The Jim Crow Laws in the South

1013 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: jim crow law and the south essay

Jim Crow South

Racism was prominent in the Colonial seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Racism is the belief that the physical characteristics of a person determine the capabilities in which that individual is best fit to do. Race was the foundation of all slavery and eventually led to what would be known as the Jim Crow Laws. At this time, the North and South expressed different opinions on slavery and superiority between races. The constant struggle for equality among African Americans was battled out in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Slavery was a pitfall that followed African Americans until 1865 when the South faced a defeat in the war. The South would soon pick up the name “Jim Crow” following the immense battle over slavery. Slavery was abolished by new upcoming amendments to the constitution guaranteeing freedom to freed slaves. The Jim Crow South managed to find a loop hole in the constitution and keep freed African Americans under strict regulations, known as the Jim Crow Laws. These laws led to the Plessy versus Ferguson case of 1896 which further sparked the already ignited controversy of the Jim Crow Laws. The laws upheld legal segregation in the South and left a long standing impact among African Americans in the country. The fight for equality led to riots such as the Springfield Race Riot of 1908 in Illinois. Many people such as Ned Cobb and Barbara Johns rose up against the laws in order to claim the right of equality among all African Americans.

Following the end of the Civil War, an effort by the federal government was made to rebuild the economy of the South. This was called the Reconstruction era which took place in the 1970s. When Reconstruction ended in 1877, the Southerners began to p...

... middle of paper ...

...fin speak. Eugene was the presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party (“Race Riots and”). When Chafin saw the mob coming after the man he made an attempt to protect him. This decision led to Chafin’s public execution. It took 5,000 state militia to restore order in Springfield (“Race Riots and”). The riot had led to many arguments over segregation and equality, but it led to the creation the greatest organization of that time, the NAACP. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded by people such as Jane Adams, Oswald garrison Villard, and participants from the Niagara Movement. The editor of the NAACP was W. E. B. Du Bois (‘Race Riots and”). The association vowed to combat lynching and segregation. The Race Riot of Springfield, Illinois was a perfect example for the NAACP of discrimination against African Americans.

Show More
Related

  • John Marshall Harlan’s Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout American History, many minorities have fallen victim to cruel discrimination and inequality, African Americans were one of such minorities that greatly suffered from the white majority’s upper hand. After the end of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period following it, many people, especially the Southern population, were extremely against African Americans obtaining equal rights in the American society. Due to this, these opponents did everything in their power to limit and even fully strip African Americans of their rights. The Supreme Court case of Plessy v Ferguson in 1896 is an excellent example of the obstacles put forth by the white population against their black counterparts in their long and arduous fight for civil liberty and equality. Even though the court upheld the discriminatory Louisiana law with an 8-1 decision, John Marshall Harlan’s dissent in the case played a significant role in the history of the United States for it predicted all the injustice African Americans would be forced to undergo for many more years, mainly due to this landmark decision.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Era: A Nightmare of Racial Discrimination

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Jim Crow era was a racial status system used primarily in the south between the years of 1877 and the mid 1960’s. Jim Crow was a series of anti-black rules and conditions that were never right. The social conditions and legal discrimination of the Jim Crow era denied African Americans democratic rights and freedoms frequently. There were numerous ways in which African Americans were denied social and political equality under Jim Crow. Along with that, lynching occurred quite frequently, thousands being done over the era.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws Thesis

    311 Words  | 1 Pages

    Thesis Statement: With Jim Crow laws in effect, they have guaranteed African-Americans discrimination based on the color of their skin, ignorance of their given rights, and lack of acknowledgement for their successes.

    Read More

  • Success of Reconstruction

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reconstruction was the time period following the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877, in which the United States began to rebuild. The term can also refer to the process the federal government used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. While all aspects of Reconstruction were not successful, the main goal of the time period was carried out, making Reconstruction over all successful. During this time, the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were ratified, and African Americans were freed from slavery and able to start new lives.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws Dbq

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    From 1877 through the 1960’s was a shameful time for American history.  Most southern states had passed laws known as “Jim Crow Laws”.  Jim Crow was a slang term for a black man.  These laws were very anti-black, meaning they were established to ensure black Americans failed before they ever got to start.  These laws also set out to make African Americans feel inferior to white Americans.

    Read More

  • Was Reconstruction A Success Or Failure Essay

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a nation, America has faced some troublesome times through her life span. As history goes on, people never forget about the Reconstruction era. Reconstruction was refers to the efforts made in the United State between 1865 and 1877. As the saying goes, ¨All good things must come to an end¨ which is exactly the case. The reputation Reconstruction has is labeled both a success and a failure.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life.” (“What was Jim Crow?”). The laws created a divided America and made the United States a cruel place for over 70 years. The Jim Crow Laws caused segregation in the education system, social segregation, and limited job opportunities for African Americans.

