Final answer:
The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling upheld racial segregation based on the misinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, while the Brown v. Board of Education ruling declared school segregation unconstitutional. Plessy allowed for discrimination based on race and dealt with the issue of school segregation, while Brown overturned Plessy and established the unconstitutionality of school segregation. Options A, C and D are correct choices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling was different from the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in several ways:
A) The Plessy ruling was based on the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, the Supreme Court misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, allowing for racial segregation.
C) The Plessy ruling dealt with the issue of school segregation. It involved a challenge to a Louisiana law that required railroad cars to be racially segregated, but its implications extended to other areas, including schools.
D) The Plessy ruling allowed for discrimination based on race. The court held that separate but equal facilities for different races were constitutional, as long as both races were treated equally.
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education ruling, on the other hand, overturned the Plessy decision and declared school segregation unconstitutional. The unanimous Supreme Court decision stated that racially segregated public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling laid the groundwork for ending segregation in other areas as well.