Read the excerpt below from the majority opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in *Berea College v. Kentucky* (1908):
"The state of Kentucky has the right to amend the charter of a corporation created by it, and the Day Law, which prohibits any person, corporation, or association of persons to maintain or operate any college, school, or institution where persons of the white and Negro races are both received as pupils for instruction, is a valid exercise of that power as applied to domestic corporations."
Which of the following statements best describes the broader historical significance of this ruling?
- It demonstrated the expansion of *de jure* segregation by permitting states to legally mandate racial separation even within private, non-governmental organizations.Answer
- BIt ruled that because private institutions operate outside of state control, they were subject only to customary *de facto* segregation rather than state-enforced segregation laws.
- CIt overturned the legal precedent of *Plessy v. Ferguson* by declaring that the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause did not apply to corporate entities.
- DIt led directly to the federal prohibition of *de facto* segregation in northern public accommodations under the Interstate Commerce Act.
Answer
It demonstrated the expansion of *de jure* segregation by permitting states to legally mandate racial separation even within private, non-governmental organizations.
The correct option is correct because the *Berea College v. Kentucky* (1908) ruling permitted states to enforce segregation (*de jure* segregation) on private, state-chartered institutions. This represented a major expansion of the Jim Crow legal apparatus, showing that private property and private contracts could still be legally segregated by state power.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The extension of de jure segregation and Jim Crow laws to private corporations and education.