Which phrase describes the doctrine upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson?

• A. Disparate but justified.
• B. Separate but equal.
• C. Equal protection of the laws.
• D. Due process.

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is how the Supreme Court framed racial segregation in public facilities. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court upheld a doctrine that allowed separation of the races in public spaces as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality. That exact phrasing—separate but equal—captures the ruling. The decision rested on a view of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause that segregation itself wasn’t unconstitutional if the separate facilities were purportedly equal, which enabled Jim Crow laws to persist for decades. It’s also helpful to know that this doctrine was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, which held that separate facilities are inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. The other options don’t describe the ruling: they either reference a broader principle (equal protection) or a different constitutional concept (due process), or simply aren’t the phrase used to characterize the decision.