The following excerpt concerns segregation in public schools and cites a ruling about separate facilities. Which case is identified as the source of this principle in the material?

• A. Plessy v. Ferguson
• B. Brown v. Board of Education
• C. Dred Scott v. Sandford
• D. Roe v. Wade

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is the origin of the policy that allowed segregation under a doctrine of “separate but equal.” Plessy v. Ferguson established that separate facilities for different races were constitutional if they were equal in quality, which provided the legal basis for segregating public facilities, including schools, for many years. That makes it the correct case for identifying the source of this principle. Later, Brown v. Board of Education rejected the idea that separate can be equal, ruling that segregation in public schools is inherently unequal and unconstitutional. The other cases don’t establish the governing principle here: Dred Scott deals with citizenship, Roe v. Wade with abortion, and Brown v. Board of Education is the case that overturned Plessy rather than originating the doctrine.