Plessy Case Analysis

Homer Plessy was a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state of Louisiana. On June 7, 1892, he purchased a first-class ticket on the East Louisiana Railway from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana. He entered a passenger car and took an empty seat in a car reserved for the whites only. The conductor demanded that he leave his seat and move to a car reserved for the “colored race.” When Plessy refused to move, he was arrested. He was brought to trial and found guilty of violating a state law requiring segregation on trains. Plessy appealed the decision of John Ferguson, the judge who claimed that as long as the railroad offered “separate but equal” seating, Plessy’s rights were protected. Plessy disagreed. He argued that the law was unconstitutional — that is, it went against the 14th Amendment.

How the case is decided depends upon whether a law passed by the state of Louisiana in 1890 requiring separate railroad cars for Black and white passengers is in keeping with the U.S. Constitution. The first section of the law states:

All railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in this state, shall provide separate but equal accommodations for the white and colored races.… No person or persons shall be permitted to occupy seats in coaches, other than the ones assigned to them, on account of the race they belong to.

​​The Dispute in Plessy v. Ferguson

​Amendment XIV (14) - (Ratified July 9, 1868)

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.…

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Multiple Choice

Reread the 14th Amendment Does the amendment allow states to pass segregation laws?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

What action led directly to Homer Plessy's arrest?

• Purchasing a first-class ticket.

• Traveling on the East Louisiana Railway.

• Refusing to move from a whites-only car to a "colored race" car.

• Appealing the decision of Judge Ferguson.

Multiple Choice

The Louisiana state law passed in 1890, which Homer Plessy was found guilty of violating, required railway companies to:

• Offer only first-class seating.

• Provide separate but equal accommodations for the white and colored races.

• Allow passengers to choose their own seats regardless of race.

• Stop service between New Orleans and Covington.

Multiple Choice

Homer Plessy argued that the Louisiana state law was unconstitutional because it went against which amendment?

• 1st

• 13th

• 14th

• 5th