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What were some of the legal restrictions that were put in place to disenfranchise African Americans after Reconstruction?
What were some of the legal restrictions that were put in place to disenfranchise African Americans after Reconstruction?
Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.
What was the name of the Supreme Court case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine?
What was the name of the Supreme Court case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine?
Plessy v. Ferguson
What is "Jim Crow"?
What is "Jim Crow"?
A slur used to describe African Americans, derived from a minstrel show character.
What was the name of the period after Reconstruction that was characterized by high levels of racism and violence against African Americans?
What was the name of the period after Reconstruction that was characterized by high levels of racism and violence against African Americans?
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Which of the following were some of the tactics used to limit the voting rights of African Americans in the South?
Which of the following were some of the tactics used to limit the voting rights of African Americans in the South?
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The "separate but equal" doctrine was used to justify the creation of separate, but equal facilities for African Americans and whites.
The "separate but equal" doctrine was used to justify the creation of separate, but equal facilities for African Americans and whites.
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The "Jim Crow" era was a time of peace and harmony between black and white Americans.
The "Jim Crow" era was a time of peace and harmony between black and white Americans.
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What did the Jim Crow laws primarily do?
What did the Jim Crow laws primarily do?
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How did African Americans fight back against racism and violence during the Jim Crow era?
How did African Americans fight back against racism and violence during the Jim Crow era?
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When were the Jim Crow segregation laws overturned?
When were the Jim Crow segregation laws overturned?
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Study Notes
Defeat of Reconstruction
- Reconstruction ended in 1877, leading to a decline in the rights of African Americans.
- Southern states changed their constitutions to enforce segregation post-Reconstruction.
De Jure Segregation
- After the 1876 election and compromise of 1877, some states changed their laws and constitutions to enforce segregation.
- Black voting rights were restricted through poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.
- African Americans faced racial violence, including lynching, from former Confederates, political terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and others who supported white supremacy.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- The Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson ruling established the "separate but equal" doctrine.
- This ruling became the basis for racial segregation.
- In reality, "separate but equal" resulted in separate and unequal resources, facilities, and rights for African Americans.
Jim Crow Laws
- Jim Crow laws were local and state statutes, mainly in the Southern states, supported by the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) ruling.
- These laws included restrictions on African American men's voting rights, enforced segregation in hospitals, transportation, schools, and cemeteries for Black and White citizens.
- Jim Crow laws started as a slur in the 1830s against African Americans from a performance by white entertainer, Thomas Dartmouth Rice.
- The performance, which involved blackface and exaggerated speech/dance, mocked African Americans spreading harmful stereotypes.
- Jim Crow laws were overturned during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Nadir
- African American Studies scholars refer to the period from the end of Reconstruction to the start of World War II as the "nadir" of American race relations.
- This era represented the worst public acts of racism in US history, including lynching and mob violence.
Activism
- African American journalists and writers exposed the racism behind Southern lynch laws.
- African American activists resisted attacks on their freedom using actions like trolley boycotts.
- Activists also used sympathetic writers in the press to expose the mistreatment and murders of African Americans.
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