The idea of races in the United States being separate but equal was initially introduced in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case of 1896. Because of the outcome of this case the strive for equality became more difficult. The case’s outcome and the ideas that came about because of it attributed to many laws and social constructs that were set into place afterwards. Many of these beliefs and laws are seen while reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
In the first place, the Plessy vs. Ferguson case argued whether or not it was constitutional for different races to be legally required to sit in separate train cars. In 1892 Homer Plessy, a man who was seven out of eight parts white, sat down in the whites only section of the East Louisiana Railroad. The railroad company, who knew about his racial genealogy, asked Plessy to leave his seat. When …show more content…
By arresting him for sitting in the whites only section they were violating his thirteenth and fourteenth amendments which stated that there is equal treatment under the law. However, Ferguson, the judge of the case, stated that it was completely constitutional for louisiana to separate races within state boundaries.Homer Plessy lost the case and was fined twentyfive dollars. The committee of citizens brought Plessy’s case to the U.S. Supreme court, but unfortunately the ruling stayed the same.
As a result of the case’s ruling, racism became more prominent. In To Kill a Mockingbird many instances of racism are included, the most outstanding example would be Tom Robinson. Robinson’s treatment in this story is unfortunately very historically accurate to how African Americans were treated in this time. He was treated as if he were less than a white man, and looked down upon because of his skin color. At Tom Robinson’s trial he is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, despite all of the evidence pointing to the fact that he was innocent. He was also harassed and mistreated on a daily basis
In the first place, the Plessy vs. Ferguson case argued whether or not it was constitutional for different races to be legally required to sit in separate train cars. In 1892 Homer Plessy, a man who was seven out of eight parts white, sat down in the whites only section of the East Louisiana Railroad. The railroad company, who knew about his racial genealogy, asked Plessy to leave his seat. When …show more content…
By arresting him for sitting in the whites only section they were violating his thirteenth and fourteenth amendments which stated that there is equal treatment under the law. However, Ferguson, the judge of the case, stated that it was completely constitutional for louisiana to separate races within state boundaries.Homer Plessy lost the case and was fined twentyfive dollars. The committee of citizens brought Plessy’s case to the U.S. Supreme court, but unfortunately the ruling stayed the same.
As a result of the case’s ruling, racism became more prominent. In To Kill a Mockingbird many instances of racism are included, the most outstanding example would be Tom Robinson. Robinson’s treatment in this story is unfortunately very historically accurate to how African Americans were treated in this time. He was treated as if he were less than a white man, and looked down upon because of his skin color. At Tom Robinson’s trial he is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, despite all of the evidence pointing to the fact that he was innocent. He was also harassed and mistreated on a daily basis