Plessy

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

After the American Civil War (1865) the government was able to provide some protection for the civil rights of the newly freed slaves, but when this era ended and the federal troops pulled out of the Southern states, the Jim Crow laws were passed. These prohibited African Americans to use the same facilities as Caucasians and because of this, when Homer Plessy boarded a railroad which was designated for "whites only" he refused to move to the part of the car for "colored" people, and as a result was arrested and put in jail. Plessy then went to court, arguing that his rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution were violated. The judge decided that Louisiana had the right to do so, as long as the railroad operated within state boundaries, but Plessy sought a writ of prohibition and the case was taken to Supreme court where they upheld Judge Ferguson's ruling.

Do you believe that his rights were indeed violated under the 13th and 14th Amendments?

The reason why the Supreme Court upheld the judges ruling was because Louisiana did not imply the inferiority of the African American race by separating the cars, but instead separated them as a matter of "public policy".