Jim Crow Laws In The 1930's

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If there was no such thing as the Jim Crow laws, Tom Robinson would never have been convicted of rape. Some people may say that the laws in the 1930’s would not have affected the plot. These people would be very wrong. Without the Jim Crow laws, whites would have been much more accepting of African Americans. They would not have blindly convicted Tom Robinson without some investigation. The Jim Crow laws had the largest effect on the trial because they started segregation, made whites feel superior, and made it so that black men could not have anything to do with white women. Segregation was a very big thing in the South in the 1930’s. Segregation was mostly started by the Jim Crow laws. “Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of …show more content…
“A black man could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a white women, because he risked being accused of rape.” A black man could be accused of rape just for being courteous and offering their hane to a white women. This is exactly what happened to Tom Robinson. One of the Jim Crow laws says “Never comment on the appearance of a white female.” Blacks couldn’t even compliment a white women. This just shows how idiotically strict these rules were. “Under Jim Crow and and all sexual interactions between black men and white women was illegal… and within the Jim Crow definition of rape.” Because Mayella Ewell hugged and kissed Tom Robinson, Tom got accused of rape. This does not make any sense. Jim Crow made life a living hell for blacks. This is especially shown in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by how Tom Robinson is sentenced to death for something he didn’t do. It was even proven that he couldn’t have physically raped Mayella Ewell, and yet, the white men decided to convict him anyway. Because of the Jim Crow laws, segregation was a big thing, white men felt superior, and black men could not even touch a white

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