...Case Title: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Plaintiff: Homer Adolph Plessy (man of mixed race) Defendant: John Howard Ferguson (louisiana judge) The Law: This case involves racial segregation laws and was the first major case to look into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s (1868) equal-protection clause. The equal-protection clause prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions. It also allowed for laws to be implemented that would achieve racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal facilities and services. The Facts of the Case: In 1891, 5 years before this case, a group in New Orleans created the Citizens’ Committee to Test the Constitutionality of the Separate Car Law. Homer Plessy purchased a railroad ticket for travel within Louisiana and decided to sit in a car reserved for white passengers only. Although Plessy appeared white he was one-eighth African American, meaning he should have been sitting...
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...Plessy V. Ferguson was a case during 1896 that caused a lot of controversy. This case stated that an octoroon (⅛ black) who wasn’t happy with how states were handling African Americans newly found freedom. To Plessy it seemed as if even though the Declaration of Independence had affirmed that “all men are created equal,” Americans didn’t see it that way. There was still prejudice in America and so black’s were forced to sit separately from whites or drink from different fountains. Little pointless details were made into a big deal. Plessy being ⅛ black, but still looking like an American, was never told to move to use the colored facilities until one day he was asked if he was part African American, and Plessy admitted to it. However, that didn’t stop Plessy from sitting at the front of the railcar, and because of his refusal he was arrested and brought to the United States Supreme Court, claiming the fourteenth amendment. Custom, Precedent, and Federalism the three systems of ruling were embodied into the discussion and the outcome of the case. Each...
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...Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Facts: On June 7, 1892 Homer Plessy, a biracial man from Louisiana attempted to sit in a first class all-white railroad car. After refusing to remove himself to the black passenger car, Plessy was arrested. Plessy had violated Louisiana’s Separate Cars Act; which required railroad companies to provide separate, but equal accommodations for its Black and White passengers. Procedural History: In the case of Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, U.S. District Court, Judge John H. Ferguson dismissed his contention that the act was unconstitutional. Ferguson maintained that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies while they operated within state boundaries....
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...Plessy v. Ferguson: To begin you must understand the significance of the court case Plessy vs. Ferguson in order to see the true importance of it. In 1890, Louisiana passed an act named the Separate Car Act. The law stated that all rail companies carrying passengers in Louisiana had to have separate but equal seating arrangements for white and non-white passengers. Also under this law declared that those who violated the act were to pay a fine or spend 20 days in jail. People especially blacks at the time felt that this act was unfair and unconstitutional. So one day a name by the name of Homer Plessy who was one-eighth black bought a first class ticket and boarded an all-white car. The rail company knew what was going to happen so upon his...
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...In 1890, New Orleans Society was a complete mess. They enforced segregation and pretty much broke the laws of the constitution. The issues with the Plessy v. Ferguson case was that the state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act which enforced a law that states, “that all railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in this state, shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white, and colored races, by providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train, or by dividing the passenger coaches by a partition so as to secure separate accommodations…” In disagreement, Plessy found a way to fight on the Act. On June 7, 1892, the defendant purchased a first class ticket from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana....
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...John Marshall Harlan and the Plessy v. Ferguson Case The Plessy v Ferguson case took place in 1896, during a time when the idea of slavery was beginning to fade away, but the thought of two different races being equal was still unforeseen. It all began when an African American male refused to sit in a Jim Crow car on a train – a train car specifically made for blacks so that they would be separated from the whites on the train. People of color had previously spent hundreds of years fighting for their equality and their freedom from slavery. Even to this day there are many obvious barriers to them receiving the equality they deserve. Shortly after gaining freedom in 1865, began the idea of blacks and whites being “separate, but equal.” This meant that although blacks and whites were now equal as human beings, they were still separated by the color of their skin – causing the need of separate facilities for whites and blacks (Voices of Freedom, 53). Marshall Harlan was a very reputable man, as he brought light to the obvious issues with the term “separate, but equal”, stating that it was still extremely unlawful and went against...
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...America stands at a historical crossroad, a point where the nation must navigate through many complexities and social issues. Many points in our past have the government made decisions that went against the nation’s own constitution, breaking its foundational principles. The US fought with the aftermath of the Civil War and the complexities of reconstructing itself. There was one instance in the late 1890s that changed the legal system. One of the more notable court cases was Plessy v. Ferguson. This case made its decision on May 18, 1896. In the case, the court was confronted with the constitutionality of Louisiana's “separate but equal” laws. Laws which mandated racial segregation within the public facilities, such as train cars. Homer Plessy was a Louisiana resident, an American with African descent. He purposely violated the law by refusing to leave the “White Only” train cars. He was then arrested and charged with violating the separate car act, Plessy challenged the law by advocating for a constitutional check on these acts. Arguing that the “separate but equal” laws were in direct violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth...
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...1. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and Cumming v. Richmond equal but separated was being demonstrated. However, in reality, it is never separate and equal instead unequal. In Plessy v. Ferguson case, Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car, by violating the Louisiana law. However by declining Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Court ruled that the state law did not violate the rights. Furthermore, the Supreme Court upheld the state’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson because the constitution provides separation of power between the state and the federal government. Also, according to the 14th amendment, it provides equal protection for all. This means as long as rights are being preserved it is not a violation...
