Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v. Ferguson:
Legalizing Segregation

Plessy v. Ferguson

Life during the "New South" for Black people

• Late 1800s after Civil War and Reconstruction

• Southern states passed "Jim Crow" laws

• These laws required racial segregation in public places

• Many Black Americans faced discrimination despite being free

• Homer Plessy, who was 1/8 Black, bought a first-class train ticket

• Sat in "whites-only" train car in Louisiana

• Arrested for violating Separate Car Act

• Planned challenge to test segregation laws

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Homer Plessy

Plessy's Case

• Plessy's lawyers argued:

  • 13th Amendment (ended slavery)

  • 14th Amendment (equal protection)

  • Segregation laws were unconstitutional

  • Violated civil rights

Multiple Choice

What type of laws were created to limit African-American rights?

• Apartheid Laws

• Border Patrol laws

• Desegregation laws

• Jim Crow Laws

Multiple Choice

Why did Homer Plessy sit in the whites-only car even though it was against the law?

• He was in a hurry

• It was a planned challenge to segregation laws

• He got lost and boarded the wrong railcar

• He thought the police wouldn't arrest him because he was part white

The Supreme Court Decision

• Court ruled against Plessy (7-1)

• Established "separate but equal" doctrine

• Said segregation was legal if facilities were equal

• Justice John Marshall Harlan's lone dissent

"Separate but Equal"

• Facilities were rarely equal

• Black schools received less funding

• Segregated facilities were often inferior

• Created legal basis for widespread segregation

Impact on American Society

• Led to increased segregation across the South

• Affected:

  • Schools

  • Public transportation

  • Restaurants

  • Other public facilities

Multiple Choice

Which Amendment was intended to provide "equal protection under the law" and ensure citizenship for all people born or naturalized in the U.S?

• 14th

• 15th

• 16th

• 17th

Multiple Choice

Why was "separate but equal" still unequal for African Americans?

• African Americans didn't want to be in the same facilities as whites

• White people began using colored only facilities

• African Americans often received inferior facilities and opportunities

• Black schools began to receive better funding

Legacy

• Remained law for 58 years

• Enforced racial segregation

• Created two separate societies

• Inspired civil rights movement

Multiple Choice

What Supreme Court case overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson almost 58 years later

• Roe v. Wade
• Miranda v. Arizona
• Loving v. Virginia
• Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education

• 1954 Supreme Court case

• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

• Ruled "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal"

• Major victory for civil rights