The Jim Crow Laws; Separation Can Be Harmful

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For many years, African Americans were abused by Caucasians in the United States of America. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Americans were taking advantage of the continent of Africa by bringing the people who lived there on ships in poor condition and forcing them to work for very little to no pay. Huge ships were sent to the continent and rounded up thousands of African Americans and shipped them to be sold and work for the rest of their lives as slaves. African Americans were abused by their owners and were shown little or no respect. When the thirteenth amendment was written, many African Americans believed they would freely live. However, in response, a set of laws were written that prohibited African Americans from living freely. The Jim Crow laws that were put into affect about ten years after the Civil War impacted African American's social and political freedoms.
The racial segregation laws, the Jim Crow Laws, began to be enforced in 1876. One may ask, “What are the Jim Crow Laws?” David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology at Ferris State University Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia answers this popular question perfectly;
“Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens. Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-black racism. Many Christian ministers and theologians taught that whites were the Chosen people, blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation.”
In other words, the Jim Crow Laws were more than just a set of laws, they were a way of life that treated African Americans as second class humans (Pilgrim 1). These laws mainly impacted southern and border states. Many people thought different things about Jim Crow. African-Amer...

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...This was a dark time period in America's history and the future political leaders should never decide to put laws like the Jim Crow laws into affect.

Works Cited
Berman, Ari. “Jim Crow II” The Nation, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
.
Pilgrim, David. “What was Jim Crow?” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University, Sept 2000 Web. 15 Mar 2014
.
Remembering Jim Crow. New York. Nov 2001.p
“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, Wilmington Riot.” PBS.org Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
.
“Supreme Court, 6 to 1, voids Virginia on Ground 'Uniformity is Required” New York Times 4 June 1946: np New York Times on the Web 2000. Web. 24 March 2014
.

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