What was the effect of the passage of Jim Crow laws in the United States in the late 19th century?

1 Answer
Mar 14, 2018

The introduction of racial segregation

Explanation:

Jim Crow laws are famous for introducing segregation in the South i.e the former Confederate states. The Plessy versus Ferguson Supreme Court decision in 1896 declared them constitutional with the "separate but equal" status for African American in railroad cars.

Jim Crow is the name of a stage character played by White actor Thomas D.Rice to mock African Americans.

These laws meant that African Americans had ti use different public spaces, different water fountains, bathrooms, sidewalks, waiting rooms etc. African Americans also had to pass literary tests to be able to vote and had fewer opportunities both in schools and in the workplace.

These laws put an end to the civil rights acquired during the Reocnstruction Era(1865-1877) and were not challenged before the Civil Rights movement of the fifties and the sixties and the Brown vs Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 which was followed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 and 1968.