Plessy v. Ferguson Worksheets
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Summary
- Background of the Case
- Arguments Before the Supreme Court
- The "Separate but Equal" Doctrine
- Justice Harlan's Dissent
- Impact on American Society
- Overturning of Plessy v. Ferguson
Key Facts And Information
Let’s find out more about Plessy v. Ferguson!
Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld the legality of racial segregation laws. The Court's ruling established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which deemed that separate facilities for Black and white people were permissible as long as they were equal in quality. However, the facilities provided for Black people were never equal in quality to those available for white people.
This decision led to unfair treatment of Black Americans for many years. It was not until 1954, with the Brown v. Board of Education decision, that the "separate but equal" doctrine was finally overturned.
Placard mark where Plessy was arrested
Background of the Case
- In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which mandated separate railway carriages for Black and white passengers. This law was a prime example of the Jim Crow laws that were being enacted throughout the South to disenfranchise African Americans and enforce racial segregation.
- Homer Plessy, a resident of New Orleans who was of mixed racial heritage (seven-eighths white and one-eighth Black), deliberately challenged the Separate Car Act. On 7 June 1892, Plessy boarded a "whites-only" train car in New Orleans.
- He refused to move to the "coloured" car when asked and was subsequently arrested. This act of defiance was a planned effort by the Comité des Citoyens, a group of Black citizens in New Orleans who sought to overturn the segregation law.
- Plessy's case was first heard in a New Orleans court, where Judge John H. Ferguson ruled against him, upholding the constitutionality of the Separate Car Act.
- Plessy's lawyers appealed the decision, arguing that the law violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed equal protection under the law. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896.
Arguments Before the Supreme Court
- Oral arguments in Plessy v. Ferguson were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on 13 April 1896. Plessy's lawyers argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
13th Amendment
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- Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
14th Amendment
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- Section 1. 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 any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
- They argued that the law created a distinction between citizens based solely on race, which inherently implied that Black citizens were inferior to white citizens.
- They stated that the law violated the Thirteenth Amendment's abolition of slavery and its badges and incidents. They also argued that the law denied Plessy his right to "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Lawyers representing the state of Louisiana argued that the Separate Car Act was a reasonable exercise of the state's police power, which allowed states to enact laws to maintain peace and order.
- They argued that the law did not discriminate against Black people but simply separated the races for the comfort and convenience of all passengers. They also argued that states had the right to regulate railroads within their borders, including the power to enact laws requiring separate accommodations for Black and white passengers.
Caricature of "White" and "Jim Crow" rail cars
The "Separate but Equal" Doctrine
- The Supreme Court issued its ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson on 18 May 1896. By a margin of 7-1, the Court ruled in favour of Louisiana, upholding the constitutionality of the Separate Car Act.
- Associate Justice Henry Billings Brown authored the majority opinion in the case that rejected Plessy’s arguments that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.
- Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, the majority opinion stated that racial segregation in public facilities “imposes no badge of slavery or involuntary servitude… but at most, infringes rights which are protected from State aggression by the 14th Amendment”.
- While the court agreed that the Fourteenth Amendment was meant to promote equality between races, it said that "it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based on colour, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a mixing of the two races unsatisfactory to either."
- Plessy’s lawyers did argue that the racial segregation laws implied that Black people were an inferior race and thus violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; however, the Court rejected this, saying that racial prejudice could not be overcome by legislation.
- The Plessy v. Ferguson decision established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which permitted racial segregation in public facilities, including schools, parks, restrooms, and transportation. The Court ruled that separate facilities for Black and white citizens did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause as long as the facilities were equal in quality.
- However, the Court did not define "equal." In practice, facilities for Black people were almost always inferior to those provided for white people. The "separate but equal" doctrine legitimised and legalised racial segregation and discrimination in the United States for decades.
Justice Harlan's Dissent
- Justice John Marshall Harlan, ironically a former enslaver from Kentucky, authored the sole dissenting voice against the majority’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. He disagreed with the decision of the court to reject Plessy’s argument that the racial segregation laws implied that Black people were an inferior race. He accused the majority of being willfully ignorant on the subject.
- To prove his point, Harlan pointed to the Louisiana law itself, which allowed Black women who were nannies to white children to ride in white-only cars. This showed that Black people could only be in white-only cars if they were “socially subordinate” to whites. Moreover, he argued that if many 19th-century white Americans considered themselves socially superior to other races, the US Constitution could not permit any classes among citizens in matters of civil rights.
- Harlan warned his colleagues that their decision would one day be as infamous as the Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857, which denied citizenship to African-Americans. This prediction proved accurate, as both the Dred Scott case and Plessy are now often cited among the Supreme Court's worst and most damaging decisions.
Impact on American Society
- The Plessy v. Ferguson decision had a damaging impact on American society. The "separate but equal" doctrine enshrined in law the practice of racial segregation, primarily in the Southern and border states.
This resulted in:
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- Widespread Disenfranchisement. Black Americans were systematically denied equal access to education, healthcare, housing, and public accommodations.
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- Inferior Facilities and Services: Facilities designated for Black Americans were consistently underfunded and inferior in quality compared to those for white Americans.
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- Reinforcement of Racial Prejudice: The "separate but equal" doctrine reinforced existing racial prejudices and stereotypes, contributing to a culture of white supremacy.
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- Legal Challenges and Activism: The Plessy decision caused decades of legal challenges and activism aimed at overturning segregation and achieving racial equality.
Overturning of Plessy v. Ferguson
- The "separate but equal" doctrine put forth in Plessy v. Ferguson prolonged racial segregation and discrimination for decades.
- However, the fight against racial injustice continued, and legal challenges to segregation mounted.
- In 1954, the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education directly challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine in public education.
- The Court, recognising the inherent inequality of segregated schools, unanimously ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This decision marked a turning point in the fight for civil rights, effectively overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.
- While Brown v. Board of Education dealt specifically with education, its principles paved the way for the desegregation of other public facilities and services.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 further dismantled the legal framework of segregation, outlawing discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What was Plessy v. Ferguson?
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal."
- What was the "separate but equal" doctrine?
The "separate but equal" doctrine was a legal principle that justified and permitted racial segregation as long as the separate facilities for Black and White people were purportedly equal in quality.
- What was the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson?
In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that state laws requiring racial segregation in public and private sectors were constitutional as long as the facilities provided to each race were equal in quality.