Butler Community College
Trial of the Century
Noah Stewart
U.S. History 2
Mr. Clark
3/27/17
Concerning the late 19th and 20th century, there have been many famous court cases regarding civil rights issues and the precedents they have set in years to come. However, no such case has accomplished both so easily as the trial of Plessy v. Ferguson. Taking place directly after the reconstruction era, this trial is crucial to establishing the verdicts of latter court cases, shaping popular beliefs, as well as representing the opinions and mindsets of the American people post-civil war. Although the verdict of Plessy v. Ferguson may have set negative precedents concerning civil rights lawsuits, the case progressed its movement through trials such as Williams v. Mississippi, Berea College v. Kentucky, and Brown v. Board of Education. To prove this, the trial itself will be unpacked, future cases and their effects will be explored, and an overview and its relationship to the reconstruction era will be obtained. In doing so, a new perspective will hopefully be gripped concerning civil rights cases and the role of the American people not so long ago. To put this case into perspective, Plessy v. Ferguson was a volcano just waiting to erupt. That raises the question, what exactly were the initial events leading up to its explosion? Ever since the Atlantic slave trade of the 17th century, bondservants were hardly relevant. In fact, slavery was a practical norm for many southerners as well as northerners in the United States. Despite the vast popularity of slavery in America, a movement did eventually carry itself to power in the North that could banish slavery for good. One of the first shots to carry this idea would be the verdict of the Dred Scott case of 1857. Dred Scott was a slave to an army doctor named John Emerson. Emerson moved to the free states of Illinois and Wisconsin where he eventually passed away. Because of the vast amount of time living in these free states, Scott sues Emerson’s estate for his freedom. After literally eleven years in court and much debate, the Supreme Court ruled a 7-2 decision that Scott had no right to sue for anything in the U.S. courts because he was not a citizen of the United States (Aaseng 18). It’s because of court decisions such as this and many others that the Civil War began shortly after between the North and the South. Ravaging most of the South, the civil war became the deciding factor between whether slavery should be banned or permitted. As of 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in the South free (Aaseng …show more content…
These laws prevented blacks from testifying in court, voting, assembling in groups, and eventually sharing the same railcars as whites. This leads to the most valuable question, what is Plessy v. Ferguson? Taking place post-civil war, and immediately after the reconstruction period of America, Plessy v. Ferguson was both a rallying cry for the civil rights movement as well as a warning shot from many white supremacists. Homer Adolph Plessy was a 34-year-old shoemaker from New Orleans Louisiana (Aaseng 11). On June 7th, 1892, after purchasing a first-class ticket to Covington Louisiana, Plessy steps on board a train, seats himself in a coach seat reserved only for white travelers, and is arrested just a few minutes later for refusing to move (Aaseng 12). Plessy is charged with violating the new Louisiana Separate Car Act that provides separate but equal accommodations for passengers. In response to this, Plessy and his lawyers argue against the judge, John Howard Ferguson, that the case should be dropped considering its unconstitutional nature (Aaseng 13). After reaching the Supreme Court in 1896, …show more content…
Ferguson” 39). Justice Brown dismissed Plessy’s thirteenth amendment argument, claiming that blacks and whites were indeed politically equal but not socially equal (Anderson, “Plessy v. Ferguson” 41). Furthermore, that legislation cannot fix social inequality, as we see in Justice Brown’s speech. “If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them on the same plane” (Plessy v. Ferguson, FindLaw 552). Leaving
Trial of the Century
Noah Stewart
U.S. History 2
Mr. Clark
3/27/17
Concerning the late 19th and 20th century, there have been many famous court cases regarding civil rights issues and the precedents they have set in years to come. However, no such case has accomplished both so easily as the trial of Plessy v. Ferguson. Taking place directly after the reconstruction era, this trial is crucial to establishing the verdicts of latter court cases, shaping popular beliefs, as well as representing the opinions and mindsets of the American people post-civil war. Although the verdict of Plessy v. Ferguson may have set negative precedents concerning civil rights lawsuits, the case progressed its movement through trials such as Williams v. Mississippi, Berea College v. Kentucky, and Brown v. Board of Education. To prove this, the trial itself will be unpacked, future cases and their effects will be explored, and an overview and its relationship to the reconstruction era will be obtained. In doing so, a new perspective will hopefully be gripped concerning civil rights cases and the role of the American people not so long ago. To put this case into perspective, Plessy v. Ferguson was a volcano just waiting to erupt. That raises the question, what exactly were the initial events leading up to its explosion? Ever since the Atlantic slave trade of the 17th century, bondservants were hardly relevant. In fact, slavery was a practical norm for many southerners as well as northerners in the United States. Despite the vast popularity of slavery in America, a movement did eventually carry itself to power in the North that could banish slavery for good. One of the first shots to carry this idea would be the verdict of the Dred Scott case of 1857. Dred Scott was a slave to an army doctor named John Emerson. Emerson moved to the free states of Illinois and Wisconsin where he eventually passed away. Because of the vast amount of time living in these free states, Scott sues Emerson’s estate for his freedom. After literally eleven years in court and much debate, the Supreme Court ruled a 7-2 decision that Scott had no right to sue for anything in the U.S. courts because he was not a citizen of the United States (Aaseng 18). It’s because of court decisions such as this and many others that the Civil War began shortly after between the North and the South. Ravaging most of the South, the civil war became the deciding factor between whether slavery should be banned or permitted. As of 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in the South free (Aaseng …show more content…
These laws prevented blacks from testifying in court, voting, assembling in groups, and eventually sharing the same railcars as whites. This leads to the most valuable question, what is Plessy v. Ferguson? Taking place post-civil war, and immediately after the reconstruction period of America, Plessy v. Ferguson was both a rallying cry for the civil rights movement as well as a warning shot from many white supremacists. Homer Adolph Plessy was a 34-year-old shoemaker from New Orleans Louisiana (Aaseng 11). On June 7th, 1892, after purchasing a first-class ticket to Covington Louisiana, Plessy steps on board a train, seats himself in a coach seat reserved only for white travelers, and is arrested just a few minutes later for refusing to move (Aaseng 12). Plessy is charged with violating the new Louisiana Separate Car Act that provides separate but equal accommodations for passengers. In response to this, Plessy and his lawyers argue against the judge, John Howard Ferguson, that the case should be dropped considering its unconstitutional nature (Aaseng 13). After reaching the Supreme Court in 1896, …show more content…
Ferguson” 39). Justice Brown dismissed Plessy’s thirteenth amendment argument, claiming that blacks and whites were indeed politically equal but not socially equal (Anderson, “Plessy v. Ferguson” 41). Furthermore, that legislation cannot fix social inequality, as we see in Justice Brown’s speech. “If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them on the same plane” (Plessy v. Ferguson, FindLaw 552). Leaving