...Throughout history, many laws and acts have been decided upon and put into place by the court systems in the United States; the Plessy v. Ferguson case was no exception. The actions of the Committee of Citizens are what brought the Plessy v. Ferguson case into existence. As a result of these actions and the unjust case, many unfair regulations and laws were created and enforced. Some of those laws include the Separate-but-Equal doctrine and the Jim Crow laws. Every event surrounding the Plessy v. Ferguson case had a great impact on situations that occurred later in history. A certain circumstance surrounding the Committee of Citizens and their use of Homer Plessy in their fight against the Separate Car Act, along with segregation laws altogether,...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...Jim Crow Laws The Jim Crow Laws were based on a popular character who was dressed as an old, decrepit, black man. The laws were created to keep white and black people separated. In To Kill A Mockingbird, white and black people lived separately, but they still interacted with each other. Even though they weren’t exactly segregated, many people didn’t approve of the blacks interacting with them. In the 1870’s a law passed that required the segregation of black and white people in transportation (“J im Crow Law | United States [18771954]”). In 1892, Homer Plessy, a lightskinned creole of color was kicked off for sitting in the white section on a train. Homer had light skin, but in the eyes of the government he was black. He refused to get up and go to the black section on the train. The court ruled the law as constitutional, this opened up the way to even more segregation laws. These laws are known as the Jim Crow Laws. During the Jim Crow era, it was illegal for a white man to marry a black woman, or for a white woman to marry a black man (“Jim Crow Laws” To Kill a Mockingbird, ). In Adolphus Raymond is a drunk who is married to a black woman (Lee, 267). But it turns out that he doesn’t even drink (Lee, 267). He drinks so that people will think he married a black woman because he is a drunk and doesn’t know what he’s doing (Lee, 267). The Jim Crow Laws made it to where only white people could own public buildings and ...
Words: 1023 - Pages: 5
...Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark Supreme Court case that formalized segregation. The judge in this case stated if faculties were separate and equal for both black and white people, then it was fine to be segregated. The case started in 1892 shortly after Homer Plessy's arrest on June 7th of 1892. The case eventually made its way through, and on May 18th, 1896 the supreme court ruled that Louisiana did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment or Thirteenth Amendment. Throughout United States history, the law has been used to restrict African American rights, and Plessy v. The Ferguson case is the perfect example. Homer Plessy's and the Committee of Citizens impacted the lives of African Americans for decades from their involvement in the case....
Words: 795 - Pages: 4
...Homer Plessy, a legally African American citizen from New Orleans, LA, challenged status quo when he sat in a train car specifically designated for white citizens (Plessy v. Ferguson 1896). The laws that forbid him from sitting in the white citizens' train car were known as the Jim Crow laws. First created in 1877 and named after a derogatory blackface character, the Jim Crow laws segregated black and white citizens in all aspects of life. For example, the laws designated specific drinking fountains for blacks and whites and restricted them from attending the same schools. After Homer Plessy was arrested, his trial quickly rose to the Supreme Court in 1896. In the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson case, the justices ruled it constitutional to segregate...
Words: 1444 - Pages: 6
...after slavery was abolished on December 6th, 1865. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision legalized segregation, forming more Jim Crow laws which took away the freedoms of blacks in the South. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision legalized segregation between blacks and whites. In 1892, when Homer Plessy, who was an octoroon, was arrested for sitting in a whites only car on a train, he took his fight against segregation across the nation. He got all the way to the U.S Supreme Court. There, due to a 7-1 vote, the decision of legalizing segregation was made. In result of this decision, new Jim Crow laws were formed. Some of these laws included separate water fountains, separate bathrooms, separate phone booths, separate hospitals, and even separate cemeteries (Cates 116). Everything was separated. One law even made it illegal for blacks and whites to play checkers together (116). Also, blacks...
Words: 435 - Pages: 2
...after slavery was abolished on December 6th, 1865. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision legalized segregation, forming more Jim Crow laws which took away the freedoms of blacks in the South. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision legalized segregation between blacks and whites. In 1892, when Homer Plessy who was an octoroon was arrested for sitting in a whites only car on a train, he took his fight against segregation across the nation. He got all the way to the U.S Supreme Court. There, due to a 7-1 vote, the decision of legalizing segregation was made. In result of this decision, new Jim Crow laws were formed. Some of these laws included separate water fountains, separate bathrooms, separate phones booths, separate hospitals, and even separate cemeteries (Cates 116). Everything was separated. One law even made it illegal for blacks and whites to play checkers together (116). Also, blacks...
