USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -“Separate but equal” refers to the infamously racist decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that allowed the use of segregation laws by states and local governments.

Detailed explanation-2: -The ruling in this Supreme Court case upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” During the era of Reconstruction, Black Americans’ political rights were affirmed by three constitutional amendments and numerous laws passed by Congress.

Detailed explanation-3: -Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent, it prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for more than half a century until it was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brownv.

Detailed explanation-4: -Apparently, this was not an issue for the United States Supreme Court when it decided on the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896. The Court ruled in favor of separate areas for blacks and whites as long as they were equal, a decision which would prove to hold for almost 60 years until being overruled.