Question #40068
1 Answer
Plessy vs Ferguson was a landmark case before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1896 that affirmed the constitutionality of separate but equal public facilities.
Explanation:
Homer Plessy purchased a first class ticket to ride the train in Lousisana. He was arrested and put in jail because the first class area where he paid to sit was reserved for only white customers.
The train conductor asked Homer to sit back in the area reserved for colored customers. Homer refused citing the. P 13th amendment claiming that the Lousianna law of separate facilities was unconstitutional.
Mr Plessy was found guilty by Judge John H. Ferguson and reprimanded to jail.. Mr. Plessy appeal his conviction to the supreme court of the United States claiming that Judge Ferguson has violated his ceivil rights as a United States citizen. The Supreme court agreed to hear the case which was tried in 1896.
The Supreme court ruled against Mr. Plessy. The court agreed with Judge Ferguson that the state of Lousiana had a right to establish separation laws as long as they maintained that the separate facilities were roughly equal.
This landmark decision established the principle of separate but equal as the justification and legal basis for segregation . This legal basis continued until being reverse in Brown vs Education.
