Home > Landmark Library > Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Learning Objectives

  • Define “civil disobedience” 
  • Identify and analyze interpretations of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause 
  • Identify the main arguments put forth in the case 
  • Describe the rationale behind the Supreme Court’s decision 
  • Identify the impact of the Supreme Court decision on racial discrimination 

Overview

This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that it was constitutional to keep Black and White people segregated as long as the accommodations for each race were “equal.”  Students learn about the concept of “separate but equal,” the reasons the Court found the doctrine acceptable, and the fact that the doctrine was not abolished until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

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