Jim Crow Laws During The Reconstruction Era

For over a century, racial equality has been a notorious talking point among various groups, beginning as far back as the Reconstruction Era in the mid-1860s. This was a progressive period for the United States due to the end of the Civil War and President Lincoln abolishing slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was the first decree freeing the slaves in the territories still in rebellion against the Confederate States of America. Later, the 13th Amendment banned slavery of all forms in the United States. Even though, Congress passed this revision many Southern states did not want to comply, which enabled the Jim Crow laws in 1877. The Jim Crow laws legalized segregation between people of color and whites. Jim Crow laws restricted the rights of African Americans to use public facilities, schools, finding well-paid employment, voting, essentially excluding people of color from exercising their rights as citizens of the United States. Jim Crow laws were enforced until the mid-1950s, which caused much outrage and protest leading to the Civil Rights movement. Because state and local authorities blatantly disregarded the revoking of Jim Crow laws, activists revolted by provoking the federal government, …show more content…
The character “Jim Crow” was made famous by Thomas D. Rice, a white man, that blackened his skin with burnt cork and wore tattered clothing while performing song and dance. His minstrel act featured the song, “Jump Jim Crow”, which became popular among whites in America and overseas. The term Jim Crow became derogatory slang for African Americans and their segregated life. White Americans believed separate but equal was sufficient for people of color, however public facilities, education and jobs were not established that way. People of color received extremely low wages, little to no educational materials and the public facilities were sub-par in comparison to white only