Jim Crow Laws: The Plessy V. Ferguson Case

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Jim Crow laws were regulations that were specifically created to ensure the separation between black Americans and whites. The name originated from an old song-and-dance satire of African Americans, but eventually became a mocking expression meaning “Negro.” Old racist customs before the Civil War reemerged and whites were once again seen as a superior race. As federal troops left the South, Democrats called “Redeemers” set about segregating black Americans socially, politically, economically, and legally. Many businesses refused to serve black Americans for equal treatment was only required to government actions. Segregation and racism in white society meant that most blacks were stuck as tenant farmers and race mixing of any sort was frowned upon. As racism …show more content…
One of the most significant court cases that was used to justify Jim Crow laws was Plessy v. Ferguson. The case began when black Americans challenged the new enforced law in Louisiana requiring railroad passengers to ride in segregated cars. The case originated in New Orleans when Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth black, refused to leave a whites-only railroad car and was convicted of violating the law. The Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 that separating the races did not mean that one race was being treated unequally. As long as segregated facilities were “separate but equal,” they were acceptable as a matter of social policy. Soon after the court’s ruling, the widespread practice of “separate but equal” facilities became apart of virtually every area of southern life.

Jim Crow Laws: Plessy V. Ferguson Case

The Jim Crow laws are what led up to the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The Jim Crow laws were laws of segregation, racial acts, and discrimination against African Americans. The Supreme court ruled that segregating races was legal. The discrimination and segregation impacted African Americans cruelly. African Americans had to deal with different privilages than whites. Everything the African Americans had to use was labeled "Colored".…

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Plessy Vs Ferguson

Jim Crow-induced segregation led to people testing the law and trying to prove that the “separate but equal” doctrine of the time was unfair. One example of this is the Plessy v. Ferguson supreme court case. Legally classified as black by the South’s “one drop rule”, Homer Plessy entered a “whites-only” railway car on the East Louisiana Railroad (Jager). A local New Orleans group called the Committee of Citizens planned this as a test case, so the railroad was advised of his racial status before…

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Plessy V. Ferguson Case Study

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson is an African-American man buying a first class train ticket in Louisiana and being told to go to the black section of the train. However, the man, Homer Plessy refused to go to the black section and was forcefully arrested for going against the Separate Car Act of 1890. The Separate Car Act allowed for African-Americans to be segregated on trains and the punishment for wrongdoing was a $25 dollar fine and up to twenty days in jail. Homer Plessy went against the act…

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Compromise Of 1877 To The 1960's

America's past are Jim Crow laws, the Compromise of 1877, and Plessy v. Ferguson and the effect they've had on our nation. Between the years 1877 and 1960 those three events had a significant impact on perpetuating racial unrest in our county. The Compromise of 1877 gave African Americans the right to vote and helped elect President Rutherford Hayes. Plessy v. Ferguson declared separate but equal laws of segregation including things like “colored” bathrooms among other things. Jim Crow laws further solidified…

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Plessy V. Ferguson Supreme Court Case

Jim Crow laws were supposed to be “separated-but-equal”, but after Plessy v. Ferguson decision the laws were not equal at all for the black people. The laws took away the rights and freedom of blacks, and the Supreme Court decision legalized segregation. That created more Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws affect the daily lives of blacks by separating them from public spaces, transportation, and it took away most of their voting rights. First, the Separate Car act made blacks sit in a different car than…

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Plessy V. Ferguson Case Analysis

in the Plessy v Ferguson case was morally based on racial bias and discrimination due to the demonstration of unjust racial disparity in the criminal justice system. The ruling of the Plessy v Ferguson case led to civil war and gave legal standing to the idea of separate but equal. In the first opposition, the justices rejected Plessy’s argument that the Louisiana law conflicted with the Thirteenth Amendment because it was believed to be “ too clear for argument” (78 Plessy v. Ferguson) . According…

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Slavery: Abolishing Segregation In The United States

mean that it is morally right. Even after the 13th amendment was passed, abolishing slavery, there was still tension between the races. If it weren’t for people like Homer Plessy, who was willing to disobey the law and go to trial in attempt to stop segregation, it could still be…

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Plessy V. Ferguson Case Study

The Plessy v. Ferguson case challenged the 14th amendment which granted citizenship to all newly freed slaves. It was ruled that all aspects of the 14th amendment didn’t apply to everyone. The purpose of this amendment was to create equality between races, however this didn’t happen. This case was brought along when an African-American, Homer Plessy, refused sitting in a Jim Crow Car, which was the first official law that commanded segregation on the trains. Plessy v. Ferguson case allowed segregation…

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Court Cases: The Plessy Vs. Ferguson Case

During a time of civil rights conflict, many of the court cases taken place questioned the morals of biased courts and racism of the Jim Crow laws. Throughout these difficult times, there were also people who stood up against the unfair society. These court cases include Brown vs. Board of Education, Plessy vs. Ferguson, the Scottsboro boys, and Moore vs. Dempsey. All of these cases are examples of how African Americans did not have fair representation in court as well as the consequences given for…

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Dred Scott Case Summary

to pass more laws regarding race and chipped away the gains in civil rights made after the Civil War. By 1890, segregation was firmly in place in both the north and south, originating from local practices and customs that began before the Civil War. In 1883, the court interpreted the 14th amendment as only applying at the federal level, and private institutions were allowed to discriminate based on race.. During this time of segregation’s legal limbo came one of the most important cases of the Supreme…

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