In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson upheld `equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races' on all passenger railways within the state of Louisiana. In this account, which has implications for present-day America, Lofgren traces the roots of this landmark case in the post-Civil War South, stressing the constitutional, legal, and intellectual premises that shaped this episode.
In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson upheld "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races" on all passenger railways within the state of Louisiana. In this book, Lofgren traces the roots of this landmark case in the post-Civil War South and pinpoints its moorings in the era's constitutional, legal, and intellectual doctrines.