Jim Crow Laws Flashcards

Study Notes

Jim Crow Laws

Enforced racial segregation and disenfranchisement from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.
Denied African Americans basic rights, including voting, civil liberties, and access to equal services.

The Redeemers

Southern Democrats aiming to restore white dominance in the post-Reconstruction South.
Advocated for "home rule" to replace federal military control ("bayonet rule").

Poll Tax

Required payment before voting, creating barriers for African Americans and impoverished individuals.
Used extensively in Southern states to suppress black voter registration.

Literacy Test

Assessments designed to limit voting access for African Americans and poor whites.
Tests could be applied selectively, further entrenching disenfranchisement, later prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Grandfather Clause

Law allowing individuals to vote only if their grandfathers had voted prior to 1867.
Primarily targeted African Americans, keeping many excluded from the electoral process.

Wilmington Insurrection

1898 coup led by white supremacists in Wilmington, North Carolina, resulting in violence against the black community.
Overthrew the legitimate local government and led to the deaths and displacement of hundreds of African Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Rooted in a challenge by Homer Plessy, who was arrested for sitting in a whites-only train car.

Separate but Equal

Justified segregation under the guise that separate facilities for blacks were adequate and equal to those for whites.
Provided a legal foundation for Jim Crow laws until the mid-20th century.

Sam Hose

African American laborer who was lynched in Georgia in 1899 after killing his boss in self-defense.
His horrific execution reflected the brutal nature of lynching in the South and the widespread societal acceptance of racial violence.

Ida B. Wells

African American journalist and civil rights advocate born to former slaves.
Fought vigorously against lynching and was a prominent figure promoting civil rights and women’s suffrage.

Birth of a Nation

1915 film that depicted the Civil War and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.
First feature-length film to use innovative techniques but reinforced negative racial stereotypes and glorified white supremacy, serving as potent propaganda.

Description

Test your knowledge on Jim Crow laws and key historical terms related to racial segregation in the United States. This quiz includes important phrases and definitions that illustrate the impact of these laws from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.