ShmoopTube

00:00

[ musical flourish ]

00:03

And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Supremes Court,

00:07

Motown's most prestigious judicial body.

00:10

All right, first up, the excerpt.

00:11

[ mumbles ] Plessy versus Ferguson, all right.

00:19

And now the question:

00:20

Which of the following bore the most similarity to

00:22

Plessy versus Ferguson? And here are your potential answers.

00:25

[ music ]

00:31

The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson

00:33

affirmed the constitutionality of "separate

00:36

but equal," which threw a huge wrench in African Americans'

00:40

plans for racial equality. Are the same ideas behind the

00:43

Plessy v. Ferguson ruling reflected in B -

00:46

Brown v. Board of Education?

00:48

Well, actually, Brown versus the Board of Education was the case

00:51

that essentially overturned Plessy versus Ferguson,

00:53

at least in regards to segregated schools.

00:56

So they're pretty much the exact opposite.

00:58

Same goes for the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

01:01

which outlawed discrimination based on race as well as sex,

01:04

religion, and national origin. So that's quite the case

01:06

against B and C. Good-bye.

01:07

Did Plessy v. Ferguson share any similarities with

01:11

D - the goals of the Populist Party?

01:13

Well, the Populist Party advocated more for economic

01:16

policies protecting farmers, not civil rights.

01:19

So that mows over D, too.

01:21

Which means that the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson has the most in common

01:25

with A - "Jim Crow" segregation laws.

01:28

Jim Crow laws required African Americans to drink

01:31

from separate water fountains, receive treatment

01:34

in separate hospitals, and ride in separate train cars.

01:37

Plessy v. Ferguson rubber-stamped this segregation

01:40

by affirming that whole "separate but equal" business.

01:43

So the answer is A.

01:44

Though the Supreme Court is supposed to protect the rights of all citizens,

01:48

well, sometimes you really have to question its judgement.

Full Transcript