Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of segregation laws in Louisiana, which meant that every state could pass segregation laws, and most did, in the form of "Jim Crow" segregation constitutions. But that was a landmark decision, and it also stimulated the white oppression and repression of black people in the south. There was one dissenter, Justice [John Marshall] Harlan, who was from Kentucky, a former slave state. Harlan thought it was a travesty to treat African Americans, American Citizens, in this manner: as outlined in Plessy v. Ferguson. He saw that this was an attack against equality, and the promises of America…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the promises of American Democracy. Harlan saw this as an assault against that. And, quite possibly, if the Supreme Court could attack one minority, a class of American Citizens like African Americans, then who was next?

close window