The Beginning Of Civil Rights: Plessy Vs. Ferguson

The Beginning of Civil Rights As time evolves, the fight for the civil rights of African American citizens has been a continuous battle. When the term civil rights movement comes to mind, most people would think of Dr. King and the 1960s. While that time period contained an effective fight for civil rights, however, the early movement in the late 1800s sparked this constant uphill battle for equality of colored people. Two documents, “Address of a Convention of Negroes held in Alexandria, Virginia August 1865” and “Plessy vs. Ferguson” provide vivid insight to the struggles of African Americans following the Civil War.
In the document, “Address of a Convention of Negroes held in Alexandria Virginia August 1865,” it provides details about
Ferguson 1896” provides how this particular case had certain arguments pertaining to the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. The thirteenth amendment outlawed slavery in all states. The fourteenth amendment prohibits certain restrictive legislature in the states. This case had no conflict with the thirteenth amendment, but its implications of the fourteenth amendment could be debated. The Plessy vs. Ferguson case had serious connections as why the white and black race had to be specifically different. There were schools for white children and schools for black children. With the education system being so segregated, the funding from the state was very limited. So, neither the black or white schools had sufficient funds. If there had been one school per district, the funds would be better spent toward all of the students’ education. The document states, “the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority.” This statement implies that the government wanted the colored race to seem inferior to the white race. The Plessy vs. Ferguson case provides insight to the continuous efforts of the colored race to make their presence as people just like the white
In “Address of a Convention of Negroes held in Alexandria Virginia 1865,” it wants the civil rights of colored people on a more broad scale. The war had just recently ended, the former slaves had to adjust to living like a man out of bondage. By the time “Plessy vs. Ferguson” was written, the African American civilians had been living a free life for thirty years. This time around, the government were the shackles holding the colored people back. The government wanted to isolate whites from blacks by force, causing black people to walk around feeling inferior to the white race. The African Americans had to support each other in order to keep hope alive about being equal to their white counterparts. The main reason for support is that black people felt that they have same ambitions as white people, so there is no need to treat anyone any differently. The focus of the African Americans was to get the exact same opportunity as the person of a different race. The colored race wanted to be equal due the fear of being enslaved again was a topic to be thought about. Even though the thirteenth amendment prohibited slavery, the blacks still did not understand why they were still treated with so much disrespect. The colored people felt they could prevent it by coming together and taking a stand for what they felt was right. In the Plessy vs. Ferguson case, the African Americans had every