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...In 1896, Homer Plessy was asked to participate in a test case orchestrated by Comite des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens), which included him trying to sit in the white-only car of a train. At this time, African Americans, or anyone considered black, were by law supposed to sit in the “colored” car. When he was asked and refused to leave the car, a hired detective arrested him. When Plessy was first tried by the State of Louisiana, his attorneys argued that he was denied his 13th and 14th Amendment rights. Judge John Ferguson ruled that the railroad companies had a right to decide while they were operated within Louisiana borders. Eventually his case made it to the Supreme Court where, in a 7 to 1 vote, it was decided that “separate but equal” was constitutional. However, in 1954, the ruling from Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned by the Court’s findings in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. The case was brought against the Topeka Board of Education by parents. When the case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, Justice Earl Warren announced the unanimous ruling against the “separate but equal” principle. The Supreme Court ruled that separating children because of race was unconstitutional. This overturning of the standard set by the Plessy v. Ferguson symbolized the end of racial...
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...Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court decided that having ”separate but equal” accommodations for Whites and Colored did not violate the 14th Amendment (Wolff, 1997). This allowed states to continue segregation as they saw fit. The Plessy v. Ferguson case was centered on the segregation of railroad cars but the final ruling supported that all “separate but equal” accommodations were allowed by the constitution and was therefore allowed in restaurants, busses, and even schools. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided that “separate but equal” was not acceptable in the case of Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education. They determined that segregation went against the 14th Amendment (Wolff, 1997). This class action suit was filed by 13 parents for their 20 children. The plaintiff named was Oliver L. Brown, the father of third grader Linda who had walk six blocks to get to her school bus stop for her segregated school one mile away even though there was a school only seven blocks away from her home ("Brown V. Board Of Education", ). Although there were several cases fighting for similar things at the time this case is the most well-known. This class action suit was originally filed in 1951 even though the final decision was not made until 1954. The Supreme Court heard the case several times in 1953, paying special attention to the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and whether or not it prohibited...
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...An incident in 1892 involving an African American man Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car breaking a Louisiana law. In 1890 the law was put into play providing for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on its railroads. Plessy brought before Judge John H. Ferguson of criminal court for New Orleans, who upheld the law. The law later challenged by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it conflicted within the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The court later said that the law did not conflict with the Thirteenth amendment. The Court avoided discussion of the protection granted by the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids the states to make laws depriving citizens of their “privileges or...
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...What are the important and relevant faces of the case? 2. What issues is the court addressing? What is the legal problem? 3. What law is the court applying? 4. What is the court’s decision, analysis, and rationale? For this week, you need to find a case that deals with Due Process, the Equal Protection Clause or Delegation. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) What are the important and relevant faces of the case? The Case is based upon The Equal Protection Clause, in which, this case occurred one hundred and nineteen years ago, but it was very interesting as to see what has changed during the century. In 1890, Louisiana State passed laws prohibited races to sit together on railroads; something in common with segregation in the south in the 1950’s and buses. Trains were required to have seating for different races and were divided by curtains or some form of barricade to prevent the races from sitting beside one another. Homer Adolph Plessy, a Louisiana businessman, who lived a society of whites and blacks, happen to have a black grandparent, in which Louisiana law defined him as an “octaroon”, one eight of black heritage. Plessy did not consider himself black, but Louisiana did and therefore made him sit in the segregated area for blacks. Plessy did not agree and challenged the Jim Crow laws by breaking the law intentionally and sitting in an area of the train that Louisiana law said he was prohibited to sit in, in which case caused him to be arrested and charged with criminal...
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...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...
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...laws-minorities Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Adolph Plessy who is ⅞ white, was arrested when he refused to sit in the “blacks only” railroad car. He said this violated his 14th amendment. Verdict: 7-1 decision for Ferguson, majority by Henry B. Brown. The court ruled that if the cars are separate yet equal then the louisiana law does not violate the 14th amendment. Brown v. board of education of Topeka, I (1954) African children were denied admittance into certain public schools that were segregated. The parents argued that denying them admittance was violating their 14th amendment. Verdict: unanimous decision for Brown , majority by Earl Warren. They said that separate but equal educational facilities was obviously unequal...
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...The Black Experience: 1865 to Present Valery Taylor HIS 204 Prof. Steven Harn September 10, 2012 The Black Experience: 1865 to Present In the late nineteenth century our country has been defined by native born versus immigrants, rich versus poor and worker versus capitalist. But, in the former Confederacy, despite the call for the New South after Reconstruction tension still focused on the relationships between blacks and whites. Being of African American decent and raising a African American son I can still see the systematic effects of segregation, discrimination and isolation. However, through the civil rights movements of the past African American have attained equal rights in the present. In this paper, I will take a journey through the historical timeline of slavery. In addition, I will discuss historical events from 1865 to present that ended segregation, discrimination and isolation to attain equal rights. Africans were shipped to North America as Slaves in the 1600's, by 1787 the writers of the United States Constitution decided that slaves will count as three fifth of a person when deciding how many representative each state will have in Congress. In 1820 the Missouri Compromise was designed to maintain the number of free and slave states. During that period there were many notable freed slave that played significant roles in the advancement of the slaves. Isabella Baumfree also know as Sojourner Truth played a significant role...
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