Plessy v. Ferguson | Summary, Ruling, Background, & Impact (2024)

FAQs

Plessy v. Ferguson | Summary, Ruling, Background, & Impact? ›

Plessy

Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for people of color were equal in quality to those of white people, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal".

Plessy v. Ferguson provided the foundation for a system of segregation and exclusion that adversely affected African Americans throughout the twentieth century. Segregation was perpetuated by federal policies.

A case in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregated, "equal but separate" public accommodations for blacks and whites did not violate the 14th amendment. This ruling made segregation legal. Some railroad companies were on Plessy's side because they paid too much to maintain separate cars.

The Plessy Decision

In 1892, an African American man named Homer Plessy refused to give up his seat to a white man on a train in New Orleans, as he was required to do by Louisiana state law. Plessy was arrested and decided to contest the arrest in court.

The Court's “separate but equal” decision in Plessy v. Ferguson on that date upheld state-imposed Jim Crow laws. It became the legal basis for racial segregation in the United States for the next fifty years.

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Marshall and overturned Plessy by ruling that: “We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

Final answer: The Plessy v. Ferguson decision affirmed the principle of 'separate but equal,' allowing racial segregation as long as separate facilities for blacks and whites were equal.

Plessy v. Ferguson was the first time that an African American challenged segregation and brought attention to the issue. The decision of Plessy v. Ferguson made racial segregation more widely practiced and accepted in the United States.

Implementation of the “separate but equal” doctrine gave constitutional sanction to laws designed to achieve racial segregation by means of separate and equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites.

What was the impact of Plessy v. Ferguson on state rights? ›

Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent, it prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for more than half a century until it was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brownv.

After the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, segregation became even more ensconced through a battery of Southern laws and social customs known as “Jim Crow.” Schools, theaters, restaurants, and transportation cars were segregated.

Faced with the choice of spending 20 days in jail or paying a $25 fine, on Jan. 11, 1897, Plessy pled guilty and paid the fine. The effect of the decision was long-lasting, providing a legal basis for segregation laws nationwide throughout the first half of the 20th century.

In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.

Which best explains why the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional? Since segregation laws did not provide equal protections or liberties to non-whites, the ruling was not consistent with the 14th Amendment.

All the rest of his family was white. He looked white. When he boarded the "whites only" railroad car and handed his ticket to the conductor, Plessy had to tell the conductor that he was one eighth black. When he refused to move to the "blacks only" car, the conductor had him arrested.