Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same?


Think about the following question and discuss or write an answer:

Does treating people equally mean treating them the same?

What would it mean to treat people equally in the following situations?

A man and a woman apply for a job as a shoe sales person. What would the employer have to do to treat these two applicants equally?
Two patients come to a doctor with a headache. The doctor determines that one patient has a brain tumor and the other patient has a run-of-the mill headache. What would the doctor have to do to treat these two patients equally?
Two students try to enter a school that has stairs leading to the entrance. One student is handicapped and the other is not. What would the school have to do to treat these two students equally?
Two students live in the same school district. The students are the same age, but they are different races. What does the school district have to do to treat these two students equally.

Read more about the Equal = Same Dilemma.

Resources
About landmarkcases.org
 
Teaching Recommendations
Based on Your Time

 
Background Summary
and Questions

• • •
Reading Level
• •
Reading Level
 •
Reading Level
Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
 
Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion
 
Key Excerpts from the Dissenting Opinion
  
Full Text of the Majority Opinion

back to top

Activities
    The Case
Reinforcing the Case Facts With a Cartoon

Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same?
 

14th Amendment vs. 10th Amendment: Federalism
 

Interpreting the Constitution
 

back to top

    After the Case
The Impact of the Case: Separate But Equal
 
Case Study of Integration -- Little Rock
 

back to top

Back to top


  FindLaw  
 

LEGAL WEB AND DATABASE SEARCH