Plessy vs ferguson why did it happen

The ruling provided legal justification for segregation on trains and buses, and in public facilities such as hotels, theaters, and schools. The impact of Plessy was to relegate African Americans to second-class citizenship. The Supreme Court overruled the Plessy decision in Brown v. Search this Guide Search. Plessy v. Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that separate-but-equal facilities were constitutional, upholding racial segregation laws.

This guide provides access to digital materials, external websites, and a print bibliography. Introduction On May 18, , the U. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.

Harlan had opposed emancipation and civil rights for freed slaves during the Reconstruction era — but changed his position due to his outrage over the actions of white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

The Plessy v. Intrastate railroads were among many segregated public facilities the verdict sanctioned; others included buses, hotels, theaters, swimming pools and schools. By the time of the case Cummings v. Board of Education , even Harlan appeared to agree that segregated public schools did not violate the Constitution.

It would not be until the landmark case Brown v. Landmark Cases: Plessy v. Today in History — May Plessy v. Ferguson , Library of Congress. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional.

Board of Education was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement, Loving v. Virginia was a Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the United States. The plaintiffs in the case were Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and Black woman whose marriage was deemed illegal according to Virginia state law. The 14th Amendment to the U.

Segregation is the practice of requiring separate housing, education and other services for people of color. Segregation was made law several times in 18th and 19th-century America as some believed that Black and white people were incapable of coexisting.

In the lead-up to the In , a group of prominent Black intellectuals led by W. The U. Supreme Court changes history on May 18, ! Ferguson on that date upheld state-imposed Jim Crow laws. It became the legal basis for racial segregation in the United States for the next fifty years. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America. The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.

Search this Guide Search. Plessy v.