Jim Crow

1312 Words3 Pages

Jim Crow laws affected the United States by creating a society where white individuals and than those of color were kept separate. As America hit a turning point in history and the Civil War was fought, slavery was abolished and white supremacists created Jim Crow laws in an attempt to keep African Americans as close as possible to their previous status as slaves. These laws aimed to control every aspect of life and to create a separated society dominated by whites. America was “Jim Crowed” for almost a full century and the laws weren’t successfully opposed until 1954 during the Brown v. Board of Education case, and even then, it took several years for society to accept integration.
From the 1880s to mid-1960s, Jim Crow laws, a racial class structure, dictated the lives of colored people through a series of stern laws that segregated caucasians from non-caucasians. Jim Crow degraded people of color to a second class citizenship and therefore made it impossible for them to be socially equal (NPS). These laws legalized segregation, and therefore legalized racism (Ferris). Religion, being a huge part in most peoples lives at the time, helped the idea of Jim Crow become widely accepted by white individuals because, several Christian ministers taught sermons proclaiming whites as the “chosen people” (History). Scholars of all educational levels reinforced the belief that blacks were born intellectually and socially inferior to whites. Furthermore, politicians in favor of segregation often gave lectures articulating that integration would lead to the “mongrelization of the white race” (History). With these ideas proliferated through different social institutions, Jim Crow Laws were very effective and long lived.
The callous laws of Ji...

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...wn/history/1-segregated/detail/jim- crow-laws.html>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical 

Kennedy, Stetson. "Open to all (Whites)." Jim Crow guide to the U.S.A the laws, customs and etiquette governing the conduct of nonwhites and other minorities as second-class citizens. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2011. 190. Print. 
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"Ku Klux Klan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical 

Rasmussen, R. Kent. Farewell to Jim Crow: the rise and fall of segregation in America. New York: Facts on File, 1997. Print. 
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"The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical

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