    Read More

  • Interracial Relationships

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the earlier days of the 20th century, racism was largely black and white; today racism has become multicultural and multicolored. The period from 1890 to 1940 is known as the Jim Crow era in the history of prejudice against the African-Americans. Millions were brutalized, killed and frightened to death for voting and taking formal education, during these years. The concept of 'lynching', where the whites openly 'punished' the black population, was a rampant practice. White people would publicly hang black people for petty reasons, all over the country. Up through the middle of the twentieth century, for example, African Americans were denied access to certain public places, including hospitals, universities, and parks and were “granted admi...

    Read More

  • Inequality for African Americans

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Toward the end of the Progressive Era American social inequality had stripped African Americans of their rights on a local and national level. In the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessey vs. Ferguson, the Supreme Court sided with a Louisiana state law declaring segregation constitutional as long as facilities remain separate but equal. Segregation increased as legal discriminatory laws became enacted by each state but segregated facilities for whites were far superior to those provided for blacks; especially prevalent in the South were discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow laws which surged after the ruling. Such laws allowed for segregation in places such as restaurants, hospitals, parks, recreational areas, bathrooms, schools, transportation, housing, hotels, etc. Measures were taken to disenfranchise African Americans by using intimidation, violence, putting poll taxes, and literacy tests. This nearly eliminated the black vote and its political interests as 90% of the nine million blacks in America lived in the South and 1/3 were illiterate as shown in Ray Stannard Baker’s Following the Color Line (Bailey 667). For example, in Louisiana 130,334 black voters registered in 1896 but that number drastically decreased to a mere 1,342 in 1904—a 99 percent decline (Newman ). Other laws prevented black...

    Read More

  • The Causes And Effects Of The New Jim Crow Laws

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ferguson(1896) which was an incident when a black man in New Orleans tried to sit in a whites only railway car but was unsuccessful. He would be arrested and the court would eventually make it to the Supreme Court. The Jim Crow Laws lasted from 1877-1954 which was the civil rights movement really started to take effect. We had felt we had made a major accomplishment as people once we resolved that situation that was until the “New Jim Crow Laws” took effect. They found a new to work the system and limit African Americans particularly men in this case. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, is a book written by Michelle Alexander who talks about the legal system which is basically against black men. Once you’re arrested you basically lose all your rights for the most part but in our case we lose the rights that we fought many years for. Once you receive a felony you lose your ability to vote which is what they want and also limit job opportunities to a place like a fast food restaurant which is one of a few establishments that will hire felons. Even though the “New Jim Crows” is unofficial it is still something that as been proven by the author of the

    Read More

  • The Legacy of Lynching in the South

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lynching: the mob murder of someone who might be considered a public offender. While white Southerners may have considered themselves vigilantes, in reality they were killers with biased intent. In the Southern United States during the 1960s, lynching occurred frequently relative to standards such as today. Though lynching changed the lives of people directly connected to victims, they also changed mindsets and actions where they occurred and around the nation. Thus, the motives of racial based lynching and the crimes themselves affected people, legislature, and culture in the South for years to come.

    Read More

  • Race And Race Relations

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    The impact that race had on individuals throughout American history is clear. The role race had on social and political relations were nothing but negative and struggled to make positive progression. Starting from the last 1800s, the recognition that, for example, blacks were unfairly treated and seen as unequal was newly acted upon. From the early years of being seen as just economically useful, the feelings of blacks were overlooked and almost irrelevant to the leaders of society. One of the first displays of action against this discrimination is shown in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. While being the victim of segregation in the south as a black man, Homer Plessy challenged the courts when he directly acted against the laws separating whites and blacks by being a passenger on a white-only train. The outcome, however, directly meant nothing, leading to the legalization of segregation laws stating that the separate but equal laws didn’t imply inferiority. The decision made in Plessy v. Ferguson was an immediate disaster for racial relations in the US, but you can only push people so far until they finally snap.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jim Crow laws are laws which were meant to segregate whites from blacks and to prohibit blacks from obtaining the same social status as whites. Jim Crow laws were in effect for nearly a century, from around 1875 to approximately 1964. These laws were primarily used in South but were also loosely used in the North. These laws came from the post war South where racial stresses were still high. With the passing of these laws came violence and aggression for those, for and against these laws. The South was hard to change, as is the world.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I’m tired of you [people] pushing [us] around.” Rosa Parks said this because of Jim Crow Laws in the 1960’s. What were the Jim Crow laws? The Jim Crow laws were the South’s way of avoiding blacks’ rights. Some specific ways included were by; segregation, poll taxes, literacy tests, by busses and transportation.

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Laws Essay

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the beginning of the civil rights movement, racial segregation was a growing issue in the southern United States of America. The Jim Crow laws were enacted in the 1880’s and their soul purpose was to enforce separation of the races. Jim Crow laws were a set of black codes, in which mocked black citizens of the Southern United States and enforced racism. “‘Jim Crow’ was a derisive slang term for a black man” (A Brief History of Jim Crow 1). These laws got their name from actor Thomas Dartmouth, who would impersonate and mock African Americans citizens and servants. Thomas, would paint himself black to appear African American, while this was very offensive it seemed to amuse the Caucasian population. The Jim Crow laws are an example of

    Read More

More about The Jim Crow Laws in the South

Open Document