The Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow Laws Between 1877 and the mid 1960s, the Jim Crow laws, enacted by many U.S. states after the reconstruction period, kept blacks and whites separate. Jim Crow laws were not just laws, they were a way of life. These laws are a horrific reminder of the racial barriers and segregation that oppressed an entire population. These laws were first established in the South. They then spread widely throughout the United States. The Jim Crow laws were legislation that banned blacks and whites from being together in buses, restaurants, bathroom, universities, etc. This made the whites superior to blacks, furthering racism. Blacks eventually responded by protesting for equal rights. The introduction of Jim Crow laws created racial tension between
white and black Americans, which caused greater advocacy for equal civil rights. In the late 1870s there were laws created making whites and “persons of color” separate.
These laws were put into effect before the civil war and originally passed primarily in major cities and states in the South. In the book Jim Crow Laws by Leslie V. Tischauser, the author states that “from 1881 to 1964, Jim Crow Laws separated Americans by race in 26 states.” The government told the people that “it was codified on local and state levels” and that it was “separate but equal” (Jim Crow Law). They laws prevented blacks and whites from doing daily activities together or being together. According to the article Jim Crow laws on the Gale U.S History website, “Jim Crow laws were most pervasive in the South.” The name of these laws originated from a minstrel routine called “Jump Jim Crow.” These minstrels were created by a white comedian named Thomas Dartmouth. Thomas performed these comedic acts that included song and dance done in
blackface. These laws were put on almost everything. Blacks and whites had very limited interactions in most states. For example, in Alabama one of the restrictive laws was “All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races.” No black argued to the court against these laws because blacks knew they would lose the argument. In the society, people thought “whites were superior to blacks in all important ways.” (Jim Crow Ferris State University) According to the world history Gale, racism is the belief that the physical characteristics of a person or group determines their capabilities and that one group is naturally superior to other groups.
These laws were very racist because they separated people based on characteristics and believed one race was better than the other. Additionally the laws were made after slavery to try to prove that blacks would never be as equal as whites. Whites and people that were all for Jim Crow laws thought that “separate but equal” was fair, but none of the blacks were really equal. Around 1800-1866 black codes were put into place in which Jim Crow laws followed. This restricted the civil rights of African Americans, which made white people’s rights and black people's rights even more unequal. “The Black codes denied freed slaves to the right to vote,to possess any form of weapon, and to leave a job and move elsewhere.” (World History
Gale) Racism took over a significant part of black's life during this time period, and Jim Crow laws made it worse. Not many blacks fought against it because they would always lose the debate. However, Homer Adolph Plessy, an African American shoe maker from New Orleans, had tried to make a move fighting against this segregation in June 1892. To fight against this racist society, Homer Plessy bought a train ticket and entered the “whites only” part of the train, just to be conceivably arrested. Most of all the whites were extremely serious about following the Jim Crow laws, and if one person broke the laws they would have a significant punishment. Jim Crow laws started in a few states in the U.S. quickly expanding to 26 states. These laws were made for the whites and blacks to have been split up and separated from each other. This was because the whites thought they were much more superior than the blacks. Supporters of these laws said they were “separate but equal”. Shortly after this blacks realized it was not an equal society so they rebelled and most got killed or arrested. This lead into the civil war and blacks fighting for what they deserved. Tension between whites and blacks increased because of these Jim Crow laws, which consequently made a better chance of blacks accomplishing their goal of equal rights for all.