Plessy v. Ferguson

BackgroundO Louisiana railways were to “provide equal

but separate accommodations for the white & colored races”

O Homer Plessy decided to test the law; he sat in a whites only section from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana; he refused to move when the conductor asked

O Arrested & put in jail; found guilty in Louisiana; appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, upheld; appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court

1. Explain how the Supreme Court justified

the practice of segregating railroad

passengers in Louisiana by race.

Justice Brown stated “a legal distinction between white & colored races…has no tendency to destroy the legal

equality of the two races”He stated a legislature is free to take into account

“established usages, customs, & traditions of the people”

2. What is the meaning of the separate-but-

equal principle?

There will be equal but separate public facilities for the races

3. On what grounds did Justice Harlan criticize the majority’s ruling?

Harlan saw the Constitution as “color-blind, & neither knows nor tolerates classes among

citizens”Segregation is inconsistent with the civil

freedoms of the Constitution

4. Why do you think Plessy based his

appeal in part of the Thirteenth

Amendment?

Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and this was just another form of slavery after the Civil War.

5. What do you think was the effect of the Plessy decision on the nation,

especially on the southern states?

The southern states would have applauded the decision because it

upheld Jim Crow laws already in place.