Exploring Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v Ferguson

By 1877, Reconstruction ended due to opposition and political maneuvering, leading to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. This allowed white supremacists to restore pre-war racial hierarchies. Jim Crow laws were enacted, enforcing segregation and disenfranchising Black people. Homer Plessy's defiance of segregation laws led to the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the 'separate but equal' doctrine, allowing states to maintain segregation. Justice Harlan's dissent highlighted the injustice of this decision. The ruling institutionalized racism, persisting for decades and necessitating further civil rights efforts.

What year did Reconstruction end?

• 1865

• 1877

• 1885

• 1890

What was the result of the withdrawal of federal troops from the South?

• Re-establishment of racial hierarchy

• Increased federal control

• End of segregation

• Economic boom

Which laws were passed to enforce segregation and disenfranchise Black people?

• Emancipation Proclamation

• Voting Rights Act

• Civil Rights Act

• Jim Crow Laws

Who was Homer Plessy?

• A Supreme Court Justice

• A Louisiana state senator

• A man who challenged segregation laws

• A federal judge

What did Homer Plessy argue in his Supreme Court case?

• That segregation was beneficial

• That the law violated his 14th Amendment rights

• That he should be a Supreme Court Justice

• That federal troops should return to the South

What was the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson?

• Segregation should be abolished immediately

• Segregation was unconstitutional

• Segregation was constitutional if facilities were 'separate but equal'

• Federal government should enforce equal standards

What did the Supreme Court leave up to the individual states after the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling?

• To end Reconstruction

• To abolish segregation

• To guarantee equal standards

• To enforce federal laws

Who wrote the lone dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson?

• Justice John Marshall Harlan

• Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

• Justice Thurgood Marshall

• Justice Earl Warren

What did Justice Harlan's dissent argue?

• Segregation was beneficial

• The federal government should enforce segregation

• Equal accommodations would mislead no one

• Segregation was necessary for social order

What was the long-term impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision?

• It was quickly overturned

• It led to immediate equality

• It institutionalized racism for decades

• It ended segregation