• Home Page
  • The Strange Career Of Jim Crow Essay

The Strange Career Of Jim Crow Essay

Improved Essays
Show More
Dedrick Burton
History 4305
Dr. Jonathan Chism
October 9, 2017
The Strange Career of Jim Crow

The Strange Career of Jim Crow is a book written by Comer Vann Woodward in 1955. The Strange Career of Jim Crow has been hailed by many including the Southern Historical Association who claimed his book was on the the best depictions of the New South. Its a book which shaped many views of the history of the Civil Rights Movement and of the American South. Martin Luther King, Jr. described the book as “the historical Bible of the civil rights movement” because of the way it illustrates the history of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the division between blacks and whites. The publication discusses and asserts that Jim Crow laws were relatively …show more content…
These laws restricted where African Americans, Native Americans and Asian citizens could associate with whites in nearly every aspect of life including housing, employment, restaurants, schools, and hospitals. The laws also included sundown town where African Americans were not allowed within the town overnight, and prohibiting race mixing between white Americans and non white Americans. Woodward asserts that Jim Crow laws were an unsystematic creation devised by white southerners towards the end of the 1800s, and not a natural creation caused by the Civil War, