“The object of the [Fourteenth] amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either. Laws permitting, and even requiring, their separation in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the exercise of their police power. The most common instance of this is connected with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power even by courts of States where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most earnestly enforced . . . .” Explain how this decision legally interpreted the Constitution prior to the civil rights movement.(1 point)
This decision, which comes from the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, legally interpreted the Constitution by upholding the concept of "separate but equal" treatment of white and black individuals. The Court ruled that segregation based on race was not a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law, as long as the separate facilities provided for each race were deemed equal. This decision allowed for the continuation of racial segregation and discrimination in many aspects of society, including schools, public transportation, and public accommodations. It was not until the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s that the Supreme Court began to overturn the Plessy decision and enforce desegregation and equal rights for all individuals, regardless of race.
