Plessy v. Ferguson Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 163 U.S. 537 By: Cailey Dahlquist

Constitutional Issues: Parties Involved: Dealt with human/ african american/ racial rights Idea of constitutionality of having racial segregation “Separate but equal” Parties Involved: African American train passenger Homer Plessy John Howard Ferguson who acted as a legislative representative for the state of Louisiana

When and Where did this case take place? BackGround: In 1892 Louisiana, Homer Plessy refused to give up his seat in an “Whites Only” train car. He felt his rights were being infringed according to the U.S. Constitution even though Louisiana had passed the Separate Car Act in 1890. When and Where did this case take place? This case was originally tried in a Louisiana U.S. District Court before going to the Supreme Court.

Historical Context In 1877 the Compromise of 1877 led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. This shortly after the end of Reconstruction after the Civil War. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments had recently been passed. Florida became the first state to mandate segregated railroad cars in 1887, followed in quick succession by Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and other states by the end of the century.

Supreme Court Decision The court ruled in favor of Ferguson declaring separate-but-equal facilities constitutional on intrastate railroads Why: The Court ruled that the protections of 14th Amendment applied only to political and civil rights (like voting and jury service), not “social rights” (sitting in the railroad car of your choice). They also denied that segregated railroad cars for blacks were necessarily inferior.

View Points Opposing: The argument against this ruling is that the cars are not equal in quality so they are not separate but equal. It is also arguable that the 14th amendment overrides the Separate Cars Amendment Mine: Unfortunately I agree with the ruling. While I disagree with having separate areas for different races legally it was possible at this time.

Opinions The one person in the dissent wrote the dissent opinion, Justice John Marshall Harlan. His argument was that the constitution is colorblind and that we are all equal under the constitution so there can be no separation. In a seven to one decision where one judge Mr. Brewer did not participate favored ferguson. The seven in the majority had the majority opinion written by Justice Henry Billings Brown. They argued that unders the separate but equal clause that the separation of cars was legal.

Significance This court case set the precedence for all cases related to separation of people based on race and all general racial rights cases. This would give immediate justification to racial segregation and would make integration more difficult in the long run. This is considered a “Landmark” case because it was one of the first of its kind to deal with the legality of separation of individuals based on rase after the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.