Plessy v. Ferguson Mock Trial Reaction Post

An African American citizen sitting in the same car as a white citizen.

The Plessy v. Ferguson mock trial raised an important question: Did Louisiana’s Separate Car Act violate Homer Plessy’s rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? Plessy, an African American man who could “pass” as white, purchased a first-class ticket and sat in a railroad car designated for white passengers. After refusing to leave the car, he was arrested for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act. 

Plessy’s side argued that separating citizens based on race went against the idea of equality. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, yet the presentation argued that the country was not living up to that principle. Simply claiming that segregation was customary did not necessarily make it right.

One argument that stood out to me was the question of where segregation could lead. If a state had the authority to separate people in railway cars, what else could it separate? This argument showed that the case involved more than just where someone could sit on a train.

Plessy’s side also presented segregation as an economic problem. Requiring businesses to provide separate accommodations forced them to divide their resources, potentially affecting both companies and their customers. In fact, the railroad involved in Plessy’s case opposed the law because of the additional expenses associated with providing separate cars. 

Water fountains showing they are not treated equally

Ferguson’s side presented a very different perspective. They argued that the Separate Car Act separated passengers without legally treating them unequally. According to this argument, the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed equality under the law, but it did not require social integration.

Ferguson's Position also relied heavily on custom. Segregation had existed in society for years, and the defense argued that laws should be understood within those established customs. The argument claimed that feelings of inferiority came from how people interpreted separation rather than from the law itself, a position also reflected in the Supreme Court majority’s reasoning. 

Ultimately, the Supreme Court sided with Ferguson and upheld Louisiana’s segregation law, establishing the infamous “separate but equal” doctrine. 

The mock trial showed me how differently the idea of “equality” can be interpreted. Can two groups truly be equal under the law if the law requires them to be separated?

AI Disclosure: AI was used throughout this blogpost for formatting. I took ample notes while watching my peers mock trial. I then used Copilot to help me clean up the text for grammar, spelling and punctuation. I asked the tool to help me shape it into the form of a blog post. I then edited the text, added links, and added images and captions.