What was Plessy vs Ferguson for kids?

Plessy v. Ferguson was an important U.S. Supreme Court case concerning whether racial segregation laws were constitutional. These laws required African Americans and whites to use different public facilities (see Jim Crow law).

Why was Plessy vs Ferguson so important?

Ferguson, (1896) U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the legality of racial segregation so long as facilities were “separate but equal.” The case involved a challenge to Louisiana laws requiring separate railcars for African Americans and whites.

Who won Plessy vs Ferguson?

Decision: With seven votes for Ferguson and one vote against, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory racial segregation was not in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite never using the term “separate, but equal,” the court’s ruling established that principle as a means of justifying segregation.

What was Plessy’s argument?

In 1892, Homer Plessy, seven-eighths white, seated himself in the whites-only car and was arrested. He argued that Louisiana’s segregation law violated the 13th Amendment banning of slavery and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

What was Plessy vs Ferguson and what did it lead to?

Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent, it prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for more than half a century until it was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brownv.

What happened after Plessy v. Ferguson?

After the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, segregation became even more ensconced through a battery of Southern laws and social customs known as “Jim Crow.” Schools, theaters, restaurants, and transportation cars were segregated.

When did Plessy vs Ferguson happen?

May 18, 1896Plessy v. Ferguson / Date decided

What did Plessy vs Ferguson decide?

Ferguson, Judgement, Decided May 18, 1896; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States; Record Group 267; Plessy v. Ferguson, 163, #15248, National Archives. The ruling in this Supreme Court case upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.”

WHO said separate but equal?

Ferguson. The decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, mostly known for the introduction of the “separate but equal” doctrine, was rendered on May 18, 1896 by the seven-to-one majority of the U.S. Supreme Court (one Justice did not participate).

What was Plessy v. Ferguson separate but equal?

“Separate but equal” refers to the infamously racist decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that allowed the use of segregation laws by states and local governments.

What does separate but equal mean in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Separate but Equal: The Law of the Land In the pivotal case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially separate facilities, if equal, did not violate the Constitution. Segregation, the Court said, was not discrimination.