Plessy v. Ferguson

 Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark case that established separate but equal doctrine. Plessy attempted to ride in a white car on a train but the law was in place that black people and white people had to ride in separate cars in the state of Louisiana. Plessy claimed this law was unjust under the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. My peers had to argue for either Plessy or Ferguson.

One argument defending Plessy I found very interesting was the argument provided on the grounds of Law. It was brought up that Louisiana had interpreted the Constitution by forming the concept of “separate but equal.” Louisiana interpreting the Constitution was a far overstep of what the state is allowed. It is the Supreme Court's job to make judgments about the constitution. In that way what Louisiana did should have been illegal

Another argument for the defense of Plessy I found fascinating was how the economic precedent it set was dangerous. It created two weaker economies rather than a single strong one. Further than that it would require increased resources to build both white and black bathrooms, white and black schools, and white and black restaurants.

Another point that I found interesting from Plessy's defense was that he was only ⅛ black which meant the laws did not address him, so they could not apply to him therefore the law was flawed. He couldn’t be charged under a law that did not acknowledge his existence.

On the opposing side the concept of tradition was interesting that the unwritten rules in place would also tell Plessy to sit in the Black car. He was disrupting the peace intentionally to make some sort of statement. 

The economic argument against Plessy was that black people are benefiting from being separate but equal. The argument was that Black people were building business, buying land, and educating their youth without white interference. The same was true for white people. He claimed everyone was happy. The argument also used Black Wall-Street as an example.

Both sides of the case presented cases that were well informed and interesting. The exercise helped me understand how complex the Plessy v. Ferguson was. The cases was far contextualized in the era.