The U.S is known for its liberty and equality. However, the Supreme Court once had to decide on the rights for African Americans. Since the abolishment of slavery, one court case before the Supreme Court sided against the African American plaintiff fighting for equal rights. In this case the plaintiff, Homer Plessy was arguing his right to ride in a "white only" train car. Unfortunately, he lost his case in Plessy vs Ferguson. Decades later, another plaintiff, Oliver Brown, also took a case before the Supreme Court. Conversely, in this case, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Brown vs Board of Education. This decision began the integration of schools. Despite the fact that these two cases took place almost 60 years apart, they both dealt with a similar issue. In 1892 the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 against Homer Plessy, a one-eighth black man who fought to sit in a train car reserved for white people in Louisiana 1. Since he was not allowed to ride in said cars, his 14th amendment right against discrimination of any American citizen was violated 1. The Supreme Court rejected Plessy's argument that Louisiana law conflicted with the thirteenth amendment and the fourteenth amendment 1. The justices claimed however, that separation of races does not make someone feel …show more content…
The Supreme Court ruled that education was extremely important and "the very foundation of good citizenship" 1. In addition, the Supreme Court said segregation implied inferiority in a child and made them not want to try as they wouldn't be recognized if they did 1. The court supported good education as being necessary to succeed in life. They ruled access to a good education was “a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”
In June 1892 Homer A. Plessy bought a first-class ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad and sat in the car designated for whites only. Plessy was of mixed African and European ancestry, and he looked white. Because the Citizens Committee wanted to challenge the segregation law in court, it alerted railroad officials that Plessy would be sitting in the whites only car, even though he was partly of African descent. Plessy was arrested and brought to court for arraignment before Judge John H. Ferguson of the U.S. District Court in Louisiana. Plessy then attempted to halt the trial by suing Ferguson on the grounds that the segregation law was unconstitutional.
Education has long been regarded as a valuable asset for all of America's youth. Yet, when this benefit is denied to a specific group, measures must be taken to protect its educational right. In the 1950's, a courageous group of activists launched a legal attack on segregation in schools. At the head of this attack was NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall; his legal strategies would contribute greatly to the dissolution of educational segregation.
Assassinations, riots, and boycotting all led up to the society we have today. Whites and blacks were not allowed to be friends, class mates or even be around each other. They had separate things which listed whites only and blacks only. This included schools, railroad cars, and busses.Two key cases are Plessy v.s. Ferguson and Brown v.s. Board of Education. The majority and minority’s decisions for these two cases set precedent that will effect everyone in America. These landmark cases are closely related because they helped provide the true intent of the 13th and 14th amendment. In addition, Plessy v.s. Ferguson and Brown v.s. Board of Education effectively help revolutionize the interpretation of the 13th and 14th amendment.
On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a thirty year-old shoemaker bought a first class ticket preparing to travel from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana. Homer Plessy was something called a “Creole of Color” a phrase used to describe black people in New Orleans that trace their ancestry to the French, the Spanish and the Caribbean settlers. He had a very light colored skin tone and was only one eighth black. Even so, he was required by law to sit in the black section of the train. He boarded the train and sat in the “white” car. (Wormser) The conductor questioned him, and after refusing to move he was arrested and charged with not following state law. He went first to the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, and Tourgee, the hired lawyer, brought his case that the “separate but equal” rules were unconstitutional. Judge John H. Ferguson ruled against him, but that did not stop Homer Plessy. Instead, he applied to the State Supreme Court for the ability to go on to the United States Supreme Court. (Wormser)
On July 19, 1890, Louisiana passed an act that provided equal but separate accommodations for black and white American citizen. Homer Plessy, challenged the statute in 1896 declaring, since he was seven-eighths Caucasian and one-eighth African blood, he was entailed to all of the same rights and privileges of the
In 1892, Homer Plessy, a 30 year old male shoemaker who was an eighth black, paid for a first class train ticket and took a seat in the “all whites” section of the train. Because he was an octoroon he was still placed under the Black Codes of Louisiana. He was asked to move to the blacks train car and he refused. ( In earlier times, it was okay for him to because he was mostly white, but because of the Louisiana law he was considered “colored”.) He was arrested for it, and he argued to the courts that the case violated the
Most African Americans have faced many injustices, but one court case that can be considered as a major win is Brown versus Board of Education (1965). The case was about how a girl named Linda Brown not being allowed to attend an all-white elementary school. The jurors debated on the fourteen amendment and on the term “separate but equal” (“Brown v. Board of Education”). After many discussions and debate later, court case decision not only gave justice to the little girl, but also to the case regarding Jim Crow like Plessy versus Ferguson that faced injustice of the “separate but equal” which in 1965, “the Supreme Court produced a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy vs. Ferguson” (“Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education”). The case of Brown versus the Board of education was one of the most significant cases because this case was the stepping stone to the justices of previous cases that were ruled against for the fourteen amendment for many minorities. This case shows that peoples’ view point are slowly changing even when discrimination is prevalent; this was not the first time minorities wanted justice for their kids to attend diverse
Prompt- How did the Compromise of 1877 along with Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson affect our nation from 1877 till the 1960s?
