PLESSY V
FERGUSON
Interdisciplinary lesson
To Kill A Mockingbird and Jim Crow
Miss Anthony and Miss Toner
The South at the Turn of the Century:
■ During Reconstruction, there was violent opposition against
newly gained African American freedom, especially in the
South.
■ While African Americans could legally vote and hold office,
the Southern states sought to weaken African American
power.
■ This was done using a broad system of legal policies which
promoted discrimination and segregation.
Restrictions in the South:
■ Voting Restrictions
– Poll Tax
– Grandfather clause
■ Jim Crow Laws
– Separation of black and white people in public
and private facilities
Plessy v Ferguson:
The Facts
■ Separate Car Act (Louisiana) - 1980
“All railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in this state, shall
provide equal but separate accommodations for the white, and colored races, by
providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train, or by dividing
the passenger coaches by a partition so as to secure separate accommodations.”
■ Homer Plessy tested this law by sitting in a “whites-only” train car.
When he was asked to move, he refused and was arrested.
Plessy v Ferguson Argument:
Separate is NOT Equal
■ Plessy argued that the Separate Car Act violated the 14th
Amendment.
■ He argued that requiring black people to sit separately
implied that black people were inferior and therefore
unequal.
Plessy v Ferguson Decision:
Social Equality ≠ Legal Equality
■ Separate train cars were seen as an
issue of social equality, which was
not included in the 14th Amendment.
■ Justice Brown wrote,
“if one race be inferior to the other socially, the
constitution of the United States cannot put them
upon the same plane.”
Plessy v Ferguson:
The Dissenting Opinion
■ Out of 9 justices, Justice Harlan
was the only one to disagree
with the court.
■ He argued that the Constitution
is color-blind and therefore does
not allow “classes among citizens”
Plessy v Ferguson:
The Repercussions
■ Justice Harlan argued that the Court’s decision would lead
to racial hatred and increased attacks against black
peoples’ rights.
■ Plessy v Ferguson set in place the doctrine of “Separate but
Equal” and legalized segregation and discrimination.
■ This doctrine would not be overturned until
1954, with the Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka decision to desegregate schools.
Socratic Seminar Questions:
1. What do you notice about the various reactions of the citizens of Maycomb to Tom
Robinson’s trial? How do you think this would have compared to popular reactions
to Plessy v. Ferguson?
2. Did the courts successfully uphold their reputation as the “great equalizer” during
both of these trials? Why or why not?
3. Do you think courts today share similar biases to the courts in either of these trials,
or do you think modern American society has successfully rid its judicial system of
prejudice?
4. Why do you think that we look back on these decisions, fictional or not, and see
them as ridiculous (i.e Tom shouldn’t have been convicted or “separate but Equal”
is impossible)? Do these prejudices no longer exist, or are we, as a society, just
better at hiding them?
Writing Assignment – Rewrite [his]story
Directions: Summarize the events of either Tom Robinson’s trial in To Kill A
Mockingbird, or the events of Plessy v Ferguson. For one of these events, rewrite history
and thoughtfully present what YOU think should have happened. Would you have
changed the outcome of the court case? How?
If you think the courts came to the right decision for the case you chose, explain why.
If you pick Tom Robinson’s trial, make sure you support your argument or rewrite with
information from the book.
Hand in this assignment before you leave this classroom.