creole citizens, formed the Citizens Committee to test the constitutionality of the Separate Car Law.
1:35 Sounds like a mouthful, the group’s message was clear. They thought the Louisiana law was unconstitutional would challenge it at all costs. Plessy volunteered to buy a railway ticket for a train traveling within Louisiana’s borders. lessy boarded the train took a seat in a white-only car. A conductor asked him
1:56 if he was colored, which Plessy affirmed. The conductor then ordered him to leave the car, when Plessy refused, he was arrested. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Separate Car Law violated his rights under the 13th Amendment as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Plessy was convicted of violating the Separate Car Law.
2:17 His conviction was first upheld by US District Court Judge John Howard Ferguson, then later by Louisiana Supreme Court. Plessy then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, who agreed to hear his case. How would the court rule? Would they interpret the Separate Car Law as a violation of the Reconstruction Amendments? In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy.
2:40 With Justice Henry Billings Brown writing the majority opinion, the court cited the recently decided civil rights cases as a precedent. These cases essentially stated that an act of discrimination from either an individual a business could not be justly regarded as imposing slavery upon the applicant. Likewise, the court held that the law didn’t even violate
3:03 the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment as it didn’t deem one race inferior to the other. Segregation laws were best held as constitutional, whether applied on trains, educational facilities, or other public spaces. This established the odious doctrine of separate but equal. The lone dissenter on the case was Justice John Marshall Harlan,
3:24 whose words supported the equality of all persons under the law and constitutional liberties. Justice Harlan stated, "Our Constitution is colorblind, neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law." It was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court reversed
3:46 the precedent set by Plessy versus Ferguson, the unanimously decided Brown versus Board of Education case. The court barred segregation in schools announced that separate is inherently unequal unconstitutional. The 1964 Civil Rights Act would go further, and ban segregation in all public accommodations.
4:07 In 2009, the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation of New Orleans erected a historical marker at the site of Plessy’s arrest to assure his memory lives on, when will our highest court next interpret racial equality? This was the case of Plessy versus Ferguson. Thank you guys for watching. Make sure you like and subscribe.
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