Plessy Vs Ferguson Case Study
Plessy v Ferguson
Before the supreme court case Plessy v Ferguson was put into action African Americans and caucasians had separate everything, due to racial discrimination. Plessy v Ferguson began whenever a man named Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a “white only” car. After going to court multiple times with this case, the supreme court set the doctrine Plessy v Ferguson in place. The doctrine stated that it was constitutional to have separate facilities for both caucasians and African Americans as long as the facilities were “equal”.
On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to give up his seat on a “whites only” car. Plessy was ⅞ caucasian and ⅛ African American, but the state still considered
him African American. With him being African American according to Louisiana state he was not allowed to ride in a “white only” car, he had to ride in a “colored” car. Louisiana’s judge, John Howard Ferguson, declared Plessy guilty of refusing to leave the white only car. Ferguson said Plessy’s actions went against the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. Ferguson gave Plessy the option of sitting twenty days in jail or paying a twentyfive dollar fine, Plessy chose jail.
The Plessy decision set the precedent that “separate” facilities for African Americans and caucasians were constitutional as long as the facilities were “equal”. The Plessy v Ferguson doctrine was used to cover many public areas such as: restaurants, theaters, restrooms, water fountains, and public schools. Years later they realized that “separate but equal” was not constitutional because although the facilities were said to be equal, they weren’t. The caucasians facilities were modern and clean, while African American’s facilities were not modern or clean. Plessy v Ferguson went on for many years, but in 1954 the doctrine was struck down and replaced. Brown v Board replaced the Plessy v Ferguson doctrine by integrating schools and other public facilities.
Before the supreme court case Plessy v Ferguson was put into action African Americans and caucasians had separate everything, due to racial discrimination. Plessy v Ferguson began whenever a man named Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a “white only” car. After going to court multiple times with this case, the supreme court set the doctrine Plessy v Ferguson in place. The doctrine stated that it was constitutional to have separate facilities for both caucasians and African Americans as long as the facilities were “equal”.
On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to give up his seat on a “whites only” car. Plessy was ⅞ caucasian and ⅛ African American, but the state still considered
him African American. With him being African American according to Louisiana state he was not allowed to ride in a “white only” car, he had to ride in a “colored” car. Louisiana’s judge, John Howard Ferguson, declared Plessy guilty of refusing to leave the white only car. Ferguson said Plessy’s actions went against the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. Ferguson gave Plessy the option of sitting twenty days in jail or paying a twentyfive dollar fine, Plessy chose jail.
The Plessy decision set the precedent that “separate” facilities for African Americans and caucasians were constitutional as long as the facilities were “equal”. The Plessy v Ferguson doctrine was used to cover many public areas such as: restaurants, theaters, restrooms, water fountains, and public schools. Years later they realized that “separate but equal” was not constitutional because although the facilities were said to be equal, they weren’t. The caucasians facilities were modern and clean, while African American’s facilities were not modern or clean. Plessy v Ferguson went on for many years, but in 1954 the doctrine was struck down and replaced. Brown v Board replaced the Plessy v Ferguson doctrine by integrating schools and other public facilities.