Which statement represents the key difference between the Court’s view of equal access in Plessy and its view in Regents? The Co
urt shifted from opposing legal segregation to supporting it. The Court shifted from saying legal segregation did not cause social problems to saying it did. The Court shifted from arguing African Americans were entitled to legal protection to arguing that they were not. The Court shifted from actively discouraging racial segregation to actively encouraging it.
The Court shifted from saying legal segregation did not cause social problems to saying it did.
Explanation:
Plessy v. Ferguson was a milestone 1896 U.S. Preeminent Court decision that maintained the legality of racial isolation under the "separate but equal" principle. The case originated from a 1892 episode in which African-American train traveler Homer Plessy wouldn't sit in a vehicle for blacks.
Dismissing Plessy's contention that his protected rights were violated, the Supreme Court decided that a law that "implies merely a legal distinction" among whites and blacks was not illegal. Thus, prohibitive Jim Crow enactment and separate open lodging dependent on race ended up as commonplace.
