Useful Links
Primary Source Documents, Historians’ Essays, Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources, Podcasts, Videos
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teacher-resources/witnessing-history-pardon-homer-plessy-recommended-resources
Resources for teachers
https://oyezoyezohyay.org/plessy-v-ferguson-1896-for-teachers/
Teaching about Segregation and Its Consequences: Examining Plessy v. Ferguson (video)
https://www.facinghistory.org/professional-development/ondemand/teaching-about-segregation-and-its-consequences-examining-plessy-v
Plessy v. Ferguson (interactive timeline, study questions, and the opinion of the court)
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/plessy-v-ferguson-2/#doc-tabs-related
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teacher-resources/witnessing-history-pardon-homer-plessy-recommended-resources
Resources for teachers
https://oyezoyezohyay.org/plessy-v-ferguson-1896-for-teachers/
Teaching about Segregation and Its Consequences: Examining Plessy v. Ferguson (video)
https://www.facinghistory.org/professional-development/ondemand/teaching-about-segregation-and-its-consequences-examining-plessy-v
Plessy v. Ferguson (interactive timeline, study questions, and the opinion of the court)
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/plessy-v-ferguson-2/#doc-tabs-related
Primary Sources
Judgement in Plessy V. Ferguson
https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/judgment-plessy-ferguson
This is an excerpt from the 1896 United States Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson. Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote the majority opinion and Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote the dissent.
https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/judgement-of-the-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-in-plessy-v-ferguson
The pardoning of Mr. Homer Plessy
https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/MrHomerPlessyPardon.pdf
Plessy v. Ferguson: Primary Documents in American History
https://guides.loc.gov/plessy-ferguson/digital-collections
https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/judgment-plessy-ferguson
This is an excerpt from the 1896 United States Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson. Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote the majority opinion and Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote the dissent.
https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/judgement-of-the-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-in-plessy-v-ferguson
The pardoning of Mr. Homer Plessy
https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/MrHomerPlessyPardon.pdf
Plessy v. Ferguson: Primary Documents in American History
https://guides.loc.gov/plessy-ferguson/digital-collections
Lessons
Travels Through Time: The Impact of Supreme Court Decisions on the Struggle for African American Equality
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/lesson-plan/travels-through-time-impact-supreme-court-decisions-struggle-african
Mini lesson: This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that it was constitutional to keep black and white people segregated as long as the accommodations for each race were “equal.” Students learn about the concept of “separate but equal,” the reasons the Court found the doctrine acceptable, and the fact that the doctrine was not abolished until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Students compare arguments from the Plessy case and the later case Brown v. Board of Education, and they consider whether the Brown court would have decided in Plessy’s favor.
https://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/plessy-v-ferguson-1896
Plessy v, Ferguson 1896 Lesson
Students will watch a video
Before watching
Think-pair-share: What do you know about the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, and Jim Crow South? After spending time to yourself thinking, share what you know with a partner, and reach out to other groups of partners if time permits.
Discussion questions
Do you believe that the “Separate but Equal” doctrine violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause? 2. Do you agree with Justice Harlan’s dissent that our Constitution is color-blind? Why or why not? 3. What do you think Justice Harlan would support affirmative action policies today? Base your answer on his dissent in Plessy
Brainstorm: What are areas of your life where you still see segregation today? Think about the impacts of these segregated spaces. Discuss in small groups, and plan out what you can do to acknowledge and/or fight against such vestiges.
Research: Look into when Justice Harlan’s dissent has been quoted. Has it been quoted more to support or hurt Black causes? Compare these instances to what the quote meant in the context of Plessy. Debate in groups whether one or two such uses of Harlan's quote properly acknowledge the original meaning and consequences of it, or write a brief essay on the topic.
https://s28543.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2021/03/Plessy-v.-Ferguson-1896-lesson.pdf
DBQ: https://bri-wp-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Plessy-DBQ-I1-1.pdf
Examine the purposes and effects of the13th,14th,and 15th Amendments. Assess the impact of the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and the actions of the Ku Klux Klan. Assess and summarize changing race relations as exemplified in the Plessy Ferguson case.
