Causes Of The Plessy Vs Ferguson Debate

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Bob Marley once stated, “Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” He is trying to say that it is better to sacrifice your life in order to gain freedom than be a slave for the rest of your life. Before America was considered the “land of the free,” the United States faced problems like the black codes, ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, the Civil War, and segregation caused by the Plessy v. Ferguson debate. America became the “land of the free” after it failed several political and social struggles. Political struggles are changes in the government and laws that lead or inhibit freedom. An example of a political struggle was in 1865, 1868, and 1870 when the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified. If ratified or accepted as a law, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments would give former slaves freedom citizenship, and the right to vote. This is significant because once the …show more content…

The Plessy v. Ferguson debate is a social struggle which happened around 1896. In other words, the Plessy v. Ferguson debate was a court act decision that started segregation and allowed African American to have their equal right, but separated them from the whites. This led to the definition of the “land of the free” because segregation was considered incorrect and was eventually removed which meant that African Americans were no longer separated from the whites and still had their equal rights. In addition, the Civil War was started in 1861 and it caused another social struggle. This shows how the Civil War was a war between caused America to be identified as the “land of the free” because the Union won the war between the Southerners and slavery was abolished in the states that had once had slaves. In conclusion, social struggles led to America being called the “land of the

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