Questions and Answers - US History

After the Civil War, following the Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction, Southern States moved forward with a campaign to continue segregation and the disenfranchisement of Black Americans. The primary effort being the Jim Crow laws.

Separate from the Black Codes (1800-1866) the Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 mandating “de jure” (legally mandated) racial segregation in public facilities. During this period States passed amendments that disfranchised most blacks and thousands of poor whites through the application of poll taxes, literacy and comprehension tests. Some illiterate whites were temporarily permitted to vote under Grandfather clauses. These laws alleged a “separate but equal status” for Black Americans.

In 1890, Louisiana passed a law requiring separate accommodations for colored and white and black passengers on railroads. Homer Plessy was only one-eighth "Negro" and of fair complexion, to test it.

In 1892, Plessy bought a first-class train ticket. Upon boarding the train, he informed the conductor of his racial heritage and sat in the whites-only car. The conductor ordered him to leave that car and sit instead in the "coloreds only" car. Plessy refused and was arrested. The case was fought all the way to the Supreme Court. The case, referred to as Plessy v Ferguson (1896) was lost, and the Court ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional.

The segregation of public school and places are perhaps the best known example of these laws. In the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, school segregation was declared unconstitutional and desegregation became the law of the land. A decade later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 overruled the remaining Jim Crow laws.

Describe what was the political/legal environment at the time of the Voting Right Act’s creation? Who were major proponent and opponents of the Act and why?

The political and legal environment at the time of the Voting Right Act’s creation was one of constant struggle and a search for identity for Black Americans. Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 White Democrats used their power to segregate public spaces and facilities.

Segregation was increasingly challenged after World War II. Thousands of Black Americans fought bravely alongside White Americans and justly felt that their sacrifices had earned them the right to be treated as full citizens. President Truman acknowledged their contribution in 1948 by desegregating the armed services with the issuance of Executive Order 9981.