USII.3c Study Guide
Racial Segregation, "Jim Crow", and African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South
WHITE & YELLOW PRINT - Content outline from the VDOE curriculum guide   BLACK PRINT - Additional information

Standard USII.3c
The student will demonstrate knowledge of how life changed after the Civil War by

c)       describing racial segregation, the rise of “Jim Crow,” and other constraints faced by African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South.

What is racial segregation?

Racial segregation:

·    Separation based upon race

·     Directed primarily against African Americans, but other groups also were kept segregated

·     “Jim Crow” laws were passed to discriminate against African Americans.

How were African Americans discriminated against?

Discrimination against African Americans continued after Reconstruction.
“Jim Crow” laws institutionalized a system of legal segregation.

“Jim Crow” laws

·     Made discrimination practices legal in many communities and states.

 

         Click to enlarge image

The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the segregation laws, rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction ended in 1877. These "Black Codes"  took away many of the rights which had been granted to Blacks through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. They prevented Blacks from voting by requiring payment of poll taxes and requiring  that voters pass a test about the Constitution.  For a while, Blacks were disparagingly called "Jim Crow",  a term meant to evoke the image of a singing and dancing fool.
·     Were characterized by unequal opportunities in housing, work, education, government

"Jim Crow" laws encouraged segregation. They required separate black and white facilities - schools, railroad cars, etc.

They prevented blacks from living in white areas, getting government jobs etc.

The Supreme Court confirmed legality of "separate but equal" in Plessey vs. Ferguson case - 1896.

How did African Americans respond to discrimination and “Jim Crow”?

African Americans differed in their responses to discrimination and “Jim Crow.”

·     Booker T. Washington—Believed equality could be achieved through vocational education; accepted social separation.

 He founded the Tuskegee Vocational School in Alabama in 1881. Some blacks thought he was too cautious and faulted him for his acceptance of separation.
·     W.E.B. Du Bois—Believed in full political, civil, and social rights for African Americans .  Du Bois would not accept segregation as Booker T. Washington had. He founded the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) which called for complete political, legal, and social equality for blacks and an end to discrimination.