Segregation was a pivotal issue in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Homer Plessy took a stand against segregation and the notion that separate but equal was legal. Upon reviewing and evaluating the Fourteenth Amendment, Jim Crow Laws, the Plessy v. Ferguson case, and other elements that lend to this era, students will examine and evaluate if "separate but equal" exists and the impact of Homer Plessy's role in the fight for social justice.
https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/lesson/251/pdf
Plessy v. Ferguson (and Brown v. Board)
Essential Question: is it ever just to break the law? How did Homer Plessy and Orval Faubus break the law? What are some of the differences between what they did and how they were punished?
Objectives
Equality and the Supreme Court: A Primary Source Study of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/equality-and-the-supreme-court-a-primary-source-study-of-plessy-v-ferguson-and-brown-v-board-of-education
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/lesson-plan/travels-through-time-impact-supreme-court-decisions-struggle-african
Mini lesson: This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that it was constitutional to keep black and white people segregated as long as the accommodations for each race were “equal.” Students learn about the concept of “separate but equal,” the reasons the Court found the doctrine acceptable, and the fact that the doctrine was not abolished until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Students compare arguments from the Plessy case and the later case Brown v. Board of Education, and they consider whether the Brown court would have decided in Plessy’s favor.
https://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/plessy-v-ferguson-1896
Plessy v, Ferguson 1896 Lesson
Students will watch a video
Before watching
Think-pair-share: What do you know about the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, and Jim Crow South? After spending time to yourself thinking, share what you know with a partner, and reach out to other groups of partners if time permits.
Discussion questions
Do you believe that the “Separate but Equal” doctrine violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause? 2. Do you agree with Justice Harlan’s dissent that our Constitution is color-blind? Why or why not? 3. What do you think Justice Harlan would support affirmative action policies today? Base your answer on his dissent in Plessy
Brainstorm: What are areas of your life where you still see segregation today? Think about the impacts of these segregated spaces. Discuss in small groups, and plan out what you can do to acknowledge and/or fight against such vestiges.
Research: Look into when Justice Harlan’s dissent has been quoted. Has it been quoted more to support or hurt Black causes? Compare these instances to what the quote meant in the context of Plessy. Debate in groups whether one or two such uses of Harlan's quote properly acknowledge the original meaning and consequences of it, or write a brief essay on the topic.
https://s28543.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2021/03/Plessy-v.-Ferguson-1896-lesson.pdf
DBQ: https://bri-wp-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Plessy-DBQ-I1-1.pdf
Examine the purposes and effects of the13th,14th,and 15th Amendments. Assess the impact of the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and the actions of the Ku Klux Klan. Assess and summarize changing race relations as exemplified in the Plessy Ferguson case.
Segregation was a pivotal issue in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Homer Plessy took a stand against segregation and the notion that separate but equal was legal. Upon reviewing and evaluating the Fourteenth Amendment, Jim Crow Laws, the Plessy v. Ferguson case, and other elements that lend to this era, students will examine and evaluate if "separate but equal" exists and the impact of Homer Plessy's role in the fight for social justice.
https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/lesson/251/pdf
Plessy v. Ferguson (and Brown v. Board)
Essential Question: is it ever just to break the law? How did Homer Plessy and Orval Faubus break the law? What are some of the differences between what they did and how they were punished?
Objectives
- Students will be able to analyze political cartoons.
- Students will be able to identify and explain the issues of Plessy v. Ferguson and of the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School.
- Students will be able to analyze the complex issues behind breaking laws.
Equality and the Supreme Court: A Primary Source Study of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/equality-and-the-supreme-court-a-primary-source-study-of-plessy-v-ferguson-and-brown-v-board-of-education