| After
much discussion by the United States Supreme Court over the
Plessy v. Ferguson decision, the Court stated
that Louisiana's Separate Car Act did not violate the 14th
Amendment.
"So far, then, as a conflict with the fourteenth
amendment is concerned, the case reduces itself to the question
whether the statute of Louisiana is a reasonable regulation,
and with respect to this there must necessarily be a large
discretion on the part of the legislature….in determining
the question of reasonableness, it [the state] is at liberty
to act with reference to the established usages, customs,
and traditions of the people, and with a view to the promotion
of their comfort, and the preservation of the public peace
and good order."
—Plessy
v. Ferguson (1896)
|
