............................... In declaring separate-but-equal facilities constitutional on intrastate railroads, the Court ruled that the protections of 14th Amendment applied only to political and civil rights (like voting and jury service), not “social rights” (sitting in the railroad car of your choice).
On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal" facilities were considered sufficient to satisfy the 14th Amendment. It wasn't until May 17, 1954, however, that the Court reversed the Plessy decision, bringing the era of government-sanctioned segregation to an end.
