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Making the Arguments in a Landmark Case: PLESSY v. FERGUSON (Description taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson) Immediately after the end of the Civil War in 1865, during the period known as Reconstruction, the federal government was able to provide some protection for the civil rights of the newly freed slaves. But when Reconstruction ended in 1877 and federal troops were withdrawn, southern state governments began passing Jim Crow laws that prohibited blacks from using the same public accommodations as whites. The Supreme Court had ruled, in the Civil Rights Cases that the Fourteenth Amendment only applied to the actions of state governments, not to those of "individuals", and consequently did not protect persons from individuals or private entities from violating their civil rights. In particular, the Court invalidated most of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, a law passed by the Republican controlled Congress to protect African Americans from private acts of discrimination. In 1890, the State of Louisiana had passed a law that required separate accommodations for Blacks and Whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, several black and white citizens in New Orleans formed an association dedicated to the repeal of that law. They persuaded Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth African, to test it. In 1892, Plessy purchased a first-class ticket on the East Louisiana Railway from New Orleans. The railroad company had been informed already as to Plessy's racial lineage, and after Plessy had taken a seat in the whites only railway car, he was asked to vacate it and sit instead in the "blacks only" car. Plessy refused and was immediately arrested. Plessy was remanded for trial in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, despite his objections that the Louisiana law was in violation of the Constitution. He was convicted and fined $25. Eventually the case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Your Task 1. Two people should play the role of the lawyers in this case, one for Homer Plessy and one for the state. Come up with your main arguments for the case. 2. The rest of the group are a panel of judges who will hear the case and make their decision based solely on the arguments made by the lawyers. Make sure that some elements of Constitutional law are part of your decision Key Constitutional Framework for this Case: THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT