...Plessy v. Ferguson Case Brief Diego Yanez Arizona State University In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, Homer Adolph Plessy made the decision of suing the city of Ferguson when he, a 7/8th's Caucasian man, was arrested for sitting in a "whites only" car and for refusing to move to the "blacks" section of the train, something fairly familiar in the late 1800’s where “separate but equal” was enforced not only in trains and other forms of transportation, but in schools and even something as small as bathrooms and drinking fountains. In this case, Plessy argued that his Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments had been broken. The question throughout the case is if Louisiana’s law requiring racial segregation on public transportation was infringing upon the constitutional rights of African Americans. In a seven to one vote, the supreme court decided for Ferguson where Justice Henry Brown wrote a majority opinion and Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion. Justice Henry Brown pointed out that the Fourteenth Amendment did not have anything to do with social equality, the Amendment was referring to equality in the form of law. The seven Justices who decided to vote in favor of Ferguson, did not believe that the separation of race by law “stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority”. (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896) The Justices firmly believed that one case would not change racial prejudice throughout the city or state, much...
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...On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the case Plessy v. Ferguson that segregation on railway cars did not conflict with the 13th and 14th Amendments, causing many people since then to wonder why anyone would think segregation was constitutional. The argument that segregation complied with the 13th Amendment was simple enough; the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, and the drivers of segregated railway cars technically were not forcing anyone to work as a slave (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896). The 14th Amendment had determined who qualified as a U.S. citizen and had stated that all citizens should receive equal treatment, so segregationists argued that people of color could be treated as "equal...
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...our kid friendly coaster is located in the “Public Record” section of radical refunstruction. Judicial Jaws is our care-free roller coaster. you’ll take off on a family-friendly coaster that spirals and dives around the forest, and swoops past Booker T Washington’s meet and greet. Passengers will sit two across with lap belts in a coaster cart. While waiting for your coaster, you will watch pre-screened recorded cases from Plessy V Ferguson, before entering your coaster cart you will be allowed to cast your vote on the Plessy v Ferguson trial. When the coaster comes to an end, you will be directed to an exit which will take you through an outdoor museum of artificial papers and final verdict of Plessy V Ferguson. Plessy V Ferguson was an...
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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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...What are the important and relevant faces of the case? 2. What issues is the court addressing? What is the legal problem? 3. What law is the court applying? 4. What is the court’s decision, analysis, and rationale? For this week, you 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...
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...of the supreme court that get a dissenting opinion. A dissenting opinion is an opinion that goes against the majority opinion of the court. One example of a dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court is the opinion of Justice John Marshall Harlan in the court case Plessy v. Ferguson. “In the state of Louisiana in 1890, an act of the General Assembly states that there are separate railway carriages for the white and colored races” (“Google”), this meant that African American people had to ride separately from caucasian people. However, On June 7, 1892, a man named Homer Plessy went against this act and was arrested for sitting in an all white railcar in Louisiana. Plessy argued in court that his rights had been violated under the Fourth, 13th, and 14th amendments, which promised him equal treatment as a...
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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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...Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark Supreme Court case that formalized segregation. The judge in this case stated if faculties were separate and equal for both black and white people, then it was fine to be segregated. The case started in 1892 shortly after Homer Plessy's arrest on June 7th of 1892. The case eventually made its way through, and on May 18th, 1896 the supreme court ruled that Louisiana did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment or Thirteenth Amendment. Throughout United States history, the law has been used to restrict African American rights, and Plessy v. The Ferguson case is the perfect example. Homer Plessy's and the Committee of Citizens impacted the lives of African Americans for decades from their involvement in the case....
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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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...Cases of Racism This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country" once said by Lyndon b. Johnson. All through out history their has been times were African Americans were treated poorly like the following (true) historical events that changed or altered the future. The following three are true Dred Scott vs. Sanford, Brown vs. board, and Plessy vs. Ferguson.these three cases all had one thing in common African Americans were being accused because of there color. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court upheld a Louisiana law requiring restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other public places to serve African Americans in separate, but ostensibly equal, accommodations. In establishing the separate but equal" doctrine, the Court said that segregation is "universally recognized as within the competency of states in the exercise of their police powers." In the sole dissent, Justice John Marshall Harlan -- a former slaveowner -- said the ruling would "stimulate aggressions, more or less brutal, upon the admitted rights of colored citizens. They were allowed to go in any public place because they saw that it was against the 14th amendment.this was a huge step...
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...beginning of the 20th century segregation was nationwide in America. There were many legal cases regarding segregation leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. One of the cases that caught people’s attention was Brown v. Board of Education. In order to understand this case we need to go back to Kansas in 1951. At the time Kansas stood apart from states in the South because segregation wasn’t really statewide. Instead Kansas gave cities with large populations of around 15,000 the ability to segregate their schools. Due to a Kansas Supreme Court decision in 1941 Topeka High School and several junior high schools were integrated because the Court found segregation unfair. By 1950 there were already 11 cases that challenged segregation in Kansas. McKinley Burnett the head of the NAACP Topeka chapter decided to file a 12th case in hopes that they could persuade Kansas to fully integrate the school system....
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...The case of Plessy v. Ferguson served as a catalyst for the implementation of “separate but equal” segregation laws that were deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court and which profoundly divided White and Colored America throughout the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. Freshly out of the Civil War, Black America gradually sought after more forms of freedom after the bondage of slavery was destroyed. While Black males especially were granted more citizenship liberties through the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, just when they thought White America could evolve into an accepting and open-minded society, all efforts were shut down by the Jim Crow laws. That is where the Plessy v. Ferguson case starts, the Supreme Court’s endorsement...
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...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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...Nicole Cummings POSU 343 Signature Assignment October 16, 2014 Brown vs. Board of Education The court case docketed Brown vs. Board of education was a culmination of several individuals seeking constitutional justice for their civil liberties. These brave individuals changed the course of history. This landmark case changed racial segregation in schools and allowed equal education to all regardless of race. Although the Declaration of Independence declared that all men were created equal, it wasn’t for many years after the ending of slavery that equal rights were strengthened and the effects of slavery were abolished. Amendments to the constitution were put into effect to equal out the balance of the laws due to racial segregation, but despite these amendments African-Americans were rarely given the equal treatment as their white counterparts. Many states, especially in the south, made segregation a legal practice. What became known as Jim Crow Laws, were regulations that enabled separate bathrooms, busses, and schools simply based on the color of their skin. Many people disagreed with these unjust laws, but only few made their opinion known in court. One of the first cases to be heard regarding unmerited segregation was brought to the Supreme Court by a gentleman by the name of Homer Plessy. Mr. Plessy refused to give up his seat on the train to a white man and was therefore arrested. He knew that this arrest violated the 14th amendments “equal protection clause”...
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...Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise ofjudicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution. The landmark decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury, who had been appointed by President John Adams as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia but whose commission was not subsequently delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force the new Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the documents. The Court, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, found firstly that Madison's refusal to deliver the commission was both illegal and remediable. Nonetheless, the Court stopped short of compelling Madison (by writ of mandamus) to hand over Marbury's commission, instead holding that the provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that enabled Marbury to bring his claim to the Supreme Court was itself unconstitutional, since it purported to extend the Court's original jurisdiction beyond that which Article III established. The petition was therefore denied. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing...
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