Existing comment:
"But in the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. in respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law."
-- John Marshall Harlan, 1896, in his dissent on Plessy Vs. Ferguson.
In 1892, Homer Plessy boarded a "white" train car in Louisiana. Although he was only one-eight black, it was still illegal under Louisiana state law. He was arrested and his case appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Court ruled in 1896 that the state law did not violate the equal protection provided by the Fourteenth Amendment, as long as separate accommodations were equal.
This decision allowed for the legal segregation of the races in most spheres of public life, including transportation, public accommodations, and public schools. The impact on the US Army resulted in the retention of segregated regiments and the exclusion of African Americans from the US Military Academy at West Point, often seen as the first step toward achieving senior leadership positions in the Army. The Medal of Honor was also denied to African American soldiers in World Wars I and II, despite their service and sacrifice, until the 1990s. |