Discrimination Against African Americans In The 1800s

Back in the early 1800’s, America was having a hard time accepting others. The Americans did not like having immigrants living in the same area, and they really hated when immigrants took their jobs. Many Americans discriminated against African Americans even if they were only ⅛ African American. Americans were not ready to share their country and some would refuse to give people the rights they deserved. This can be seen in the Plessy vs Ferguson and Yick Wo vs Hopkins. In Plessy vs Ferguson, Plessy was asked to go to the back of the train because he was ⅛ African American.
The Plessy v Ferguson case was an example that there was still discrimination in America. In 1890, Louisiana passed a law called the Separate Car Act that says all railroad

companies in Louisiana must provide separate but equal accommodations for white and African Americans passengers. The penalty for sitting in the wrong cart was a fine of $25 or 20 days in jail. A group of African American citizens joined forces with the East Louisiana Railroad Company to try to turn down the Act. In 1892, Homer Plessy, purchased a first-class ticket and sat in the white-designated railroad car. In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ferguson. The majority rejected Plessy’s Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment arguments. Justice John Marshall Harlan argued that laws against African American people should be equal but not be able to have the same rights. It wasn’t just African Americans who were discriminated against, but also Asians.
Yick Wo v Hopkins was discrimination against the Chinese people. Yick Wo had a laundry business that supplied 89% of the people in the area. Americans were very angry that Yick Wo was doing such a good job. Americans believed he was taking away money from Americans. He was doing very well. His parents moved from China to America, and had Yick Wo. In San Francisco, they required all laundries in wooden buildings to hold a permit issued by the city's Board of Supervisors. Yick Wo was denied his work permit and was sentenced to jail for ten days. Yick Wo and Wo Lee sued for writ of habeas corpus, arguing the fine and discriminatory of the ordinance violated their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Yick Wo was let out of jail and was allowed to have his laundry business. He is from America and should be allowed to have it.