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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy v. Ferguson

Nefertari Skeete

Professor

History

June 30,2019
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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

The Fourteenth Amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and

subjects to the jurisdiction, thereof are made citizens of the United States and of the State

wherein they reside and the States are forbidden from making or enforcing any law which shall

abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or shall deprive any person

of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny any person within their

jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. According to the Colombia Electronic

Encyclopedia the sixth edition, the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the

U.S. Constitution dealt with political and not social equality which lead to the case Plessy v.

Ferguson decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896.

In 1896 Plessy who was 7/8 white, attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. After

refusing to sit in the black carriage car, Plessy was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana

statue that provided for segregated “separate but equal” railroad accommodations. At trial Plessy

was found guilty for a reasonable exercise of the states police powers based on custom, usage,

and tradition in the state. Plessy filed a petition asserting that segregation stigmatized blacks and

stamped them with a badge of inferiority in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The states

can constitutionally enact legislation requiring persons of different races to use “separate but

equal” segregated facilities. The issue with the Fourteenth Amendment was that it was intended

to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but it was intended to abolish

distinctions based upon color, enforce equality socially, or a co-mingling of the two faces upon
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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

terms unsatisfactory to either. The Supreme Court decision established that “separate but equal”

was constitutional in the Plessy case.

Plessy legitimized the move toward segregation practices that began in the south and

provided an impetus lead for further segregation laws. The prospect of greater state influence in

matters of race concerned many advocates of the civil equalities including Supreme Court Justice

John Harlan who wrote in his dissent of the Plessy decision, “we shall enter upon an era of

constitutional law, when the rights of freedom and American citizenship cannot receive from the

nation that efficient protection which was unhesitatingly accorded to slavery and the rights of the

master” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011). The decision provided constitutional

sanction for the adoption throughout the South of a comprehensive series of Jim Crow Laws

which were maintained until overturned in 1954 by Brown v. Board of Education (Columbia

Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011).

Mark Rathbone pointed out in his article that the Plessy v. Ferguson case led the way for

other cases for segregation, one of which was Brown v. Board of Education. The issue first was

ruled upon in an American court (Rathbone, 2010). Brown v. Board of Education was a

Supreme Court case in 1954 which outlawed racial segregation in schools. Brown v. Board of

Education started when Oliver L. Brown, a welder for the Santa Fe Railroad took on the Board

of Education of Topeka, Kansas simply because he wanted his daughter to attend a nearby school

designed as white only instead of being bused across town to an all black school (Chappell,

2004). When Brown did not get the remedy that he sought, he took the issue to the Supreme

Court. The question arose, is the race-based segregation of children into “separate but equal”
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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

public schools constitutional? The court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the race based

segregation of children into “separate but equal” in public schools violates the Fourteenth

Amendment regarding the Equal Protection Clause.

Segregation of children in the public schools solely on the basis of race denies black

children from the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment,

although the physical facilities and others may be equal. Education in public schools is a right

which must be made available to all on equal terms (Chappell, 2004). The Brown v. Board of

Education case was a consolidation of five different cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia,

Delaware, and Washington. All of which had the same legal remedy so the Supreme Court

decided to combine all the cases under the Brown case. (Chappell, 2004.)

Charles Hamilton Houston said “This fight for equality of educational opportunities was

not an isolated struggle. All our struggles must tie in together and support one another…We must

remain on the alert and push the struggle farther with all our might.” It was Houston’s legal

scholarship leading to the uphill road to Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 (Ogletree, 2007).

The Brown case successfully argued “separate but equal,” and ignited a movement for racial

segregation changing the country forever (Ogletree, 2007).

When the courts came together they ruled that the equal protection clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment was violated when blacks were provided separate but undeniably

unequal educational facilities (Burst, 2004). “Segregation of Negroes as practiced in this country

is universally understood as imposing on them a badge of inferiority.”

The sentence was repeated in the Plessy case. Brown v. Board of Education linked

segregation to stigma, rather than calling the connection a “fallacy” (Burst, 2004).

Another case that deserves mentioning is The Norfolk 17. The argument in this case

was based on busing Negro students to an all White school in Norfolk, Virginia in 1958. The

Brown decision did not solve the problem of segregation in the Norfolk public schools and failed

to bring about equal educational opportunities for African Americans in the city (Doyle. 2005).

My best friend was one of the Norfolk 17 and her accounts are as follows: “I was

influenced by my parents to attend school on the other side of town to get a better education as

the books from my school had the markings of the all White schools, which meant their books

had been upgraded and the books we received were out-dated”. She further states “without the

help of the N.A.A.C.P. (National Association of Colored People) the decision of Brown v. Board

of Education would not have been enforced”. After being able to attend the all-white school,

after taking a series of academic and psychological tests that were unnecessary, she and her peers

were called the “N” word, threatened and spat at on a daily basis and they did not give up.

At that time the President of these United States was Dwight D. Eisenhower who

remained closed mouth about the entire situation in Virginia at the advice of his press secretary,

James C. Hagerty who suggested the President make no comment regarding approving or

disapproving the situation in Virginia. The schools closed down due to the busing of the African

American students, but had to re-open once the decision was handed down.
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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

On the Anniversary of Robert E. Lee’s birth, January 19, 1959, the Virginia State

Supreme Court and the Federal District Court declared that the school closing in Norfolk was

unconstitutional. Two weeks later, on February 2, 1959, the Norfolk 17 became the first African

American students to attend the previously all-White schools in the largest school district in the

State of Virginia (Doyle, 2005). Although the Norfolk 17 endured hate, they all graduated and

moved on with their lives. There are only three survivors left of the Norfolk 17, my best friend

is one of the three and has now retired in Baltimore, Maryland.

