"Laws permitting, and even requiring, their separation in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other... If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane." — Justice Henry Billings Brown, Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
Justice Harlan's dissent contrasted with this majority opinion by arguing that:
- Acheck_circle
The Constitution is color-blind and tolerates no caste among citizens
- B
States retained absolute authority over intrastate transportation
- C
Congress lacked power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment
- D
Segregation was acceptable only on private property
Explanation
Harlan's lone dissent declared the Constitution "color-blind," predicting Plessy would prove as harmful as Dred Scott — a view vindicated decades later.