The trial of Plessy and Ferguson saw Jim Crow Laws take control of Blacks and slaves of the The Reconstruction Era, the newly freed slaves of the Reconstruction Era was segregated and abolished from society. Firstly, it introduced Jim Crow Laws which segregated blacks and targeted them. They could enforce the Jim Crow laws and if broken they could impose legal actions because of one legal action and placid thoughts of blacks. One such example of a Jim Crow law in North Carolina implies, “Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them.” It was segregated by race. Secondly, To define who set in the decision, we all want to forget how Plessy set the laws about
There has been a long struggle for the equality of races built from blatant racism and the belief that one race is superior over the other. In some events there has been concern over constitutional rights being ignored creating inequality favoring whites over blacks. The Supreme Court Case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 both dealt with black American citizens who felt discriminated against based on their race. Plessy v. Ferguson had determined that “separate but equal” was fair, but Brown v. Board challenged the previous ruling on racial equality and decided separate could never be equal.
Since Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the criminal justice system of the United States has moved past racial discrimination greatly. With the election of President Obama in 2008, it would be easier to say that discrimination no longer exists in the criminal justice system. However, despite the progress that people of colour have made in society, there still exists a great racial disparity that can be seen through the rising trends of the sentencing and incarceration of minorities.
He sat in the white's section and purposely stated to the conducted that he was one eight African American. This was all a test backed up by the Citizen's Committee. The conductor told him to leave but Plessy refused. He was kicked off the train and jailed overnight. The bond to release him was $500. Plessy was protesting for the 13th and 14th amendment rights. He wanted to bring awareness to the fact that African Americans were not treated equally due to the color of their skin. Plessy pressed charges against the state of Louisiana for restricting and limiting the Equal Protection Clause which is under the 14th amendment. This implies that no state can limit the equal protection of laws to any individual. No African American should be denied any rights that a white person has. Ferguson countered Plessy's points by stating that each state has the right to make rules in order to maintain public safety. Keeping races from intermixing would lessen the violence for everyone. Judge Ferguson found Plessy guilty at the Louisiana state court. Plessy kept fighting and after bringing attention to the trial and suing Ferguson for a wrong interpretation of the case it made its way to the Supreme
In the consequence for Reconstruction, which ended 1877, those southern state legislatures once more became—as they stayed in the North—“white man's administrations. ” the new state Assemblies sanctioned jim crow laws to legitimately isolate the races Also force inferior citizenship upon african Americans. Upheld by criminal penalties, these laws made differentiate schools, parks, sitting tight rooms, and other isolated government funded lodging. Done its decision in the social equality instances from claiming 1883, the court settled on clear that those equivalent insurance statement of the fourteenth alteration furnished no assurance against private isolation. It might Right away a chance to be required will standard for the thing that security
In 1896 is was a landmark in the constitution law was case by the us Supreme Court was considered the constitutionality. Plessy vs Ferguson was an unshared in the era of legally sunctioned of racial segregation. On june 7 of 1892 he purchased a first class ticket for a trip between New Orleans and Covington La. Which banned in the slaver. In the court of the of Justice.In the 1892 Pleesy was refuse to sit on a Jim Crow car was breaking a Louisiana law. In 1954 Then fight in 1954 it was Brown vs Board of the education of the capital of kansas is Topeka in the 1954. When time the Plessy vs the Ferguson is the battle of the Supreme Court of the Washington Monument. When the plessy won on the first debate. Then his die on
In the 1950s in Topeka, Kansas Linda Brown, a young African-American girl, had to walk many blocks and by a railroad track just to receive an education. With an all-white school located near her home, because of her race, her family had to walk the extra miles compared to her white neighbors. When her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the local school, Linda was refused admission because she was African-American. The Brown v. Board of Education was a justified Supreme Court case because every person has the right to an education and the color of one’s skin should not prevent that, it provided safety and convenience for people, it was an advancement to a more diversified and unified United States, and it overrode another Supreme Court case. Not only did the Brown v. Board of Education case attain to what is on the 14th amendment, it plays a factor in initiating the