Question

What were the effects of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision? Check all that apply.

It found the Fourteenth Amendment to be unconstitutional.
It established a new precedent in declaring the law constitutional.
It limited the rights of African American citizens.
It allowed the policy of “separate but equal” to continue.
It stopped states from creating segregation laws.

Answer 1

Correct choices:
- It established a new precedent in declaring the law constitutional. (Yes — the Court upheld Louisiana’s segregation law.)
- It limited the rights of African American citizens. (Yes — by validating state segregation, it reduced their civil rights in practice.)
- It allowed the policy of “separate but equal” to continue. (Yes — Plessy created the “separate but equal” doctrine.)

Incorrect:
- It found the Fourteenth Amendment to be unconstitutional. (No — the Court interpreted the 14th Amendment as not forbidding racial segregation in public facilities.)
- It stopped states from creating segregation laws. (No — it did the opposite: it permitted states to enact and enforce segregation laws.)

Note: The “separate but equal” precedent stood until Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned it.