...Throughout history, many laws and acts have been decided upon and put into place by the court systems in the United States; the Plessy v. Ferguson case was no exception. The actions of the Committee of Citizens are what brought the Plessy v. Ferguson case into existence. As a result of these actions and the unjust case, many unfair regulations and laws were created and enforced. Some of those laws include the Separate-but-Equal doctrine and the Jim Crow laws. Every event surrounding the Plessy v. Ferguson case had a great impact on situations that occurred later in history. A certain circumstance surrounding the Committee of Citizens and their use of Homer Plessy in their fight against the Separate Car Act, along with segregation laws altogether,...
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...Is separate really equal? America is based off of their Constitution. We are known for our rights and freedom. Unfortunately not everyone has always been equal. In 1957, The Little Rock Nine started to change the segregation between races in school systems. Before Little Rock, there had been many fights for equality. Some of the main cases are Plessy V. Ferguson and Brown V. Board of Ed. After the Plessy V. Ferguson case it was agreed upon that every school would stay separate, but had to be equal, and this created the Plessy Doctrine. How could it be equal if they were separate? Even though they were supposed to be equal, the resources and education were dramatically different. Later in 1954 Linda Brown’s father decided he was not going...
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...Homer A. Plessy (P), who resided in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was defined by Louisiana law as a prosperous businessman and “octaroon” ”—one-eighth African American. Traveling by rail from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Plessy refused to sit in a designated black railway carriage car and instead attempted to sit in an all-white railway car. Plessy was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute stipulating segregated “separate but equal” railroad accommodations. Under this statute, individuals using facilities not designated for their race were criminally liable. Plessy had acted on behalf of a committee to purposely commit an offence in order to initiate a case that would stand against the Jim Crow laws –laws that mandated racial segregation. Justice John H. Ferguson (D) presided over...
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...An incident in 1892 involving an African American man Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car breaking a Louisiana law. In 1890 the law was put into play providing for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on its railroads. Plessy brought before Judge John H. Ferguson of criminal court for New Orleans, who upheld the law. The law later challenged by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it conflicted within the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The court later said that the law did not conflict with the Thirteenth amendment. The Court avoided discussion of the protection granted by the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids the states to make laws depriving citizens of their “privileges or...
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...need to find a case that deals with Due Process, the Equal Protection Clause or Delegation. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) What are the important and relevant faces of the case? The Case is based upon The Equal Protection Clause, in which, this case occurred one hundred and nineteen years ago, but it was very interesting as to see what has changed during the century. In 1890, Louisiana State passed laws prohibited races to sit together on railroads; something in common with segregation in the south in the 1950’s and buses. Trains were required to have seating for different races and were divided by curtains or some form of barricade to prevent the races from sitting beside one another. Homer Adolph Plessy, a Louisiana businessman, who lived a society of whites and blacks, happen to have a black grandparent, in which Louisiana law defined him as an “octaroon”, one eight of black heritage. Plessy did not consider himself black, but Louisiana did and therefore made him sit in the segregated area for blacks. Plessy did not agree and challenged the Jim Crow laws by breaking the law intentionally and sitting in an area of the train that Louisiana law said he was prohibited to sit in, in which case caused him to be arrested and charged with criminal violation of the state law. What issues is the court addressing? What is the legal problem? At the time, the legal issues the court is addressing, were the 13th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment that addressed...
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...Plessy v. Ferguson In 1896 the United States Supreme Court upheld a case that changed segregation. The Plessy v. Ferguson case declared that separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal. This court case set the “Separate but Equal” laws. After this court case was unjustified the black communities became outraged. In 1892 a man named Homer Plessy was taking a train to from New Orleans, LA to Covington, LA. Plessy could easily pass for white but he was considered black by the law. Plessy decided that he was going to sit in the white car instead of the black car. He identified himself as a black male and was arrested. Plessy was arrested for violating and 1890 Louisiana statue. The statue provided...
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...In 1890, New Orleans Society was a complete mess. They enforced segregation and pretty much broke the laws of the constitution. The issues with the Plessy v. Ferguson case was that the state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act which enforced a law that states, “that all railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in this state, shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white, and colored races, by providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train, or by dividing the passenger coaches by a partition so as to secure separate accommodations…” In disagreement, Plessy found a way to fight on the Act. On June 7, 1892, the defendant purchased a first class ticket from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana....
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...On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in rebellious states free. Although people of color were free, they still were not treated equally with whites. Slaves had a difficult time integrating into society after being freed. In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was introduced to ensure equal protection for citizens and to help issues former slaves were having trouble entering society. State and local governments could require that facilities be separated by race as long as they were equal. Facilities were rarely equal and whites had some facilities that blacks didn't. This created controversy and led to the “separate, but equal” clause. Homer Plessy was one man who would challenge...
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...Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Facts: On June 7, 1892 Homer Plessy, a biracial man from Louisiana attempted to sit in a first class all-white railroad car. After refusing to remove himself to the black passenger car, Plessy was arrested. Plessy had violated Louisiana’s Separate Cars Act; which required railroad companies to provide separate, but equal accommodations for its Black and White passengers. Procedural History: In the case of Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, U.S. District Court, Judge John H. Ferguson dismissed his contention that the act was unconstitutional. Ferguson maintained that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies while they operated within state boundaries....
