why was the plessy vs fergusson case important?

Question

history question,
occured in mid 1960's

Answer 1

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established the legality of segregation so long as facilities were kept "separate but equal." This standard dominated civil rights cases until 1954, when it was overruled by the court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Answer 2

Um, if I remember my history correctly, Plessy v. Fergeson (Spelling? Not sure) was NOT in the 1960's. I believe it was the 1890's, and why it was important was because the Supreme Court set a precedant that held for...60-70 or so years. What happened was Plessy bought a first class train ticket, but because he was 1/8 black (Called and "Octoroon") he was denied. He sued. It eventually went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court decided 8-1 that Seperate but Equal was legitimate. This meant that seperate facilities for blacks and whites was acceptable. This continued until the 1950's and 1960's when the Supreme Court struck down the "Seperate but Equal" deal. That is why Plessy v. Ferguson was important.

Answer 3

It defined the issue of segregation, beginning the era of Jim Crow and the separation of races between whites and blacks. With this one decision, of a man who was 7/8 white (Plessy) who was not allowed to ride in the 'white' car of the train, the races were separated and blacks persecuted for the next sixty years.