  The decision that gave legal justification to segregation, invoking the concept of "separate but equal." (11 min) |
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| Teacher's Guide•Plessy vs. Ferguson During the period following the Civil War, the United States gave legal justification to racial segregation—revealing that although the country was ready to abolish slavery, it was not prepared to accept the concept of equal rights for blacks; the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy vs. Ferguson underscored this fact. After Lincoln’s death, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution were passed in order to provide “equal protection of the law” for all U.S. citizens. These amendments, however, were largely undermined by the passage of state laws discriminating against blacks and other minority groups. The principle of “separate but equal”—invoked in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson—set a precedent for the ruling of segregation cases over the next sixty years. Questions for Discussion, Review and Research 1. What protection does the Fourteenth Amendment give to minorities? To all citizens? 2. Before the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, would the Supreme Court have heard the case? Why, or why not? 3. How does one explain the fact that the lone dissent of Justice Harlan became the unanimous view of the Court fifty-eight years later? 4. How would you answer the legal arguments of the majority opinion in Plessy vs. Ferguson? 5. One of the points raised by Plessy’s counsel was that Plessy was only one-eighth black and looked white. Was this argument relevant? 6. Was Justice Harlan correct in stating that the real intent of “Jim Crow” laws differed from the intent expressed by those who made them? |
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