The Plessey v. Ferguson (1896) landmark supreme court
Question 1: Describe the Plessey v. Ferguson (1896) landmark Supreme Court Case.
According to Niederle, Segal & Vesterlund (2011), the case considered the constitutionality of the Law that was passed in 1890 in Louisiana that provided separate rail transit for people from colored races. The law required that blacks should use separate trains from the whites. Plessey purchased a train ticket and sat in a train that was for whites only. He was arrested and charged for the violation of the Law. Judge Ferguson had argued that the law opposed the Fourteenth Amendment that prevents states from denying some citizens some rights based on racial background. However, it was decided that the Fourteenth Amendment only applied to civil and political rights and not social rights. The court further argued that the amendment only forbid slavery imposition
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.
Question 2: What is Affirmative Action?
According to Niederle, Segal & Vesterlund (2011), affirmative action is the effort taken by the government or any other organization to improve the conditions of women and people from minority groups through establishing various employment and educational opportunities. It also involves committing efforts to stimulate the rights of the disadvantaged in the society. In most cases, it is usually referred to as positive discrimination. Its nature varies from country to country with some states using quota systems that involve reserving some jobs and educational positions for people from a particular group in the society. Other states give people from minority groups a priority preference in the process of selection.
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.
Question 3: Why did the House and the Senate create legislation for Affirmative Action?
According to Niederle, Segal & Vesterlund (2011), the legislation was created to prevent racial and sexual discrimination that dominated the United States before 1960. The legislation required employers to offer equal opportunities for employment regardless of the race or the background of a person. Furthermore, the legislation required that employers should take actions to ensure that no form of discrimination exists within their organizations. The legislation was also to prevent discrimination of students in learning institutions.
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.
Question 4: What year was Affirmative Action developed and by whom?
According to Niederle, Segal & Vesterlund (2011), it was developed in the US in the early 1960s by the executive order that was signed on March 1961 by John Kennedy, the president of the US at the time. The order was issued by the president to redress the issue of discrimination that dominated the society during the time even though various civil laws existed.
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.
Question 5: Describe the State of race relations during that period.
According to Niederle, Segal & Vesterlund (2011), before the legislation of affirmative Action, racial discriminations dominated the society with the blacks being considered inferior to the whites. They were subjected to various forms of discrimination such as slavery and human trafficking. Furthermore, most people were subjected to sexual discrimination. Whites divided resources such as land and other social amenities, which created a racial gap between the whites and