Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark case decided by the Supreme Court in 1896 that ruled on the constitutionality of the right of the states of the Union to impose racial segregation in public places under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

The court decided, by 7 votes to 1, to declare that segregation in the southern states did not violate the Constitution (in particular the 14th Amendment which stated that all citizens were equal before the law). Judge Henry Billings Brown, speaking for the majority that approved the decision, said that the segregation done in the state of Louisiana did not imply inferiority, in the eyes of the law, of African Americans and that the separation by race in public places and services was a mere political issue. The dissenting voice within the Court, Judge John Marshall Harlan, strongly condemned his colleagues and said that this decision would be as negatively striking as the "Dred Scott Case". He added that the law of the United States did not state that the country had a caste system, that the constitution did not see the color of its citizens' skin and that everyone was equal under the law. Several jurists agreed with Harlan and the nation was divided over it. The southern states, however, rejoiced that their system of segregation by race now had a legal basis to support itself.

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