Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, May 18.
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of John Howard Ferguson in Plessy v. Ferguson, marking “separate but equal” laws constitutional. The plaintiff, Homer A. Plessy, was charged with violating the State of Louisiana’s Separate Car Act of 1890, where he knowingly boarded a whites-only train car. He later sued Ferguson, who was the judge presiding over his criminal case. The Supreme Court issued a 7-1 decision in favor of Ferguson. The landmark decision was overruled following Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
In 1917, the Selective Service Act is officially enacted upon the U.S. entering World War I. It allowed the president to draft soldiers during times of conflict. It enforced all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. Conscription can still be issued in the modern day.