Question

read the two passages below and answer the questions that follow. 163 u.s. 537 (1896) plessy v. ferguson no. 270. supreme court of united states. argued april 18, 1896. decided may 18, 1896. 1 mr. justice brown, after stating the case, delivered the opinion of the court. 2 this case turns upon the constitutionality of an act of the general assembly of the state of louisiana, passed in 1890, providing for separate railway carriages for the white and colored races. acts 1890, no. 111, p. 152. 3 the first - section of the statute enacts \that all railway companies carrying passengers in the state of louisiana shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races by providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train, or by dividing the passenger coaches by a partition, so as to secure separate accommodations: provided, that this section shall not be construed to apply to street railroads. no person or persons, shall be admitted to occupy seats in coaches other than the ones assigned to them on account of the race. 4 the officer of the passenger train shall have power to assign each passenger to the coach or compartment assigned for the race to which he or she belongs; and in case of failure or refusal on the part of the passenger to occupy the coach or compartment so assigned, such officer shall have power to refuse to carry such passenger on his train, and for such refusal neither he nor the railway company shall be liable in damages to such passenger. 5 any passenger insisting upon a violation of the provisions of this act shall be fined not more than twenty - five dollars, or imprisoned for not more than twenty days, or both; and any officer of any railroad insisting upon a violation of the provisions of this act shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not less than ten days, or both. 6 the constitutionality of this act, primarily, depends upon the question whether the enforced separation of the two races in public conveyances is a reasonable regulation. 7 it is insisted, by the plaintiff in error, that the statute in question conflicts with the thirteenth amendment to the constitution of the united states, which abolishes slavery, and the fourteenth amendment, which prohibits certain state - imposed restrictions upon the right of citizens and the equal protection of the laws. 8 in respect of the thirteenth amendment, it is said that the act in question has the effect of re - enslaving a part of the american people. 9 in respect of the fourteenth amendment, it is contended that the act discriminates unjustly between citizens of the same state. 10 the object of the fourteenth amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but, in the nature of things, it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either. 11 laws requiring their separation in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the exercise of their police power. 12 the most common instance of this is connected with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power even by courts of last resort in states where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most earnestly enforced. 13 one of the most marked examples of this is to be found in the case of roberts v. city of boston, 5 cush. 198, decided in 1849, in which the supreme judicial court of massachusetts held that the general school committee of boston had power to make provision for the establishment of separate schools for children of different races, and that such provision was reasonable. 14 the court in that case said: \the right of legislation may be exercised in relation to the subject of education in such a manner as to establish separate schools for children of different races, and to make it obligatory upon parents to send their children to the schools thus established for their race. this is not a matter of individual opinion, but of legislative authority, and upon this subject the legislature has an absolute right to control.\ 15 in brown v. board of education, chief justice warren implies that public education is essential to achievement. which quotation from the selected text provides the best evidence for this claim? a. \the plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not equal and cannot be made equal, and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws.\ b. \in fact, any education of negroes was forbidden by law in some states. today, in contrast, many negroes have achieved outstanding success in the arts and sciences, as well as in the business and professional world.\ c. \an additional reason for the inconclusive nature of the amendments history with respect to segregated schools is the status of public education at that time.\ d. \in the south, the movement toward free common schools, supported by general taxation, had not yet taken hold. education of white children was largely in the hands of private groups.\

Explanation:

The claim is about public - education being essential to achievement. Option A focuses on the inequality of segregated schools and equal protection under the law, which is related to the importance of proper public education for equal opportunities. Options B, C, and D do not directly address the idea that public education is essential to achievement.

Answer:

A. "The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not equal and cannot be made equal, and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws."