Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, however racial discrimination and prejudice against black people was still a prevalent issue. Even after the civil war and the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment, states still continued to implement laws that inhibited equal opportunities for African Americans along with other social injustices blacks faced from other people due to the racist mentality of the time. Homer Plessy, a resident of Louisiana, decided he was going to stand up for his rights by defying these laws to bring forth the idea that states legislatures do not abide by the constitution and the 13th,14th, and 15th amendment in these newly developed laws to demonstrate the inequalities African Americans still faced. …show more content…
What Plessy decided to do was he was going to sit on the “white only” section of the train, despite the fact that he knew he could not based on his racial identity and what society classifies him. Not long after, Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave the “white only” section on the the train. Plessy eventually had his case appealed to the supreme court, arguing that Louisiana Law was in violation of the 14th amendment, which guaranteed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws to all peoples, forbidding any state to deny a person of any basic rights, such as the ones seen in the Declaration of Independence.
Plessy Vs. Ferguson is shaped by precedents demonstrated in the court system that all men have the freedom and right to appeal to the supreme court, if they feel they have been denied any of their constitutional rights or if they feel that government is acting unconstitutional. This precedent is seen in other cases such as Marbury Vs. Madison, which depicts the idea that one can defend their rights if government has violated anything stated in the constitution or the amendments, as well as if one feels that any law is unconstitutional. This case lead to the development of