What was key to the Supreme Court's argument in the verdict of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case?

Question

(1 point)
• equal protection under the law
• the doctrine of separate but equal
• the collapse of Reconstruction governments
• the constitutionality of voting for all citizens

Answer 1

The key to the Supreme Court's argument in the verdict of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case was the doctrine of separate but equal. This doctrine established that racial segregation was permissible as long as the separate facilities for the races were considered equal, thereby legitimizing many state laws that institutionalized racial segregation.