Plessy v. Ferguson addressed segregation in public facilities. Which doctrine did the Court establish?

Plessy v. Ferguson addressed segregation in public facilities. Which doctrine did the Court establish?

• A. Strict scrutiny
• B. Desegregation
• C. Separate-but-equal doctrine
• D. Rational basis with bite

Answer: (C)

The key idea tested is how the Court treated racial segregation in public facilities. Plessy v. Ferguson held that state laws requiring separation of the races were constitutional as long as the separate facilities were equal in quality. This gave rise to the “separate-but-equal” doctrine, which allowed Jim Crow segregation to persist for decades because equal facilities were rarely, if ever, truly equal in practice. The doctrine stood until Brown v. Board of Education rejected the notion that separation could be truly equal in education, deeming segregation inherently unequal. The other options don’t fit because strict scrutiny applies to certain suspect classifications and fundamental rights and would not justify segregation; desegregation is the goal that the doctrine ultimately failed to achieve; and rational basis with bite is not the doctrine Plessy established.

The key idea tested is how the Court treated racial segregation in public facilities. Plessy v. Ferguson held that state laws requiring separation of the races were constitutional as long as the separate facilities were equal in quality. This gave rise to the “separate-but-equal” doctrine, which allowed Jim Crow segregation to persist for decades because equal facilities were rarely, if ever, truly equal in practice. The doctrine stood until Brown v. Board of Education rejected the notion that separation could be truly equal in education, deeming segregation inherently unequal.

The other options don’t fit because strict scrutiny applies to certain suspect classifications and fundamental rights and would not justify segregation; desegregation is the goal that the doctrine ultimately failed to achieve; and rational basis with bite is not the doctrine Plessy established.