Plessy v. Ferguson
- Nick Adams
- Jul 19, 2022
- 2 min read
Hello everyone, we are here today to discuss the case of Plessy vs Ferguson. In this case we are discussing the incident on June 7, 1892, when Plessy bought a ticket on a train from New Orleans bound for Covington, Louisiana, and took a vacant seat in a whites-only car. After refusing to leave the car at the conductor’s insistence, he was arrested and jailed.
Now before we jump to any conclusions Plessy was in fact one-eighth African blood, therefore not allowing him in the whites-only car, which contained people who might have had different nationalities, but none of the African American nationality. Now this is a big case we are dealing with here, and even though this case might seem confusing, if we take a look at the history aspect of this case, there have been other cases that have happened in the past that will help us decide the outcome for this case.
The first case that I will refer to is when the court approved the statute of the State of Mississippi of March 2, 1888, that required all railroads carrying passengers in that state to provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races. Another example of other states making these separate but equal laws in the past, was when from 1887 to 1892 nine states, including Louisiana, passed laws requiring separation on public conveyances, such as streetcars and railroads.
Then finally I would like to bring up the Louisiana Separate Car Act, that was passed in July 1890.This act was put in place in order to “promote the comfort of passengers,” railroads had to provide “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on lines running in the state.
Ladies and Gentlemen America prides itself on the great railroad system we have, and the great trading and market it provides for us. Prior to 1871, approximately 45,000 miles of track had been laid, and continuing into the future, another 170,000 miles are going to be added as well. Now with the railroad system having been so reliable and so important for us for all of these years, why would we ever want to change the way our railroads work, and risk them shutting down which could then lead to a major consequences in America.
On the other side of the Plessy v. Ferguson, the Plessy side had many key and important arguments, that included religion, logic, and law. The religious argument that the Plessy side brought up was that, all men and women were created under God, and that no matter what color our skin is we are all Gods children. The Logic argument that the Plessy side brought up, was that it is imposable to tell if some one was one eighth black or not, and in order to do that you will have to test every passenger, which is too much to do. Then finally the Plessy side made the law argument that sided with the 14th amendment that protects civil rights, for African Americans, that would help their rights.
Sources
Comments