Social Studies Praxis Practice Test

Which landmark Supreme Court case upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine?

1. Brown v. Board of Education

2. Plessy v. Ferguson

3. Roe v. Wade

4. Loving v. Virginia

The correct answer is: Plessy v. Ferguson

The correct answer is the case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which allowed for racial segregation as long as the separate facilities were considered equal. Plessy v. Ferguson, decided in 1896, upheld state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities, affirming that such segregation did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark ruling provided a legal basis for the continuation of segregation for many decades, influencing a wide range of public policies and practices across the United States. The decision was rooted in the belief that segregation itself did not imply the inferiority of African Americans, thus validating the status quo of societal racial divisions and discrimination. Other cases mentioned are significant in their own contexts but do not relate to the "separate but equal" doctrine. Brown v. Board of Education, for example, later overturned Plessy v. Ferguson by declaring that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, thus ruling segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Roe v. Wade primarily dealt with reproductive rights and the legal status of abortion, while Loving v. Virginia focused on interracial marriage and struck down laws banning such unions. Each of these cases addressed different aspects of civil rights and liberties in American law.