U.S. History: Plessy v. Ferguson & Jim Crow

Study Notes

Plessy v. Ferguson

Homer Plessy arrested for sitting in 'whites only' section of a train on June 7, 1892.
Supreme Court ruling established the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'
The case upheld segregation laws, leading to the proliferation of Jim Crow laws against African Americans.
Plessy's arguments centered on the 13th and 14th Amendments, which were disregarded by the Court.

Sharecropping

Emerged in the South by the 1870s as a dominant agriculture system.
African American families rented small plots of land and paid landowners a portion of their crop.
Offered autonomy but often resulted in debt due to high costs of tools and supplies.
Many sharecroppers faced exploitative contracts, limiting their ability to improve their economic status.

Jim Crow Laws

Enacted post-Reconstruction to enforce racial segregation in Southern states.
Segregated public schools, transportation, and facilities like restrooms and restaurants.
The U.S. military and federal workplaces also imposed segregation under President Woodrow Wilson.
Jim Crow laws were largely overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Formal name: Immigration Act of 1882; the first federal law to suspend immigration based on nationality.
Prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the U.S., affecting both skilled and unskilled workers.
Subsequent amendments prevented re-entry of Chinese laborers who left the country.
Marked a shift towards restrictive immigration policies motivated by racial hostility.

Carnegie

Utilized vertical integration to dominate the steel industry.
Controlled all facets of production, from resource acquisition to distribution, establishing a monopoly.

Gospel of Wealth

The rich justified their wealth as divinely sanctioned or a result of natural selection.
Contributed to a plutocratic government where the wealthy held significant influence.
Corporations leveraged the 14th Amendment, arguing they had legal personhood to protect their interests.

Government Support for Railroad Expansion

Supreme Court ruling in the Wabash case limited states' power to regulate interstate commerce, benefiting railroad monopolies.
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate railroads by prohibiting unfair practices and requiring transparent pricing.
The Act aimed to promote fair competition and protect shippers from railroad exploitation.

Description

Explore the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the 'separate but equal' doctrine and set the stage for Jim Crow laws. Learn about the effects of these laws on African Americans and the sharecropping system that emerged as a response to economic challenges. Understand the broader implications of these historical events on racial segregation in the United States.