For nearly a century, the United States was occupied by the racial segregation of black and white people. The constitutionality of this “separation of humans into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life” had not been decided until a deliberate provocation to the law was made. The goal of this test was to have a mulatto, someone of mixed blood, defy the segregated train car law and raise a dispute on the fairness of being categorized as colored or not. This test went down in history as Plessy v. Ferguson, a planned challenge to the law during a period ruled by Jim Crow laws and the idea of “separate but equal” without equality for African Americans. This challenge forced the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of segregation, and in result of the case, caused the nation to have split opinions of support and
In the 19th century, slavery and the Reconstruction was a sore subject for the South. Reconstruction forged civil rights for African-Americans, but once the North’s influenced waned in the South, the South terrorized African-Americans and blocked them from accessing their newfound rights. While Reconstruction may have brought civil rights, those rights were quickly squashed by the South’s racism. Even after certain freedoms were securely gained, every new attempt to make African-Americans equal to the white populace was contested.
For centuries people of African descent have suffered of inhumane treatment, discrimination, racism, and segregation. Although in the United States, and in other countries, mistreatment and marginalization towards African descendants has stopped, the racism and discriminations has not. Unfortunately, there have been events proving such statement and it is upsetting to know that after all the decades of fighting for equality this is still an issue for blacks, especially for African-Americans living in our country.
The story started when a third grade student Linda Brown had to walk a long distance to attend school. Because of the previous Supreme Court decision that was called separate but equal, she was not eligible to attend classes at any of the schools that were reserved for white colored students even if there were some just right where she was living at. Linda’ father was worried about her little daughter that she had to walk daily next to the railroad. He decided to register his daughter at one of the white schools. Unfortunately, his application was denied under the pretext of
Plessy v Fergusen was yet another court case where “separate but equal” was not implementing equality. It showed that they still thought of Black men and women as being less and not deserving the same rights as the White men. Homer Plessy was a free man, that was mainly White and because of a percentage he had of being Black he was treated as a Black man. He tried to sit in the train car of the White men and much like Rosa Parks was asked to go to the back where the Black men belonged in a different car. This case resulted in the Supreme Court defending the decision of the East Louisiana Railroad stating that they weren't violating any law by the ruling they had. This court case showed that even if Plessy was a part White because he was a part
After Reconstruction, African Americans faced many social, political, and economic issues. The years following the Reconstruction continued to create tension between African Americans and whites. In the south African Americans were still not given the same rights as whites. With this tension, came social, political, and economic issues. During this time, African Americans faced social adversity. A social problem that arose was due Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow Laws legalized racial segregation in all public facilities in southern states, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for African Americans. These laws were legalized in the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which stated that “separate but equal” was constitutional. This
The Union victory in the Civil War in 1865 gave millions of slaves their freedom, however, the process of rebuilding the South during what is known as the Reconstruction Era, that took place between 1865 and 1877, introduced a whole new set of significant challenges. The most important part of reconstruction was to secure rights for former slaves. Radical republicans, aware that newly freed slaves would face racism and inequality, passed a series of progressive laws and amendments in Congress that protected blacks’ rights under federal and state law. This included the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments that granted black men citizenship and the right to vote. However, before the 14th and 15th amendments were passed, the Civil Rights Act of
Over the course of American history, various court cases have significantly impacted the countries future. Two court cases that greatly shaped the future of America are the Scopes trial, by determining boundaries between evolution and the bible, and the Plessy versus Ferguson trial, by affecting racial discrimination towards blacks.
The nation was gridlocked on how to proceed, whether to declare a Civil War or not. The Fort Sumter conflict provided the answer; Fort Sumter was a garrison on the coast of SC that was being blocked by “Confederate” troops, therefore the Union could not provide military supplies and rations for the people inhabiting the fort. Later the confederates would fire upon fort and started the Civil war. The Civil War would last four years, concluding with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House. However the time during the Civil War provided for many racial and slaveholding changes for America including: the Emancipation Proclamation, 13th, 14th , and 15th amendments. The famous Emancipation Proclamation said by Lincoln outlawed slavery in the Confederacy and started the path for the complete outlawing of the institution with the 13th amendment. Next would be the 14th amendment which provided citizenship for African Americans, now part of the nation with its regulations and laws. Lastly would be the 15th amendment which gave former slaves/ African Americans the right to vote in elections, in accordance though this decision would create tensions leading into the 1900’s
Prior to the Reconstruction Era, the Union and the Confederate states had just engaged in a war concerning slavery and the unity of the United States, which is also known as the Civil War. The damage from the war was economically, socially and politically devastating to the United States of America as a whole. The newly liberated African Americans were harassed, tormented and even killed in the communities they had developed after the Civil War. Literacy tests were implemented as a way to prevented the miseducated African American male from suffrage. Lastly, early Jim Crow laws originated during this time period. The Reconstruction Era not only did not solve any of the existing economical, political or social problems but also introduced several
The southern region of the United States in the early years of the 1860’s had a most incomparable affect on the country. The disputes between the North and the South had caused a civil war, killing over one half a million people after the South seceded from the Union. The causes driving the South to secede grew to the point where one unified, strong country was no longer an option in the Southerner’s eyes. The Northerners viewed the Southerner’s needs as unnecessary and immoral desires. Due to the two regions differences, outbreaks of violence started a pandemonium. In the early 1860’s the Southern states seceded from the Union due to the uproar of disputes over, slavery in the territories, the Northern abolitionists growth in power and the
The supreme court case known as Plessy vs. Ferguson gave legal right to a separate but equal policy in education
A historic case in the U.S. supreme court was called the Brown vs. the Board of Education. Getting a good education is essential and we can see diverse population of students from different nationality in the classroom. However, this wasn’t always the case in the United States. Up until 1954, classrooms were very different than they are today—not allowing African American students to attend schools with white students. This was allowed because of the previous court case of 1896 of Plessy vs. Ferguson. In this case, the court allowed segregation as long as the services provided were equal which meant that separation of students according to their race in schools was okay. This was accepted in many states despite the fact that the Fourteenth
stayed in effect for over sixty years until it was overturned in 1954 by the Supreme
In chapter 16th “Reconstruction,” the author gives a comprehensible perspective of the historical era that made a major difference in America today. Many northerners populated the main question of how to restructure the nation as one which led to numerous complicated questions as to how, what, whom and under what circumstances would America readmit the union. In the chapter, the author introduces a variety of changes such as presidential, congressional reconstruction and most importantly the old south. Along with discontinued slavery and established constitutional amendments. Rebuilding the south economically and politically was just as difficult as on the battlefield, extremely long and very complex. Republicans wanted to make sure the confederacy was going to stay faithful to keep their word to not to attempt depart again Federal Reconstruction had successfully freed the slaves by passing the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment, following many other great achievements throughout reconstruction.