John Howard Ferguson
Encyclopedia
John Howard Ferguson was born the third and last child to baptist parents (John H. Ferguson & Sarah Davis Luce) on June 10, 1838 in Chilmark/Tisbury, Massachusetts. The son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson of Martha's Vineyard (Chimark & Tisbury) Master Mariners, John Howard Ferguson chose a different vocational path and taught school in his early years, finally setting about to study law. Young Ferguson's family was all but wiped out between 1849–1861, and after the Civil War ended, and he had completed his legal studies in Boston under the tutelage of Benjamin F. Hallett, Ferguson moved to New Orleans in 1865. There he met and married in July 1866, Virginia Butler Earhart, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Earhart, a staunch and outspoken abolitionist from Pennsylvania. The Fergusons raised three sons (Walter Judson, Milo & Donald Ferguson)in Uptown New Orleans at 1500 Henry Clay Avenue. The house still stands today and is designated a historical landmark of the 1989 Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission.
Ferguson served in the Louisiana Legislature and practiced law in New Orleans until he was tapped in 1892 for a judgeship at the criminal district court, Section A, for the parish of New Orleans, Louisiana. There he presided over the case Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana. The case was brought by Homer Plessy
and eventually led to the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson
decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality
of racial segregation
.
Judge Ferguson had declared the Louisiana Railway Car Act of 1890 (The Separate Car Act), a law declaring that Louisiana
rail companies had to provide separate but equal
accommodations for white and non-white passengers, "unconstitutional on trains that travelled through several states". In Plessy's case, however, he concluded that the state could choose to regulate railroad companies that operated solely within the state of Louisiana. Ferguson found Plessy guilty of not leaving a "white" car and declared the Separate Car Act was in this case constitutional.
Plessy then appealed the case to the Louisiana State Supreme Court
, which affirmed the decision that the Louisiana law was constitutional. Plessy petitioned for a writ of error from the Supreme Court of the United States where Judge John Howard Ferguson was named in the case brought before the United States Supreme Court because he had been named in the petition to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Judge John Howard Ferguson died in New Orleans at the age of 77 on November 12, 1915. That same year, both his son Walter Judson Ferguson in the month of June, and his wife, Virginia Butler Earhart Ferguson in the month of September pre-deceased him. He is buried with his wife and other Earhart family members in Lafayette Cemetery # 1 in the old part of New Orleans.
Appearances by Louisiana
Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson, Tulane University
professor Lawrence N. Powell, University of New Orleans
professor Raphael Cassimere and historian and author Keith Weldon Medley took place as scheduled.
Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, two of the descendants of both participants of the Supreme Court case, announced the creation of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation for Education, Preservation and Outreach. (See plessyandferguson.org) The foundation strives to innovatively teach the history of civil rights through film, art, and public programs designed to create understanding of this historic, cuturally transforming case and its legacy on the American conscience.
The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation states that the 1892 arrest of Homer Plessy was part of an organized effort by The Citizen’s Committee to challenge Louisiana’s Separate Car Act
. While many consider the civil rights movement to have begun in the 1950s, communities were organizing for equal rights much earlier. Although the United States Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in 1896, their arguments produced Justice John Marshall Harlan
’s "Great Dissent". The Committee’s use of civil disobedience and the court system foreshadowed the Civil Rights struggles of the 20th Century.
Ferguson served in the Louisiana Legislature and practiced law in New Orleans until he was tapped in 1892 for a judgeship at the criminal district court, Section A, for the parish of New Orleans, Louisiana. There he presided over the case Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana. The case was brought by Homer Plessy
Homer Plessy
Homer Plessy was the American plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Arrested, tried and convicted of a violation of one of Louisiana's racial segregation laws, he appealed through Louisiana state courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, and lost...
and eventually led to the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
of racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
.
Judge Ferguson had declared the Louisiana Railway Car Act of 1890 (The Separate Car Act), a law declaring that Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
rail companies had to provide separate but equal
Separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
accommodations for white and non-white passengers, "unconstitutional on trains that travelled through several states". In Plessy's case, however, he concluded that the state could choose to regulate railroad companies that operated solely within the state of Louisiana. Ferguson found Plessy guilty of not leaving a "white" car and declared the Separate Car Act was in this case constitutional.
Plessy then appealed the case to the Louisiana State Supreme Court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
, which affirmed the decision that the Louisiana law was constitutional. Plessy petitioned for a writ of error from the Supreme Court of the United States where Judge John Howard Ferguson was named in the case brought before the United States Supreme Court because he had been named in the petition to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Judge John Howard Ferguson died in New Orleans at the age of 77 on November 12, 1915. That same year, both his son Walter Judson Ferguson in the month of June, and his wife, Virginia Butler Earhart Ferguson in the month of September pre-deceased him. He is buried with his wife and other Earhart family members in Lafayette Cemetery # 1 in the old part of New Orleans.
Homer Plessy Historical Marker
In 2009, descendants of Ferguson and Plessy formed the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation of New Orleans, to honor the successes of the civil rights movement. On Feb. 12, 2009 they participated in placing a historical marker at the corner of Press Street and Royal Street, the site of Homer Plessy’s arrest in New Orleans in 1892.Appearances by Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson, Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
professor Lawrence N. Powell, University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
professor Raphael Cassimere and historian and author Keith Weldon Medley took place as scheduled.
Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, two of the descendants of both participants of the Supreme Court case, announced the creation of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation for Education, Preservation and Outreach. (See plessyandferguson.org) The foundation strives to innovatively teach the history of civil rights through film, art, and public programs designed to create understanding of this historic, cuturally transforming case and its legacy on the American conscience.
The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation states that the 1892 arrest of Homer Plessy was part of an organized effort by The Citizen’s Committee to challenge Louisiana’s Separate Car Act
Separate Car Act
The Separate Car Act is a law passed by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1890 which required "equal, but separate" train car accommodations for Blacks and Whites.- History :...
. While many consider the civil rights movement to have begun in the 1950s, communities were organizing for equal rights much earlier. Although the United States Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in 1896, their arguments produced Justice John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan was a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v...
’s "Great Dissent". The Committee’s use of civil disobedience and the court system foreshadowed the Civil Rights struggles of the 20th Century.