Which Supreme Court case established the principle of 'separate but equal'?

The principle of 'separate but equal' was established in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. This case involved Homer Plessy, who challenged Louisiana's segregation laws after being arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" railroad car. The Supreme Court ruled that state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities were constitutional as long as the separate facilities were equal in quality. This decision provided a legal justification for racial segregation for many years, affirming the notion that separate facilities for different races did not imply the inferiority of either race.

The ruling had far-reaching implications, reinforcing systemic racism and discrimination in the United States until it was finally overturned by later judgments, particularly in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which ruled that segregated schools were inherently unequal. Understanding Plessy v. Ferguson is crucial to grasp the legal foundations of segregation and the civil rights movement that followed.