Plessy v Ferguson Economic Destruction

When we talk about segregation , it's usually about the moral arguments and civil rights. But there's another angle that doesn't get talked about as much  segregation was actually terrible for the economy. Looking at the Plessy v. Ferguson case from 1896, you can see how Louisiana's segregation laws didn't just hurt people  they hurt the state's economy too.

Everything Had to Be Built Twice

Think about how expensive it would be if every business had to build two of everything. That's basically what segregation required. Louisiana needed duplicate rail cars, separate waiting rooms, two different schools, different hospitals literally two of everything. All of this cost a ton of money that could have been spent on actually improving things other than duplicating things.

Separate bathrooms for whites and blacks

The railroad companies were especially upset about this. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad actually refused to follow the law at first because it was so crazy  expensive. They had to buy extra train cars, build new facilities, and hire more workers just to keep people separated. When businesses are actively fighting against a law because it's killing their profits, that's a pretty good sign the policy doesn't make economic sense.

Segregation also messed up Louisiana's job market in a major way. Qualified workers couldn't get hired for positions just because of their race, which meant less productivity overall. Black business owners couldn't open shops in good locations, which meant less competition and innovation. The state was basically shooting itself in the foot by limiting an entire group of people from contributing to the economy.

Meanwhile, Northern states that didn't have these laws were doing way better economically. They were growing their industries faster and getting more investment because investors didn't want to deal with all the legal headaches that came with segregation laws.

Louisiana's Image Problem

Segregation also made Louisiana look bad to the rest of the country and the world. Business investors from the North and Europe saw these laws as backwards and didn't want to invest in a state that seemed stuck in the past they were more focused about the present. Talented people both Black and white started leaving Louisiana for states that had better opportunities and fewer discriminatory laws. All those doctors, lawyers, engineers, and entrepreneurs who left took their skills and money with them.

Even tourism took a hit. Cities like New Orleans lost out on conventions and visitors because people didn't want to deal with complicated segregation rules. Those tourists and business travelers went to cities like Chicago and New York instead, taking their money with them.

On top of all the economic damage, the state had to spend extra money enforcing segregation laws. Police, inspectors, and courts all cost taxpayer money. Louisiana was literally spending resources to prosecute people like Homer Plessy for just sitting in a train car. That money could have been used for actual problems like crime, roads, or education. They were just spending money to spend money.

The whole situation shows that segregation wasn't just morally wrong it was economically stupid. It wasted money, hurt productivity, scared away investors, and made the state look bad. Removing these kinds of barriers would have let the economy work better and let everyone contribute. Louisiana might have lost this argument in court in 1896, but looking back, it's pretty clear they were right about the economic costs and the whole situation.

AI Disclosure:  , I used Claude AI, Wikipedia to smooth the text and format it in a readable way. I then edited the Ai generated text a little. I added photos. broke up the text with subheadings and added links to some of the sources I got the information from.