Words: 434 - Pages: 2
...Introduction to Africana Studies | The Life Span of Jim Crow, Start to Finish | Sherman T. Gant | S.Gant 12/3/2009 | It’s hard to define a beginning to slavery in the United States. It is said to have begun in the mid 1600’s. The American Civil War began in 1961 when 11 states seceded from the United States. The North or the Union fought against the constitutionality of the secession and the expansion of slavery. Slavery came to an end when the North won the civil war, along with the passing of the 13 amendment. Although slavery was abolished in 1865, it did not give African Americans equal opportunity for education, employment, or basic human rights. Whites in the South during the late 1870s and early 1880s, established Jim Crow laws. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines Jim Crow as the ethnic discrimination especially against blacks by legal enforcement or traditional sanctions. This act, along with racist terrorism and mistreatment downgraded African Americans to a humiliating second class status for decades; until the U.S. Supreme Court started to dismantle Jim Crow laws in the 1950s. This paper will examine the force and the legacy of Jim Crow laws, from the start and finish, and the ongoing effect in today’s world. What was Jim Crow? Following the civil war, Congress passed three amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The thirteenth ended slavery December 18th 1865, the fourteenth banned discrimination July 28, 1868 and the fifteenth gave African-American...
Words: 2194 - Pages: 9
...Chapter 19 Focus on Plessy v. Ferguson, a very important Supreme Court decision in 1896. What effect did it have on the Jim Crow laws? The African Americans was not treated equally within society. Many of their problems went to court to be fought for but it would be very hard for them to accomplish this because they whites did not want to give them much power. They fought to receive equal voting rights and equal protection for the African Americans within the south. The whites would murder them just so that they could keep control and not the African Americans. There was the civil war that was lead to equal right between the both races but the Jim Crow laws was not for this but racial segregation. However, the Plessy V. Ferguson a court decision is 1896 lead to separate but equal rights for towards both races. The Jim Crow laws was very specific on what African American could do with and around white they were not able to play any form of games together. They were not able to attend parties of one eight or more individuals of different races. They were not able to go to schools together so free African Americans schools was created so that they would not have to mix the races together, they could not go to schools of the other races. All railroad carrying passengers was also divided in to either by having separate passengers car or dividing one amongst them. Any female that has a child for a African American they would be sent for no less than eighteen months in...
Words: 661 - Pages: 3
...same rights as whites. The White American society during the early and mid-1900’s were not embracive of American Americans being equal to whites, there for the Jim Crow Laws were developed and implemented. The Jim Crow laws created a separation in society, meaning whites and blacks were to go to different schools, whites sit in the front of the bus while blacks sit in the back, certain restaurants would not allow blacks to dine inn instead they were to pick up their food from the back of the kitchen. These were different ways whites could still maintain a certain level of control and power over blacks, which is why cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education were so pivotal in the development of the society we live in today. In 1892 on a East Louisiana railroad, a shoemaker by the name of Homer Plessy sat in a whites only railroad car. During this time the United States firmly allowed the enforcement of the Jim Crow laws, so there for Plessy sitting in the whites only cart was breaking the law and was arrested. In the United States constitution under the 14th amendment section 1 it states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall...
Words: 698 - Pages: 3
...such as the Jim Crow Laws, or the Separate but Equal Laws, the Plessy vs. Ferguson trial, poll taxes, literacy tests, and the Grandfather Clauses. These events impacted the United States’ history in different ways, but they mostly impacted one thing: racism. The Jim Crow Laws legalized segregation in the United States in the 1800’s and 1900’s. This in turn made it legal to discriminate against African Americans in this time period. These laws showed just how much of an alteration there was between African Americans and the white man. For instance, there was a major difference in education, welfare, and health at these times. The Jim Crow Laws also deprived the black man of their right to vote. Some peopled have come to call the Jim Crows Laws the Separate but Equal Laws for their discrimination against the black man....
