Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson resulted in a decision that upheld the constitutionality of the Louisiana Separate Car Act. The state railroad companies had to provide separate accommodations for both blacks and whites ("separate but equal"). Homer Plessy, a man who was 1/8 African American, bought a first class ticket from the East Louisiana Railroad and sat in the "whites only" car. Plessy was arrested after refusing to vacate the car and move to his appropriate section.

Plessy argued that the generally applicable law was not content neutral. 

In class, Plessy's lawyers argued that: 

• Separate accommodations violate the equal protection clause
• The 13th Amendment made Plessy a citizen and therefore he was not exempt
• Any distinction between races acts as an act of slavery and violates the 13th Amendment
• The employees of the railroad company actually violated the 1890 law for separate rail cars---somehow Plessy was able to purchase a ticket for the first class white car and passed through several people without recognition (he was hardly recognized as an African American)
• When dealing with mixed races (as many people were in Louisiana at the time), it is hard to distinguish between white and black. As a mix of races, what car was he supposed to sit in?

The group that presented their arguments the best, in my opinion, was the defense:

• Both races had cars equal to the value that they could pay. The railroad could charge whites more money, which meant that they had nicer cars. This was more of a business issue than a race issue---Plessy knowingly broke the law, perhaps to force the issue of equality
• Plessy was not asked to leave the train all together; he was just asked to move to a different car, which had the same accommodations as the car he was in. The railroad company followed separate but equal
• The law does distinguish among the two races, but does not imply the inferiority of either race

On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court decided that the "separate but equal" doctrine was constitutional. 

http://law.jrank.org/pages/2726/Plessy-v-Ferguson-1896.html