Mock Trial Reaction Post

A white man stopping black citizens from boarding a train car

Two Sides of Plessy v. Ferguson

My classmates presented both sides of Plessy v. Ferguson. Here is what each argued.

Defending Homer Plessy

Homer Plessy could “pass” and live in white society. He bought a first-class ticket for a white car illegally and was fined under the Separate Car Act. His side asked: does this violate his rights under the 14th Amendment?

They argued the Constitution should not play into a citizen’s legal rights because of race. Plessy was not drunk or disorderly; he simply was there and faced consequences for it.

  Justice Harlan said, “Our constitution is colorblind.” They also cited the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal,” and said the country has not been living up to it.

Citizens who purchase tickets and obey the laws have a right to equal service, and Plessy paid an equal fare for an equal seat.

Segregation, they said, is unjust and unconstitutional, and bad for the community. It teaches children racism; do we want children to grow up this way? 

It also has costs that affect the entire nation: separation causes unnecessary confusion, may leave valuable seating unused, harms workers and users, and risks businesses losing supporters and customers.

Louisiana passed the law and had the choice, so they should follow it, and a law is not wrong just because someone dislikes it.

Defending Ferguson

The Separate Car Act does not treat people differently: they are separated but treated equal. Louisiana did not invent separation; it happens everywhere.

The 13th and 14th Amendments did not command mingling of races and social life, and they do not reach private, social distinctions. 

The 13th abolished slavery, nothing more, and the 14th makes people equal only by law, not through social mingling. The Congress that drafted the 14th knew of the rulings and left it anyway.

To honor order is not hatred; it’s humility. Inferiority lies not in the act, only in the meaning itself. 

No society has ever existed without some form of social expectations, and separate institutions have existed for generations. Whether someone approves is not the issue here. Law cannot overcome social customs by decree.

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AI DISCLOSURE: AI was used to form this blog post from my own notes that I took while listening to my classmates give a mock trial presentation on the Plessy v. Ferguson case. I asked Claude AI to give only add embedded links to reliable sources related to the topic. AI did not add or change any information above.