Primary Sources: Plessy v. Ferguson

How did Plessy's actions lead to this court case?

• Plessy claimed the train conductor was treating him like a slave.

• Plessy refused to leave his seat in a white area of the train.

• Plessy questioned the new amendments to the Constitution.

• Plessy attempted to escape from a prison located in Louisiana.

Which option is a summary of the section "The Petition And The Facts"?

• Homer Plessy filed a complaint against John H. Ferguson, a judge in criminal district court in New Orleans. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court.

• Homer Plessy was forced out of a train car for white passengers because he was one-eighth black. He brought his case to court after being charged with a crime.

• Homer Plessy was a United States citizen living in Louisiana. That made him entitled to every right, privilege and immunity of a citizen of the United States.

• Homer Plessy bought a ticket on the East Louisiana Railway. He took a seat on the train in a section reserved for passengers who were white.

What was the purpose of the Plessy v. Ferguson document?

• to decide if the Louisiana law conflicted with the Constitution

• to show the reasons that Plessy did not want to give up his seat

• to argue that Louisiana should follow the same laws as other states

• to compare opinions about the amendments in the Constitution

Which sentence BEST summarizes Marshall's central idea from the following paragraph?

The separation of citizens on a public highway, because of race, cannot be legally justified. It goes against civil freedom. It goes against equality guaranteed by the Constitution.

• Treating people differently based on race violates the legal promises made by the Constitution.

• Many of the court's decisions are supported by the guarantees made by the Constitution.

• Some civil freedoms cannot be guaranteed by the laws of the United States.

• Not all people are equally protected by the laws of the United States.

How has the nation's opinion about citizenship changed since this decision?

• The court no longer believes that the Constitution promises people born in the United States are citizens.

• The court no longer believes that individual citizens should care about their society.

• The court no longer believes that slavery is wrong and should be against the law in all states.

• The court no longer believes that black and white people can be separated as long as they are still equal.

Which of the options below explains the purpose of the following statement from the section "Justice Henry BROWN Delivered The Opinion Of The Court"?

The plaintiff's argument assumes that laws separating races treat the colored race as lesser. If this is so, it is not because of anything found in this law ... The argument also assumes that laws may defeat social prejudices.

1. to suggest that separating races does not mean anyone is treated unfairly

2. to suggest that racial equality is impossible

3. to suggest that Plessy does not understand the law

4. to suggest that the law is unfair to Plessy

• 1

• 4

• 1 and 3

• 2 and 4

How did the Dred Scott case impact Justice John Marshall Harlan's opinion about the court's decision?

• He viewed it as proof that being a citizen of the United States is a great responsibility.

• He discussed it as model for deciding which rights every citizen deserves.

• He saw it as another time that the Supreme Court took away the rights of black people.

• He used it as an example of how changes to the law can occur slowly.

Which selection from the article BEST captures Justice Harlan's point of view about why the law should be changed?

• It has been argued that the Louisiana law does not discriminate because it applies equally to all races.

• People of African descent had no constitutional rights. The court said that black people were not citizens, whether emancipated or not.

• We boast of our nation's freedoms. That boast is untruthful if we have laws that treat a large class of our fellow citizens unequally.

• I do not believe it necessary to review the decisions of other courts that support the decision made today. Most were made before the last amendments to the Constitution.