Comparing SCOTUS Reasoning: Brown v. Board and Plessy v. Ferguson

In the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision overturned the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Compare and contrast the reasoning used by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education with that in Plessy v. Ferguson. In your response, be sure to discuss how the interpretations of equality and the impact of social science evidence contributed to the Court’s decisions in both cases.