Jim Crow Law: The Plessy V. Ferguson Case

After the resolution of the Civil War, rich whites in the South scrambled to regain economic control and superiority. To prevent blacks and poor whites from joining together to challenge them, a series of Jim Crow laws that segregated blacks from whites were created (Cates 50). In this time, various legal decisions played instrumental roles in the transition to a heavily segregated south. Through the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision, the government legalized segregation which led to the establishment of myriad Jim Crow laws that stripped African Americans of their Constitutional rights. One of the main factors that lead to the creation of such a crippling and vast array of Jim Crow laws was the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision.
Under their constant strain, blacks were forced to use inferior water fountains, phone booths, seats, doors, and more. These policies were supposedly separate but equal; however, the harsh conditions blacks often received treatment that was far less that equal (116). Despite the argument of the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, these laws stripped African Americans of their rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. Respectively, these two amendments abolished slavery (29) and protected civil rights (30). By segregating blacks from whites and providing accommodations that were vastly inferior to thost given to whites, both of these two amendments were violated. As courts often ruled against them when they tried to challenge these laws, blacks were forced to settle for inferior accommodations under the Jim Crow laws Overall, the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision legalized segregation in the United States. This legalization was a powerful tool for lawmakers in the South in order to create more Jim Crow laws. These laws violated the rights of blacks outlined in the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments while segregating many aspects of daily life for blacks in the