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...Plessy v. Ferguson: To begin you must understand the significance of the court case Plessy vs. Ferguson in order to see the true importance of it. In 1890, Louisiana passed an act named the Separate Car Act. The law stated that all rail companies carrying passengers in Louisiana had to have separate but equal seating arrangements for white and non-white passengers. Also under this law declared that those who violated the act were to pay a fine or spend 20 days in jail. People especially blacks at the time felt that this act was unfair and unconstitutional. So one day a name by the name of Homer Plessy who was one-eighth black bought a first class ticket and boarded an all-white car. The rail company knew what was going to happen so upon his...
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...Case Title: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Plaintiff: Homer Adolph Plessy (man of mixed race) Defendant: John Howard Ferguson (louisiana judge) The Law: This case involves racial segregation laws and was the first major case to look into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s (1868) equal-protection clause. The equal-protection clause prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions. It also allowed for laws to be implemented that would achieve racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal facilities and services. The Facts of the Case: In 1891, 5 years before this case, a group in New Orleans created the Citizens’ Committee to Test the Constitutionality of the Separate Car Law. Homer Plessy purchased a railroad ticket for travel within Louisiana and decided to sit in a car reserved for white passengers only. Although Plessy appeared white he was one-eighth African American, meaning he should have been sitting...
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...Board of Education Brown v. Board of education case took place in 1954. It is one of the most important cases in the American history of racial prejudice. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized separate schools for blacks and whites unconstitutional. This decision became an important event of struggle against racial segregation in the United States. The Brown case proved that there is no way a separation on the base of race to be in a democratic society. Brown v. Board of education is not a case just about education and children, it is a case of everybody being equal. Brown v. Board of Education was a beginning for American people to understand that separate but equal is not the same. The Brown case revealed this. It was the reason why blacks and whites do not have separate accomodations any more. Separate and equal does not exist any more, Brown v. Board of eduacation made everyone equal. The first case in which African American challenged the doctrine of separate but equal in the United States public education system was in Boston Massachusetts in 1849. Prior to Brown v. Board (1954), from 1881 to 1949 there were eleven cases initiated to try an integrate schools in Kansas. The schools that the African American children attended were not equal to their white counterparts. Most of the time the African American students had to travel farther than white students to get to their schools. The schools for African Americans were run down with-of-date text...
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...The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson established the separate but equal doctrine that was prevalent throughout life in the South for over fifty years. The case involved a man by the name of Homer Adolph Plessy, who was a colored shoemaker from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was only 1/8 black and 7/8 white, but under Louisiana law he was considered black. It also involved a white Judge by the name of John Howard Ferguson. In 1892 Plessy was asked by the Citizens Committee which was a political group made up of African Americans and Creoles to help them challenge the Separate Car Act, which by Louisiana law separated blacks and whites in railroad cars. If a black was caught sitting in the white section of the cars, they could get either 20 days in jail or a $25 fine. He agreed to help the Committee. On June 7, 1892, Plessy purchased a first-class ticket at the Press Street Station in New Orleans to go to Covington, Louisiana. The railroad didn’t support the Separate Car Law, because of the expense and trouble involved with it. They chose this station for that reason and the station was in on the test as well. He sat in the white only section and waited for the conductor. When the conductor arrived he told him that he was only 1/8 black and that he refused to move to the colored car of the train. A hired detective told Plessy he was violating the law but he still refused. Since he would not move to the colored car he was arrested and jailed overnight and released on bond the next...
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...In 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy who is a mixed seven eighths white and one eighth african american sued John Ferguson a white judge on the United States District Court. Plessy strongly believed that the Louisiana Separate Car Act, also known as Act 111, which was established in 1890 was unconstitutional according to the thirteenth amendment and fourteenth amendment. The law stated that all railroads in the state of Louisiana must provide equal but separate accommodations for whites and people of color. Plessy and a group of Creoles, which are usually from european and african american decent, formed the Citizens Committee and planned to make a lawsuit against the Louisiana Separate Car Act. Plessy believed that the accommodations provided for african americans were not comparable to those of whites, thus making the act unconstitutional....
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...Chapter 19 Focus on Plessy v. Ferguson, a very important Supreme Court decision in 1896. What effect did it have on the Jim Crow laws? The African Americans was not treated equally within society. Many of their problems went to court to be fought for but it would be very hard for them to accomplish this because they whites did not want to give them much power. They fought to receive equal voting rights and equal protection for the African Americans within the south. The whites would murder them just so that they could keep control and not the African Americans. There was the civil war that was lead to equal right between the both races but the Jim Crow laws was not for this but racial segregation. However, the Plessy V. Ferguson a court decision is 1896 lead to separate but equal rights for towards both races. The Jim Crow laws was very specific on what African American could do with and around white they were not able to play any form of games together. They were not able to attend parties of one eight or more individuals of different races. They were not able to go to schools together so free African Americans schools was created so that they would not have to mix the races together, they could not go to schools of the other races. All railroad carrying passengers was also divided in to either by having separate passengers car or dividing one amongst them. Any female that has a child for a African American they would be sent for no less than eighteen months in...
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