In conclusion, although unsuccessful in the court ruling Plessy paved the way for the

Fourteenth Amendment to be constitutional for colored children in their education as well as for

different races in general to have equal rights although separate. The Plessy case led to the

Brown v. Board of Education case, which successfully allowed colored children to attend white

schools, arguing the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause. In the Brown v. Board of

Education case the court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the race based segregation of

children into “separate but equal” in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment for the

Equal Protection clause.

According to the Colombia Electronic Encyclopedia the sixth edition, the equal protection

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution dealt with political and not social

equality which lead to the case Plessy v. Ferguson case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in

1896. In 1896 Plessy attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. The Plessy case led to the

Brown v. Board of Education case, which successfully allowed colored children to attend white

schools, arguing the fourteenth amendment equal protection clause. In the Brown v. Board of

Education case the court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the race based segregation of
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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson

children into “separate but equal” in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment

regarding the Equal Protection clause. However, in the Plessy v. Ferguson case the court ruled

that the states can constitutionally enact legislation requiring persons of different races to use

“separate but equal” segregated facilities. Education in public schools is a right which must be

made available to all on equal terms (Chappell, 2004). Although unsuccessful in the court

ruling Plessy paved the way for the fourteenth amendment to be constitutional for colored

children in their education as well as for different races in general to have equal rights although

separate.

Chief Justice Earl Warren handed down and wrote the decision himself stating racial

segregation of children in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment, “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall…deny to any person its

jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The court noted that Congress, when drafting the

Fourteenth Amendment in the 1860’s did not include integration of public schools but,

guarantees equal education in today’s society.

Mark Golub raises the question of color blindness in the Plessy v. Ferguson case and states “is

it true that the question of the proportion of colored blood necessary to constitute a colored

person, as distinguished from a white person, is one upon which there is a difference of opinion

in the different states, some holding that any visible admixture of black blood stamps the person

as belonging to the colored race.” This is true in so many cases. Golub further states “the

passage of color blindness has been edited out of most legal casebooks that reproduce the

opinion and may even be unfamiliar to those who have carefully read the cases.”

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No disrespect to any nationality, but the white race has been dominant for so many years and

in some circles the cycle continues, especially when African Americans apply for jobs.

Justice Brown’s argument granted to the social institution of law all the force of nature. The

legal enforcement was said to follow naturally from biological differences (color and race) that

exist simply “in the nature of things.” The language of natural difference, sutured to social

arrangements based upon those differences, served to insulate segregation from legal remedy by

locating the source of inequality outside the sphere of legitimate government action (Golub,

2005).

Justice Brown’s second argument was based on the form of equality in an attempt to reconcile

segregation with the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement of “absolute equality before the law”.

The argument further contended that the law was the same for Colored and Caucasian no matter

who violated the law, the punishment would be the same and, of course, this lead to another issue

involving interracial marriages. Justice Brown refused to accept the social meaning of

segregation laws and his argument was mainly on the fact of racial differences and the visible

distinctions of skin color.

The Declaration of Independence states “all men are created equal,” and reinforced the legal

rights of freed slaves, stating “no state shall deprive anyone of either “due process of the law” or

of the “equal protection of the law.” Even though the amendment was in place, Negroes have

always been treated differently than Whites, mainly in the southern states. To further show

Negroes who were in charge some White legislators introduced laws that blacks could not use

the same facilities (bathrooms, drinking fountains, etc.). Entertainers were forced to use back

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doors for their entrance which was very humiliating. The aforementioned laws were called Jim

Crow laws and were not challenged until the early 1890’s.

The lone dissenter, Justice John Marshall Harlan, interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment

another way, stated, “Our Constitution is color-blind and neither knows or tolerates classes

among citizens.” Judge Harlan’s dissent would become a rallying cry for those in later

generations that wished to declare segregation unconstitutional(www.U.S. Courts.gov).

Expecting to receive opposition to this ruling, especially in the southern states, the Supreme

Court did not immediately try to give direction for the implementation of its ruling. The

Supreme Court asked the attorney generals in states permitting segregation to render plans on

how to proceed with desegregation and on May 31, 1955 the Justices handed down a plan of

action on how to move forward. Desegregation was to move forward and Brown v. Board of

Education was a responsible factor in getting this process underway.

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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson
 Reference Page

(1) Burst, R. (2004). The court comes together, ABA journal 90 (4), 40-44.

(2) Chappell, K. (2004). Topeka 50 years later: The real story behind Brown vs. Board of

Education. Ebony, 59 (7), 114.

(3) Doyle, M.C. (2005). From Desegregation to Resegregation: Public Schools in Norfolk,

Virginia 1954-2002. Journal of African American History, 90(1/2), 64-83.

(4) Golub, M. (2005) Plessy as “Passing”, Judicial Responses to Ambiguously Raced Bodies

in Plessy v. Ferguson. Law & Society Review, 39(3), 563-600.

(5) Plessy vs. Ferguson. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition.

(6) Ogletree, C. J. (2007) the sentence of Brown vs. Board of Education?: creating a

blueprint to achieving racial justice in the 21st century. Crisis (15591573), 114 (1), 1.

(7) Rathbone, M. (2010). School Segregation in the USA (68), 1.

(8) www. Us. Courts.gov.

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Fourteenth Amendment issue on Plessy vs. Ferguson