Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

E3886

U.S. Supreme Court case civil rights case landmark court decision segregation case

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine, legitimizing Jim Crow laws for decades.

Aliases (4)

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	U.S. Supreme Court case → civil rights case → landmark court decision → segregation case →
areaOfLaw	civil rights law → constitutional law → racial segregation law →
citation	163 U.S. 537 →
concernedStatute	Jim Crow laws → surface form: "Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890"
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Equal Protection Clause → surface form: "Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause" Thirteenth Amendment →
court	Supreme Court of the United States →
criticizedFor	entrenching racial segregation → narrow interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause →
decisionDate	1896-05-18 →
defendant	John H. Ferguson →
dissentClaimed	segregation laws are inconsistent with the equality of all citizens before the law →
dissentFamousFor	John Marshall Harlan’s statement that the Constitution is color-blind →
dissentingOpinionBy	John Marshall Harlan →
effect	institutionalized separate but equal doctrine across the American South → legitimized Jim Crow laws for decades →
fullName	Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) → surface form: "Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)"
held	state racial segregation laws for public facilities are constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause if facilities are equal in quality →
historicalSignificance	became the primary legal foundation for racial segregation in the United States → marked a major setback for Reconstruction-era civil rights gains →
issue	constitutionality of racial segregation in railroad cars →
jurisdiction	United States of America → surface form: "United States"
legalDoctrineEstablished	separate but equal →
locationOfIncident	New Orleans → surface form: "New Orleans, Louisiana"
majorityOpinionBy	Henry Billings Brown →
originatedFrom	Louisiana state law →
overruledBy	Brown v. Board of Education → surface form: "Brown v. Board of Education (1954)"
plaintiff	Homer Plessy →
plaintiffAncestry	mixed-race (one-eighth Black) →
plaintiffRaceClassification	Jim Crow laws → surface form: "Black (under Louisiana law)"
relatedCase	Brown v. Board of Education → Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education →
relatedConcept	racial segregation in public transportation → separate but equal doctrine →
relatedMovement	Jim Crow laws → surface form: "Jim Crow era"
stateCourt	Louisiana Supreme Court →
stateInvolved	Louisiana →
subsequentImpact	became a symbol of legalized racism in U.S. history → influenced segregation policies in education, transportation, and public accommodations →
typeOfSegregation	de jure racial segregation →
upheld	constitutionality of Jim Crow segregation laws →
vote	7–1 →

Referenced by (17)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

American South (19th and early 20th centuries) → associatedWithDecision → Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) →

Homer Plessy → causeOfFame → Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) →

this entity surface form: "U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing “separate but equal” doctrine"

The Civil Rights Cases (1883) → followedBy → Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) →

subject surface form: "The Civil Rights Cases"