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Facts of The Case

Homer Plessy, who was of mixed European and African descent, sat in the whites-only railroad car in Louisiana in violation of the state's Separate Car Act of 1890, which required racial segregation on trains. He was arrested and convicted. Plessy appealed his conviction, arguing that the law violated his 13th and 14th amendment rights. However, the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in a 7-1 decision, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine, which held that racial segregation was constitutional as long as the facilities for each race were equal. The lone dissenting justice argued that the Constitution is color-blind and does not allow for segregation or classes among citizens. This decision

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70 views6 pages

Facts of The Case

Homer Plessy, who was of mixed European and African descent, sat in the whites-only railroad car in Louisiana in violation of the state's Separate Car Act of 1890, which required racial segregation on trains. He was arrested and convicted. Plessy appealed his conviction, arguing that the law violated his 13th and 14th amendment rights. However, the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in a 7-1 decision, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine, which held that racial segregation was constitutional as long as the facilities for each race were equal. The lone dissenting justice argued that the Constitution is color-blind and does not allow for segregation or classes among citizens. This decision

Uploaded by

Dannie Chess
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

Plessy v Ferguson Case

Name

Institution
Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

I. Facts of the Case.

This case includes a man named Homer Plessy who has an European Descent and African

Descent. Homer Plessy purposefully wouldn't sit in a railroad carriage vehicle assigned for

Blacks and rather sat in a railroad implied for the whites.. Plessy was conceived as a freeman

but since of his genealogy he was viewed as black. Plessy was charged for disregarding the

Separate Car Act in 1890 and the case Home Plessy v. The State of Louisiana occurred. This

case maintained the established prerequisites of racial segregation in scenes implied for the

general population because of the separate but equal doctrine tenet. The law of separate car

act had been passed by the territory of Louisiana in 1890, which implied partition by

convenience on railroad vehicles.

II. The prosecution’s (or Plaintiffs) case.

The State of Louisiana saw Homer Plessy as guilty for abusing the separate Car act. The

appointed authority directing the case, John Howard Ferguson, decided that Louisiana

reserved the privilege to manage railroad organizations inside state limits. Subsequently,

Homer Plessy had the right to be condemned and pay $25 fine.

III. The defendant’s case.

The defendant (Plessy) argued that his rights were violated when he was denied his 13th and

14th amendment under the constitution as a freeman.

Plessy and the Committee of Citizens appealed this case to the United states Supreme Court.
Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

IV. Decision of the Supreme Court.

In a 7:1 unanimous decision, the court ruled against Plessy. The arguments in Pessy's 13th

and 14th amendment were ignored when the court held the doctrine "separate, but equal".

Marshall J. disagreed with the claims that the two races were the same. The judiciary has

declared the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment to maintain the absolute equality of two

races under the law (US LC 2008). In addition, the judiciary also rejected the argument that

the "separate, but the same" doctrine weakened that of color and made it appear inferior to

whites. He argued that these were simple quotes and that proclaiming new teachings would

not change the fact that the colors were different from those of whites. Justice said changing

the law would not change social beliefs at a time when whites were superior to their peers.

Finally, the judiciary said it was in compliance with the 14th Amendment and did not

require any changes. Rather, the question is whether this provision was made in good faith to

promote public acceptance of the good. They found that the law went further, as it promoted

the maintenance of peace and order among the public. In addition, the court ruled that there

was no reason to restrict the separation, as long as the structures at both ends of the separation

were also standard. The judge's opinion subsequently became an important element in the

Brown v. The Education Council (1954), which opposed segregation, argued that the law

encouraged the belief that people of color were inferior to whites. The judge argued that the

government could not promote racial discrimination by law. He also raised the hypothesis

that the law should be "color blind" so that one race could not dominate another by racial

segregation to superiority and considered it unconstitutional.

V. Dissenting Opinion(s)
Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

The purpose of the stature was to exclude the colored people from coaches occupied

by whites. The Constitution is color-blind. It neither knows nor tolerates classes

among citizens.

In my opinion, the 14th amendment was adopted in order to enforce the equality among the

races. However, I would not rule in favour of Homer Plessy by considering the 14th

amendment because failing to enforce interactions between race does not make any race

inferior. In my opinion, enforcement of 14th amendment does not does not abolish differences

based on colour.
Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

References.

JUSTIA U.S Supreme Court (2015). Plessy v. Ferguson163 U.S. 537 (1896)

Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/163/537/case.html

Brown v. Board of Education – Case Brief Summary. Summary of Brown v. Board of

Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954) Retrieved

from http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown-board-education.html

Landmark cases of the United Supreme Court (2008). Street law/Summary of the Decision

Retrieved from http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/436/Summary_of_the_Decision


Running Head: Plessy v Ferguson Case

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