What was the main effect of the supreme court's 1896 ruling in plessy v. ferguson? the democratic party was able to return to power in the south. it legitimized the establishment of a segregated society in the southern states. the federal government was given new powers to expand civil rights. african americans were more easily able to exercise their right to vote.

It legitimized the establishment of a segregated society in the Southern states.

Explanation:

In the Plessy v. Ferguson Case (1896), the Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated public facilities (common in the Southern States) were legal because they did not imply any discrimination against African Americans as long as they were consistent to the doctrine of "separate but equal" which provided segregated but equal facilities (in terms of quality) to both white and non-white people. As a result, this case legitimized the establishment of a segregated society in the Southern states and allowed for discrimination to continue because, in reality, segregated facilities were rarely equal.

d. it gave farmers a way to organize for more political power