What was the Plessy vs Ferguson case? (Short Answer)

The Plessy vs. Ferguson case was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1896. It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case arose from an 1892 incident in which Homer Plessy, a man of mixed African and European ancestry, refused to sit in a railroad car for black people. Arguing that this segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Plessy took his case to court. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled against him, establishing a legal basis for segregated facilities for blacks and whites, which persisted until the mid-20th century.

Extra: The Plessy vs. Ferguson case played a crucial role in American history. It justified the segregationist laws that became known as Jim Crow laws, which enforced a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, particularly in the South. This decision meant that as long as the facilities provided to each race were equal, their segregation was legal. The "separate but equal" doctrine stood for nearly 60 years until it was finally overturned by the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. That later case marked the beginning of the end for the Jim Crow laws and was a significant step forward for the civil rights movement. Understanding Plessy vs. Ferguson helps students to grasp the legal and social dynamics of racial segregation and the fight for civil rights in American history.