The post-Reconstruction period was one of great regression in terms of racial equality in the United States. This era of Redemption saw many pieces of legislation and judicial decisions that diminished the rights of the recently freed, with Democrats taking greater control of the political arena. The court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, concerning segregation in public facilities, was instrumental in the advancement of segregation, with a 7-1 decision, with Justice John Marshall Harlan only dissenting. In his document “Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson,” Harlan explains the harmful precedence created by the decisions, both in socially moral and legal terms. His words not only describe the political and social ideology of the time, but also present a grave omen for the future of equality in the country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Harlan initially argues for the citizenship of the races, describing how there should be no difference in citizenship rights between two races. “…such legislation […] is inconsistent not only with the equal rights of citizenship […] but with the personal liberty enjoyed by everyone in the United States.” (Foner 54) To support this argument he uses the legal basis of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments which guarantee the maximum right of citizenship and to vote to anyone born or naturalized in the United States regardless of race. The dissident explains his point of view on how the decision was made. odious for future legal equality. He attacks the idea that the Court should uphold “equal rights” for all because he sees the issue of dividing cars for each race: “not to exclude whites from the black-occupied rail pass, [but] to exclude colored people from cars occupied by blacks”. or assigned to white people. (Foner 55). Explaining the concept of “personal liberty,” Harlan explains how the decision actually violates the power that people should have wherever they are limited by law. This right course of law is obviously non-existent in his eyes as he coined the telling phrase, “Our Constitution is color blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.” Harlan's dissent demonstrates many of the problems in American society and politics. of the era of the Redemption. As the judge had accurately predicted, Plessy v. Ferguson was just the beginning of a long list of landmark decisions against racial equality. The case kicked off many other abuses in this period, setting a legal precedent for further racism in laws such as Jim Crow laws. Even more cases of service segregation continued due to the tense racial society in the United States, with cases such as the Lum v. Rice in which a Chinese-American was banned from attending the local high school, even though she was required by law to do so. wait. It is essential to note the political context of this decision, as reflected in the Harlan document, particularly that of the Separate Car Act. The Plessy v. Ferguson was just one response to this act which essentially mandated different rail cars for each run. The act fought on the idea that Harlan consistently criticizes that it was inherently lawful because it provided “…equal but separate services…” (Foner 56). As the ideas of the other justices reflect, the company saw this act as not establishing a superior or inferior race relationship, but simply attempting to provide both races with the same type of service. Whereas the.