Which supreme court case declared the ''separate but equal'' doctrine unconstitutional?

Answer 1

Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896)

The state of Louisiana passed a law requiring separate railroad coach cars for African-Americans and Caucasians. Plessy, who was seven-eighths Caucasian, took a seat in the "whites-only" car, refused to move to the "black" car, and was subsequently arrested.

The case was upheld in the lower courts, then petitioned to the US Supreme Court for review in light of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

The Court, in an opinion delivered by Justice Brown, held that state-sanctioned segregation was constitutional, as long as the separate facilities were equal. As precedent, Brown cited both the Civil Rights Cases, 109 US 3 (1883), which determined the 14th Amendment applied only to states, but not to private individuals or businesses, and the fact that Washington D.C. public schools, under the rule of federal government, was already practicing segregation in education. Justice Brown further concluded that segregation in public accommodations did not constitute discrimination.

The majority opinion gave rise to the "separate but equal" doctrine that invaded nearly every aspect of African-Americans' lives. Plessy represented the South's reaction to, and contravention of, the 13th and 14th Amendments. The Court's decision gave tacit permission to the establishment of Jim Crow laws, which violated the civil rights of African-Americans in a way not anticipated by the Constitution.

This doctrine was held to be unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment in Brown v. Board of Education,(1954).

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)

Answer 2

The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) was a landmark case that upheld a Louisiana statute allowing for "equal but separate" facilities. The facilities in question were railway cars which were divided by partition and offered the same accommodations to white and "colored" races. It was found that these provisions were not in conflict with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

That decision was overturned on May 17, 1954 where the Supreme Court under Earl Warren handed down its unanimous decision in Brown v Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), stating that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Please note that, while the Plessy decision established a basis for creating "separate but equal" educational facilities, it did not directly address the issue.

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 3

Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896)

The phrase "separate but equal" derives from the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890, which was challenged in the US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896). The federal government allowed states to determine their own segregation laws after Reconstruction ended in 1877, and seventeen states created statutes that limited co-mingling of whites and African-Americans.

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)

Answer 4

The "separate but equal" doctrine derived from the decision in the US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), delivered on May 18, 1896. The opinion of the Court actually used the phrase "equal, but separate," not "separate but equal."

The Plessy decision was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, (1954).

Answer 5

The "separate but equal" doctrine derived from the decision in the US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), delivered on May 18, 1896. The opinion of the Court actually used the phrase "equal, but separate," not "separate but equal."

The doctrine allowed racist Jim Crow segregation laws to flourish throughout the United States, but was later held to be unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment in Brown v. Board of Education, (1954).

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 6

Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896)

The state of Louisiana passed a law requiring separate railroad coach cars for African-Americans and Caucasians. Plessy, who was seven-eighths Caucasian, took a seat in the "whites-only" car, refused to move to the "black" car, and was subsequently arrested.

The case was upheld in the lower courts, then petitioned to the US Supreme Court for review in light of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

The Court, in an opinion delivered by Justice Brown, held that state-sanctioned segregation was constitutional, as long as the separate facilities were equal. As precedent, Brown cited both the Civil Rights Cases, 109 US 3 (1883), which determined the 14th Amendment applied only to states, but not to private individuals or businesses, and the fact that Washington D.C. public schools, under the rule of federal government, was already practicing segregation in education. Justice Brown further concluded that segregation in public accommodations did not constitute discrimination.

The majority opinion gave rise to the "separate but equal" doctrine that invaded nearly every aspect of African-Americans' lives. Plessy represented the South's reaction to, and contravention of, the 13th and 14th Amendments. The Court's decision gave tacit permission to the establishment of Jim Crow laws, which violated the civil rights of African-Americans in a way not anticipated by the Constitution.

This doctrine was held to be unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment in Brown v. Board of Education,(1954).

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)