Racism has plagued our country since its creation. African Americans have been enslaved to help build America to what it is today. In Law, there have been many cases that have made an effort to outlaw the unfairness of segregation. Two specific cases that dealt with this were, Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education. These cases were related to each other because one changed the precedent of the other and essentially changed the course of American History.
To start with, Plessy vs. Ferguson was a significant case that happened in 1892. It was about a man under the name of Homer Plessy, who was one eighth black and sat in the white designated railroad train car after purchasing a first class ticket. As a result, Homer Plessy was arrested for the violation of the Separate Car Act. When Plessy went to court, he claimed that the Act had violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. As a result, the majority decision was a 7-1 ruling in favor of Ferguson. Consequently, his arguments were rejected due to the Separate Car Act not conflicting with the Thirteenth Amendment because it did not initiate slavery. Justice Henry Billings Brown also argued, that the Act didn’t conflict against the Fourteenth Amendment either. Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion that states that, “segregationist laws …show more content…
Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education are two historical cases that are both dealing with segregation, equal rights, and changed the course of American history. This is all important because it changed laws where segregation could not exist in many locations. Likewise, where we can say that we may be separate in the race we are but all equal as citizens. In the future, people of different races will never have to worry about these laws because these landmark cases fixed the issues. Where would America be today if these people didn’t have the courage to stand up for what they thought was
To start with, Plessy vs. Ferguson was a significant case that happened in 1892. It was about a man under the name of Homer Plessy, who was one eighth black and sat in the white designated railroad train car after purchasing a first class ticket. As a result, Homer Plessy was arrested for the violation of the Separate Car Act. When Plessy went to court, he claimed that the Act had violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. As a result, the majority decision was a 7-1 ruling in favor of Ferguson. Consequently, his arguments were rejected due to the Separate Car Act not conflicting with the Thirteenth Amendment because it did not initiate slavery. Justice Henry Billings Brown also argued, that the Act didn’t conflict against the Fourteenth Amendment either. Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion that states that, “segregationist laws …show more content…
Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education are two historical cases that are both dealing with segregation, equal rights, and changed the course of American history. This is all important because it changed laws where segregation could not exist in many locations. Likewise, where we can say that we may be separate in the race we are but all equal as citizens. In the future, people of different races will never have to worry about these laws because these landmark cases fixed the issues. Where would America be today if these people didn’t have the courage to stand up for what they thought was