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Quotation from Plessy v. Ferguson by Supreme Court of the United States
“Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation.”
Plessy v. Ferguson, Opinion of the Court (Justice Brown) (U.S. Reports text (Wikisource))
Justice Brown states the majority's view of the limits of law in changing social relations between the races.
Citation: "Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation." — Supreme Court of the United States, Plessy v. Ferguson, Opinion of the Court (Justice Brown) (U.S. Reports text (Wikisource)). (id plessy-v-ferguson-q2)
Portrait: Portrait of Henry Billings Brown, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Public domain.
