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The 14th Amendment is passed, which includes the Equal Protection Clause. It states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" are citizens. This means that blacks are now guaranteed the same rights and protection of the laws.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1875 is passed. It is now a crime to deny any person the enjoyment of public accommodations, regardless of color.
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In 1883, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. It ruled that the 14th Amendment didn't give Congress the power to prevent discrimination by private individuals.
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A law is passed in Louisiana that requires segregated railroad cars.
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Homer Plessy, who was 7/8 white, boarded an East Louisiana Railroad train and sat in a white compartment. Since he was 1/8 black, he was ordered to move to a black compartment. Plessy refused and was arrested. He was charged with violating state law.
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In the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, Plessy's lawyer argued that the law requiring “separate but equal accommodations” was unconstitutional. Judge John H. Ferguson ruled against Plessy
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The main question in this case: was the law requiring separate but equal accommodations on railroads consistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment?
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Plessy appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed with Ferguson and upheld the ruling. Justice Henry Brown said that the 14th Amendment was designed to create equality between the races, not get rid of segregation (the idea of separate but equal).
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The decision of Plessy v. Ferguson enforced the mentality of Americans that "separate is equal." It wasn't until the 1950's that the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned with the case of Brown v. Board of Education.