Words: 566 - Pages: 3
...The case of Plessy v. Ferguson served as a catalyst for the implementation of “separate but equal” segregation laws that were deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court and which profoundly divided White and Colored America throughout the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. Freshly out of the Civil War, Black America gradually sought after more forms of freedom after the bondage of slavery was destroyed. While Black males especially were granted more citizenship liberties through the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, just when they thought White America could evolve into an accepting and open-minded society, all efforts were shut down by the Jim Crow laws. That is where the Plessy v. Ferguson case starts, the Supreme Court’s endorsement...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...Political Ignorance: Hatred amongst African Americans in US History Tia Taylor Eth 125 Political Ignorance: Hatred amongst African Americans in US History Thanks for visiting the Blogsite again. You may think this will be just another opinionated article on African American culture being posted because it’s voting season. In fact, you’re correct. This article was dedicated to provide a realistic inside look into the history of the African American culture because there is a trend of American citizens stating they are voting for Obama because he is black. There are quite a few who have no other reason as to why they are voting for him other than that and since they may not be able to explain their answer, maybe this will help those that are angry and/or confused. Yes, it is quite simple minded to say you’re voting for Obama because he is black. It is also quite simple minded to say a person who said that is ignorant. In fact, we must remember that those who state that may have happened to grow up under a long ancestry of racism and hate just as the white kid down the street who draws Nazi symbols on his desk at school. Just like him and his older brother who might be a prejudice employee at his job, it’s not their fault they are that way. It was their environment and maybe if you understand a person’s environment and their background, you will understand why statements like this are being made all over social media websites. I’ll make these breakdowns as short and simple...
Words: 1679 - Pages: 7
...The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson established the separate but equal doctrine that was prevalent throughout life in the South for over fifty years. The case involved a man by the name of Homer Adolph Plessy, who was a colored shoemaker from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was only 1/8 black and 7/8 white, but under Louisiana law he was considered black. It also involved a white Judge by the name of John Howard Ferguson. In 1892 Plessy was asked by the Citizens Committee which was a political group made up of African Americans and Creoles to help them challenge the Separate Car Act, which by Louisiana law separated blacks and whites in railroad cars. If a black was caught sitting in the white section of the cars, they could get either 20 days in jail or a $25 fine. He agreed to help the Committee. On June 7, 1892, Plessy purchased a first-class ticket at the Press Street Station in New Orleans to go to Covington, Louisiana. The railroad didn’t support the Separate Car Law, because of the expense and trouble involved with it. They chose this station for that reason and the station was in on the test as well. He sat in the white only section and waited for the conductor. When the conductor arrived he told him that he was only 1/8 black and that he refused to move to the colored car of the train. A hired detective told Plessy he was violating the law but he still refused. Since he would not move to the colored car he was arrested and jailed overnight and released on bond the next...
Words: 778 - Pages: 4
...Arguably one of the most important rulings in the struggle for African American civil rights was Plessy v. Ferguson by the US Supreme Court in 1896. Civil Rights activists hope to use the Homer Plessy incident to test the laws that blocked true equal treatment and opportunities for African Americans. Plessy’s lawyer argued his constitutional rights were violated under the 13th and 14th amendments. The judge ruled against Plessy. The court ruled the arrest was constitutional for racial segregation under “separate but equal” doctrine. White people and African Americans may be equal before the law but it did not intend for the races to be equal in society. This ruling was a profound setback for African American right. The ruling by the US Supreme...
Words: 337 - Pages: 2
...The term “Jim Crow” came from an old African American song called “Jump Jim Crow.” In 1828, a white man named Rice would wear a black face make up, sing, dance and act foolish. Many people started calling black people “Jim Crows” to offend them. Jim Crow laws took place in America and they were laws that segregated the white from blacks. These laws supported the idea that blacks were inferior to whites. Blacks and whites weren’t allowed to interact with each other. Jim Crow was the informal term for types of precise separation utilized by whites against African Americans from the second half of the nineteenth century through the main portion of the twentieth. The expression implies the legal parts of the shading line, additionally incorporates the social and typical traditions of progressive race relations. Jim Crow laws separated blacks and whites. These rules stated what a black person...
Words: 926 - Pages: 4
