PlessyvsFerguson
Whowasinvolved?Thinkaboutthe
peopleorgroupswhowereinvolved
anda ectedbythisevent.
Whathappened?Summarizethe
event!
Wheredidtheeventtakeplace?
Whendidtheeventtakeplace?
Whyisthiseventimportantto
Georgia’shistory?
Plessy vs Ferguson was a landmark legal case that involved Homer Plessy, a African American man, and John H. Ferguson, a judge in Louisiana. The event took place in 1896.
The case revolved around the issue of racial segregation in public transportation. Plessy, who was light-skinned enough to pass as white, intentionally boarded a segregated train car for white passengers. He was subsequently arrested for violating a law that mandated racial separation on trains.
The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where the decision came down in favor of Ferguson. The court, in a 7-1 decision, upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. This ruling established the legal precedent for segregation in public facilities and services, allowing for the systematic oppression and discrimination of African Americans for years to come.
Plessy vs Ferguson took place in Louisiana but had a significant impact nationwide, as many states used this ruling to justify Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in various aspects of life.
This event is important to Georgia's history because it solidified the legality of segregation in the state. It set the stage for the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which heavily oppressed African Americans and limited their civil rights. It was not until the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that the Plessy vs Ferguson ruling was overturned and the separate but equal doctrine was declared unconstitutional.