Plessy V Ferguson Court Case Analysis

In 1896, the Supreme Court was introduced with a case that not only tested both levels of government, state and federal, but also helped further establish a precedent that it was built off of. This court case is commonly known as the case that confirmed the doctrine “separate but equal”. This doctrine is a crucial part of our Constitution and more importantly, our history. This court case involved the analysis of amendments, laws, and divisions of power. Plessy v. Ferguson was a significant court case in U.S history because it was shaped by federalism and precedent, which were two key components that were further established and clarified as a result of the Supreme Court’s final decision.
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the racial precedent of “separate

Without an established set of powers, a government is unable to function. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the separation of powers between the state and the national government, also known as federalism, is directly assessed. Plessy claimed that the Louisiana law of requiring segregation on modes of transportation violated the 14th Amendment (Case Background). Under the U.S. Constitution, the 14th Amendment applies to all citizens in all states. Section 1 explains state powers and limits, while Section 5 explains that the overall power of this amendment is regulated by the national government (Document H). This differentiates between the two governments and explains that the national government is superior to state governments. In addition, the 10th Amendment states that the powers not given to the national government are given to the states (Document D). With this, various states passed Jim Crow laws which were laws that required racial segregation in public places (Case Background). However, these laws only created the separation between black citizens and white citizens, they did not treat the two races as unequal. This is where the flaw in Plessy’s argument comes into play. Plessy claimed that the state law violated the Constitution because the law did not treat him as equal. However, the doctrine of “separate but

Ferguson was shaped by two key components of our system of government: precedent and federalism. Although the precedent, “separate but equal”, influenced the Supreme Court’s decision, this court case helped the formation and affirmation of the later established doctrine. Furthermore, this case required the assessment of federalism on a more complex level. The division of power between two governments was looked upon when the case was introduced with different laws put in place by different governments. In conclusion, two vital components, federalism and precedent, were used to constitute tradition and clarify the laws in place in the late 19th