What is Henderson v. United States (1950)?
{{SCOTUSCase |Litigants=Henderson v. United States |ArgueDate=April 30 |ArgueYear=1950 |DecideDate=June 5 |DecideYear=1950 |FullName=HENDERSON v. UNITED STATES ET AL. |USVol=339 |USPage=816 |Citation=1950 |Prior=On appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland |Subsequent= |Holding=The Interstate Commerce Act makes it unlawful for a railroad in interstate commerce to subject any particular person to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever. |SCOTUS=1949-1953 |Majority=Burton |JoinMajority=Vinson, Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Minton |Concurrence=Douglas |Dissent= |JoinDissent= |NotParticipating=Clark |LawsApplied=[[Interstate Commerce Commission|Interstate Commerce Act]] 3 (1) }} {{wikisource}} '''''Henderson v. United States''''', [[Case citation|339 U.S. 816]] (1950) [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=339&invol=816], was a [[landmark decision]] by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] that abolished [[Racial segregation|segregation]] in railroad [[dining car]]s. == Background == In the early part of the [[20th century]], railroads did not provide dining facilities for [[African-American]]s.<ref name=Rose273>''American Decades Primary Sources'', Vol. 6: 1950-1959, Ed. Cynthia Rose (Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2004), p. 273</ref> But public pressure in the 1930s and 1940s forced railroads to provide some kind of dining arrangement for [[Black people|black]] [[passenger]]s.<ref name=Rose273/> In response, they set up one or two tables for African-Americans. No matter how many needed to eat, there were only a few chairs available to them.<ref name=Rose273/> On May 17, 1942, Elmer W. Henderson,{{efn|Elmer Henderson was a graduate of [[Morgan State University]] in his hometown of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]].<ref name=stoutNYT/> He received his [[Master's degree]] from the [[University of Chicago]] and a [[Juris Doctor|law degree]] from [[Ge