Jim Crow Laws

Tyler, Joshua, McKenna, Kayla

What were Jim Crow Laws?

Laws that were put in place after slavery was illegal to
segregate black and white people between 1877 and the
1960s.

http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm

The Emancipation Proclamation

The beginning of the Jim Crow events

Abraham Lincoln:
Overall goal was to save the Union.
He needed a military victory to establish the proclamation with no losses.

Impact:
All slaves in states not in rebellion to the United States were now free.
Some states were able to get by with slavery, but the northern army
pushed farther into the south to free the slaves.
Slave states still didnt want to treat former slaves as equals, resulting in
the formation of Jim Crow laws.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_emancipate.html

Separate but equal

The Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that it was
Constitutional to segregate public facilities.
In 1945 most states application of Jim Crow laws made
it hard for blacks to advance in society beyond the
second class.

http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/jim-crow-laws.cfm

Jim Crow Guide

A guide for people to live their lives by where it listed
rules for how blacks should act when they interact
with whites. These rules were:

Never assert or even intimate that a white person is lying.

Never impute dishonorable intentions to a white person.

Never suggest that a white person is from an inferior class.

Never lay claim to, or overly demonstrate, superior knowledge or

intelligence.

Never curse a white person.

Never laugh derisively at a white person.

Never comment upon the appearance of a white female.

http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm

Education
There were limited and restricted educational opportunities available to black
citizens because of Jim Crow laws.

Because of the restrictions, blacks were often uneducated

o Jim Crow laws made it harder for blacks to vote during an election
because blacks were required to take a literacy test, which they often
failed due to their lack of education.
Blacks therefore had less political influence in the south
By the 1960s blacks were given more opportunities for education after the
Brown v. Board of Education case when schools were desegregated
http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&idigest=fb720fd31d9036c1ed2d1f3a0500fcc2&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GIC&docId=CX2831400031&source=gale&userGroupName=itsbtrial&version
=1.0

Spanish-American War

// Fighting against Jim Crow laws

More soldiers were needed, and offered a chance for

blacks to fight alongside whites in combat.

Blacks wanted to prove themselves as equals, and were willing to

fight for their country.

Was a way for blacks to fight against Jim Crow laws if

they were able to do as much, if not more, than white
men in combat.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_spanish.html

Niagara Movement

// Fighting against Jim Crow

Created in 1905 by Black Leaders in Niagara Falls

Niagara Movements goal was to give blacks:
o The right to vote
o A good education
o More and better job opportunities
o Equality in court
o Freedom from Jim Crow laws
The Niagara Movement didnt change much because of a lack of funding,
but it did lead to other groups to be created with similar goals that
eventually ended the Jim Crow laws
http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&idigest=fb720fd31d9036c1ed2d1f3a0500fcc2&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GIC&docId=CX2831400031&source=gale&userGroupName=itsbtrial&version
=1.0

The Rockefellers // Working against Jim Crow

Created a general education board in Jim Crow south to
teach children regardless of sex, race, and obligations.
This family also visited Jim Crow south numerous times
and funded scholarships as well.

http://www.rockarch.org/workshops/educators/violante.pdf

Emmett Till // Example of Jim Crow Laws Affecting Blacks

An African-American teen who whistled at a white woman
and as a consequence was beaten and then shot then
thrown in a river by two white men.
Learn More: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rightsmovement/videos/emmett-till--legacy

The End of Jim Crow Laws

Over a period of five years, beginning in 1963, a series of
acts were passed:
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Fair Housing Act of 1968

These acts took away the right of a state to allow

discrimination based on race.
http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/jim-crow-laws.cfm