In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court held that segregation laws governing public accommodations such as railroads and public schools were constitutional based on the Court's finding that both races agreed that was what they wanted. either of the races present wanted it that way. no other laws were broken. separate public facilities for each race had been provided and that no qualitative difference existed between the two racially-based sets of public accommodations. separate but comparable facilities were provided for each race.