Plessy V. Court Case Study

Improved Essays
Evan Reed
Mrs. Holt
MJ Legal Studies
October 8, 2017

Court Cases: Brown v. Board Of Education & Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln abolished slaveryy at the end of the Civil War,. Between 1864 and 1964, a lot of work had to be done to integrate colored people into a mostly white society. By the1890s when the court case Plessy v Ferguson arose, blacks were treated as inferior in this country. It took a long while but eventually colored people were more accepted in American society, but separately, which was not the same. Then it took another sixty years, to the 1950s, when separate colored and white schools became unconstitutional thanks to Brown v Board of Education, finishing the separate but equal doctrine.

Plessy s. Ferguson
…show more content…
Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson both dealt with segregation of whites and blacks. In Plessy, the court allowed segregation in the railroads using the separate but equal doctrine. As long as whites and blacks received equal treatment under the law, they could be legally separated on trains. In Plessy the court said legal separation might be morally or socially wrong but since the Fourteenth Amendment only required equal treatment of legal rights, segregation did not conflict with the Constitution. In Brown, the court said segregation in a public school was not the same thing and the separate but equal doctrine was not used. In the public schools, the whites got better schools in safer areas while blacks went to schools that were shoddy, making them feel inferior and not giving them equal opportunities. It was also important to the court that unlike the trains in Plessy, this case dealt with children’s futures. Children who went to white schools received better education and more opportunities. Children who went to colored schools did …show more content…
Board of Education was about a young girl named Linda Brown, everyday she would go to school taking a dangerous route past a switchyard. She went to a small, old, run down school while white children would go to a school that was nice and well kept. Her family believed that the segregated school system violated the Fourteenth Amendment and took their case to court. The Federal district court decided that segregation in public education was harmful to black children, but because all-black schools and all-white schools had similar transportation, classes, teachers, and buildings, it was legal. The Browns took their case to the Supreme Court. According to landmark cases.org “The Court decided that state laws requiring separate but equal schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” The Majority Opinion was that “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal. In Plessy the court had looked at tangible things like transportation, buildings and teacher salaries. In Brown, the court examined the subtle intangible effects of segregation in public education such as making blacks feel inferior. Many schools were separating children solely based on race creating inferiority. The majority also said segregation of public education denied African American children equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th amendment. As a result of Brown v. Board of Education, 14 years later, schools were starting to desegregate under the order of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The majority decision in this case was unanimous but Supreme Court chose to side with Brown. According to “Landmark Cases of the U.S. Supreme Court.” Summary of the Decision | (www.Streetlaw.org, landmarkcases.org/en/Page/522/Summary_of_the_Decision), " The Court found the practice of segregation unconstitutional and refused to apply to its decision on Plessy v. Ferguson to 'the field of public education'. " This means that the Court thought that it was wrong to separate schools by race and call them equal, because if everyone was equal they wouldn't be separated. This allowed for the precedent to be made that anyone segregating a race would doing wrong on the Constitution.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Separate but equal” It was a phrase that echoed through time as a decision that created an insurmountable amount of tension between races, until it was stricken down later in history. Though the decisions of Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson were the exact opposite, Plessy v. Ferguson directly influenced the decision of Brown v. Board of Education. The court case Plessy v. Ferguson was case brought by Mr. Homer Plessy, who was appealing because he believed the rail car company had no reason to move him from his car just because he was ⅛ black, meaning his great grandfather was black. The Supreme Court’s decisions would go in favor of the rail car company and would echo into history the okayness of the US believing the separate…

