Was the rational basis test used to make Jim Crow laws constitutional in the 1800?

Answer 1

The rational basis test was not explicitly used to uphold Jim Crow laws in the 1800s, as this legal standard was not formally established until later in the 20th century. Instead, the constitutionality of Jim Crow laws was often justified through interpretations of state rights and the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, which courts upheld in cases like Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). This decision endorsed the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing racial segregation under the guise of providing equal facilities. The rational basis test emerged as a judicial standard in subsequent decades to evaluate laws that classify individuals differently.