Plessy vs Ferguson

Plessy vs Ferguson Background

Before we discuss the facts of the case, it is important to understand the context.

Plessy vs Ferguson Background: End of Reconstruction

After the Reconstruction Era formally ended, Southern Democrats regained control of their local and state governments. Without Northern supervision, they enacted a series of discriminatory laws called Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were an attempt to strip Black citizens of their rights granted by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

Plessy vs Ferguson Background: Louisiana Separate Car Act

The Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890 is a typical example of a Jim Crow law. It required railway companies to create separate railway cars for Black and white passengers, legally mandating discrimination and segregation. The law included punishments for passengers and railway companies/employees that did not comply.

After the Separate Car Act passed, a group of concerned citizens came together and formed the New Orleans Citizens’ Committee. They wished to legally challenge the Separate Car Act. But first, they needed to find someone willing to get arrested and incite a case.

Homer Plessy, already working as an activist for education reform, agreed to help the New Orleans Citizens’ Committee in their case. He was only one-eighth African and appeared white—a conductor wouldn’t know his heritage if they didn't ask. They believed this would make the law seem especially arbitrary in court.

Plessy vs Ferguson Case Summary

The New Orleans Citizens’ Committee orchestrated the entire arrest in 1892. They enlisted a conductor to confront Homer Plessy sitting in a “whites-only” railway car and ask him to leave. They also hired a private detective to ensure that Plessy was arrested for violating the Separate Car Act.

Following his arrest, Homer Plessy appeared in court before Judge John H. Ferguson to fight his charge. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Additionally, they claimed it violated the Thirteenth Amendment by putting Black citizens back into the social conditions of slavery.

Judge Ferguson denied their arguments and convicted Homer Plessy for violating the Separate Car Act. Plessy then filed a petition against Judge Ferguson for violating his rights. Because of this, the New Orleans Citizens’ Committee was able to get their argument in front of the Supreme Court in Plessy v Ferguson.

Plessy vs Ferguson Ruling

In the four years since Homer Plessy’s arrest, conditions for Black citizens across the country had deteriorated rapidly. After hearing arguments in 1896, The Supreme Court Justices aligned with the mood of the country and ruled against Homer Plessy in a 7-1 decision. They decided that separate accommodations were perfectly legal so long as they were equal in condition, creating the “separate but equal” doctrine.

Only Justice John Harlan disagreed. In his dissenting opinion, he wrote:

The “separate but equal” doctrine essentially legalized state-mandated segregation.

Plessy vs Ferguson Impact

The “separate but equal” doctrine established in Plessy vs Ferguson became the legal precedent for over 60 years. This meant that every time a similar case of segregation came up, judges in courts across the country would look to Plessy vs Ferguson to guide their decisions. As a result, discriminatory Jim Crow laws across the South were allowed to stand, and even more were created. There were even laws enforcing segregation in the North.

Of course, segregation did not lend itself to equality. Accommodations for white citizens were far often better than those for Black citizens. A political cartoon from 1904 highlights the reality of the Separate Car Act:

Fig. 2 - political cartoon about Jim Crow railway cars

It took many decades, but in 1954, Brown v Board of Education set a new precedent by declaring segregation in schools unconstitutional. As a result of the new precedent, Jim Crow laws across the South lost their standing. The decision in Plessy vs Ferguson was essentially overturned.