    • 1832 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s scary to think that only 61 years ago, American schools were still racially segregated, and African American children were kept away from white children. Earlier in 1896, a Supreme Court case called Plessy v. Ferguson made segregation legal as long as the facilities were equal (McBride). In the middle of the twentieth century, many people were working together to challenge these segregation laws. A man named Oliver Brown was one of the many people who challenged segregation laws when he brought the Topeka, Kansas school board to court. Brown v. Board of Education took place in 1954, and surprisingly, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson are two historical events that have had an outstanding impact to the United States. In the next few paragraphs I will explain a few main points about what happened during their cases. Such as what the cases are about, why they chose to create the case and how it’s affecting the society, the decision for the majority and minority’s decision on how the case will take place for the citizens, and never less, the key precedents. Furthermore, I will go on to explain about the Plessy v. Ferguson case first. Plessy v. Ferguson was an astonishing case on wanting to be “separate but equal”.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brown argued that racial segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause because the city’s black and white schools weren't equal to each other. The federal district court ignored his statement, ruling that the segregated public schools were considerably equal enough to be constitutional. Brown sent a request to the U.S Supreme Court, which considered, then reviewed all the school segregation actions together. The Court spoke in a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Earl Warren. The decision ultimately upheld that racial segregation of African American children in public schools is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Together these cases, representing school segregation as a national issue, were initially brought to the supreme court on December 9,1952. Reaching a decision in 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”. Although this combination of court cases even reaching the Supreme Court seemed to be an advancement towards greater equality, the decision had little impact on the deeper issues at hand. The court focused on desegregation as the assignment of students without considering other factors including race, religion, or nationality.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution ensures that all United States citizens get equal protection of laws by the government. This was made to ensure that many African Americans have their basic rights protected. The 14th Amendment even caused the Supreme Court to become involved in the process of protecting these rights for the children of immigrants and Native Americans. It also ensured the safety and protection of rights for all Americans regardless of race. There are numerous cases where the 14th Amendment was used to make the cases about the facts rather than the race.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Discrimination and racism are both things that happen a lot in the world today. Back then in the late 1800’s and mid 1900’s it was worse because people were actually separated by their race and skin color. Plessy v.s ferguson and brown v.s board of education are both really important cases that have impacted the future and changed the world for the better. Plessy v.s ferguson took place in 1890, when there was the separate car act. That act did not allow blacks to sit with whites all across Louisiana.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the jury is ready to announce their decision, everyone in the courtroom holds their breath. The juror clears his throat, gulping. He unfolds the slip of paper and announces the guilty verdict. The men on one side of the court, smiles on their faces, are astonished that they won, euphoric that they had accomplished this hard task.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1896, a supreme court case known as Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that the separation of whites and blacks into “separate but equal” public facilities, was fair and legal. Once formed, these separated schools were anything but equal, from both a quality of education, and a future opportunity aspect. However, in 1954 the Supreme Court overruled the previous decision made in 1896, in a case known as Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas.) The case involved a man named Oliver Brown, who was the father of a student who had been refused entry into one of Topeka, Kansas’ white schools. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that separating children into different schools according to race, violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Brown vs Board of Education Summary On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court case, Brown vs Education, was a turning point in the long battle of segregation in America. Even after the Civil War, there were many years of racial inequality due to recent laws and lasting prejudice. By the efforts of lawyers, schools, parents, students, activists, and the African American community, the society that has made African Americans second-class citizens was challenged. African American schools were strengthened, protesters demanded equal educational rights, and lawyers worked to demolish unfair laws.…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Civil rights is a topic that most get confused about. There are different cases and different amendments that apply to different situations. There are so many and that would be why so many people get confused about it. Some ask why the designs of the Supreme Court were made because they simply don't agree, but, all decisions are for a reason. The Supreme Court has made many decisions to help out our country such as the following: Shelley vs. Kraemer, Brown vs. Board of Education, Loving vs. Virginia.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Brown family took their cases to the supreme court, they argue that segregated schools could never be equal. The court decided that segregated schools were unconstitutional and violated the 14th…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Primary Source Review: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas After many years under the “separate but equal” doctrine of the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), African Americans finally gained their first step to actual equality, specifically in school. The “separate but equal” doctrine established separate facilities, including separate schools, for blacks and whites that were said to be equal, but were not. In fact, whites only schools provided much better education than blacks only schools. The separate school systems were inherently unequal and therefore failed to acknowledge the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Board of Education, the ruling was merely a check against the majority to protect the rights of minorities. Majority rule is important in a democracy; yet when the majority infringes on rights of minorities, the power of the majority must be diminished in order for society to maintain justice. In Brown, it was noted that, “The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not ‘equal’ and cannot be made ‘equal’ and that hence they are deprive of the equal protection of the laws” (188). It was disclosed that separate educational facilities were unequal and unjust, and thus it may hinder a child from gaining the educational rights he deserves and “to separate…generates a feeling of inferiority as their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone” (189). Segregation prevented minorities from gaining the equal rights they deserved and thus, it was important for them to achieve justice through Brown.…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited
    Superior Essays