Question

This is an excerpt from the ruling in an 1896 Supreme Court case. What impact did this case have on the United States?

A) Northern states passed laws to segregate their public transportation systems.
B) Legalized segregation became more widespread in the United States.
C) Railroad companies refused to expand into states where segregation was legal.
D) The constitution was amended to ensure African Americans were given basic civil rights.

Answer 1

The 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, leading to the widespread legalization of segregation in the United States until it was overturned in 1954 by Brown v. Board of Education.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 1896 Supreme Court case referenced is Plessy v. Ferguson, which had a profound impact on the United States. The ruling of this case established the doctrine of "separate but equal", which meant that as long as the separate facilities for the races were equal, segregation was not a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. This led to the second option being the correct one: B) Legalized segregation became more widespread in the United States. The Plessy decision allowed for the continuance and legitimization of Jim Crow laws, under which African Americans suffered systemic discrimination and inferior facilities despite the theoretical promise of equality. This separate but equal doctrine was not overturned until the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, signaling the beginning of the end of de jure segregation in the United States.