Sweatt V. Segregation: Supreme Court Case Study

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

To understand the question, focusing on the court cases of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, we must first understand each court case on its own. Plessy v. Ferguson resulted in the year 1896. The case involved the 1890s Louisiana law that basically stated that there were separate railway carriages that were specifically labeled for blacks only and whites only. Plessy v. Ferguson involved Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white and one-eighth black and appeared to look like a white man. Plessy took an open seat in a white only railway car. He was soon arrested for violating the 1890 law. When Plessy was convicted of violating the 1890 law during his trial, he soon filed a petition against the judge, John H. Ferguson. Ferguson

stayed in effect for over sixty years until it was overturned in 1954 by the Supreme

In order to illustrate the U.S. politics, especially in terms of racial and ethnic minority issues, many political models used as analytical tools to understand the political resources and opportunities of U.S. racial and ethnic groups in contemporary U.S. society had been proposed. Among these politically important models, two of the most fundamentally important are Pluralism and Two-tiered Pluralism (DeSipio, 2015: Week 2 Lectures; Shaw et. al., 2015). My thesis is that although both pluralism and two-tiered pluralism models’ strength is their ability to illustrate relationships between the majority and the

Although the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln and the conclusion of the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the United States, these events did not end racism in the U.S. With the rise of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan, who were determined to maintain their ideology of white supremacy in the United States, and the lack of protection for violence, African Americans were facing tough times. Although the 14th Amendment, which was passed in 1868, dictated equal rights and protection for all citizens of the United States, the 1896 ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson went against this amendment. The Supreme Court ruling of “Separate but Equal” in Plessy v Ferguson was both biased against Plessy and went

A major part of the Reconstruction Era was The roaring 20’s, a time period of economic success and prosperity for many. It’s a time period where numerous people wish they were alive to experience, but those people were not people of color. Sadly, the roaring 20’s was not all that roaring for African Americans who were just recently emancipated. After liberation, a vast wave of African Americans moved to the North to pursue a life more successful than they’d have in the South. Little did they know, segregation and race relations has spread throughout the country and some people still didn’t treat them as equals. For example, Plessy V. Ferguson essentially cemented African Americans as the subordinate race by declaring separate is equal (Race

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but

The Plessy vs Ferguson doctrine implies it is, “merely a legal distinction without conflicting with the 13th Amendment”. The Plessy vs Ferguson was a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the Plessy vs Ferguson doctrine that racially segregated public facilities were only legal if blacks and whites were both equally welcome.

Throughout the history of America, blacks have continuously been perceived as inferior to whites. At first, due to the legality of slavery, blacks were not identified as people, but property. This was a regular practice until the passing of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, which granted rights to black inhabitants of America. Hypothetically, these rights were to make newly freed slaves equal to their white cohabitants, but this wasn’t the case. Court cases, laws, and illicit practices, ensured that blacks would remain inferior to whites. However, in the mid-20th century, a desire for equality in all aspects of public life became more prominent among the black community. An important court case that further ensured the progression

Plessy v. Ferguson: The case occurred when Homer Plessy refused to sit in the Jim Crow car, which violated the Louisiana law and was put before Judge John H. Ferguson to challenge whether the state law conflicted with the Constitution or not. Indeed, in 1896, Ferguson concluded that the law was merely a legal distinction between two races and did not conflict with 13th amendment law. Society then adopted a system of “separate but equal” that emphasized separate facilities for blacks and whites

Throughout American history, minorities have been discriminated against for numerous things relating to race, gender, religion, etc. One group that was discriminated around the time of the Civil War were the Blacks. Throughout American history, they were thought of as inferior to whites and treated like animals. After the Civil War, laws started to change in favor of Blacks, things like making it illegal to enslave them, making them citizens and giving them the right to vote. These laws didn’t eliminate discrimination, though, and failed to change the opinion of what most thought of the Blacks.

What was the Social Gospel movement? The Social Gospel movement affected much of Protestant America and the Presbyterians describe its goals in 1910. The goals were salvation of humankind, shelter and nurture to the children of god as well as the promotion of social righteousness. In the late 19th century many Protestants were disgusted by the poverty level and the low quality living in the sums. The social gospel movement provided religious action to address the issues and concerns. Activists with in the Social Gospel movement had hope that by having public health measures as well as enforced schooling the poor could develop talents and skills to improve their quality of life. The important concerns

In 1619, the first slaves arrived in America. These African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, an English colony, which had been established just 12 years earlier. The desire for labor led to centuries of slavery in the United States, continuing to the 1860s. The fact that “some historians have estimated that 6 to 7 million slaves were imported to the New World during the 18th century alone” shows the extreme dependence on slaves in the United States at the time (“Slavery in America”). After two hundred forty six years of brutal and sadistic slave treatment, slavery was outlawed in 1865 through the 13th Amendment, thus freeing an estimated 4 million slaves. This amendment

The U.S. Supreme Court is affirmed by ruling in favor of Ferguson ruling that mandatory racial segregation was not in violation of the 14th Amendment. During the court appeal the term “separate, but equal was never used; therefore, the court’s ruling was able to established that principle as a means of justifying segregation. The stamp of approval was placed on the doctrine of “separate but equal” because Homer Plessy’s 13th and 14th Amendment arguments were rejected.

The years between 1865 and 1920 could be described a time of great change for African Americans in the United States. The year of 1865 President Lincoln established the Emancipation Proclamation this means that it did not end slavery. As a result of the Emancipation Proclamation the Civil War Amendments were the designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves. The 13th Amendment was passed, this was a presidential proclamation and the executive order issue. Due to the passing of the 15th amendment tenants began to take advantage of the fact people were starting to receive more rights.