What Is The Difference Between Brown V Board Of Education And Plessy Cases

Tayiah Thomas

Plessy and Brown cases

American’s were pretty cruel in 1890 and 1950. American’s believed white people to be superior to blacks. Segregation is a huge part of America’s history. Plessy vs Ferguson is a case that showed how segregated the United States was during this time. Brown vs Board of Education is a case that created the 14th amendment. Both of these cases have helped shape the way America is today. Most of America today is still widely segregated.

Plessy vs Ferguson is a very important case in 1890. This case involved a man named Plessy, and he was in a rail car. He was an octaroon, meaning he was 1/8th black. A man named Ferguson noticed he was not purely white and sued him. The rule then was “if you're lighter than a brown paper bag, you can ride in the rail car.” Plessy proved he was whiter than the bag but Ferguson still sued. Plessy claimed that the lawsuit was in direct violation of the 13th and 14th amendments. He lost twice in lower courts and tried his luck in U.S. Supreme Court. Plessy lost the Supreme Court ruling by a 7-1 decision. This decision created the “separate but equal” doctrine.

Brown vs Board of Education is a well known case in the 1950’s. This case

Her family believed they had a case with the school system and took it to court. They claimed that the school system was violating the 14th amendment. The court decided that the schools were segregated but each building were alike and decided segregation was legal. The Browns appealed their case and took it to the U.S. Supreme Court. They went into court stating that “even though facilities were similar, segregated schools could never be equal to one another” said the Browns. The Supreme Court decided that segregated schools were in violation to the equal protection laws of the 14th amendment. The Browns won with a unanimous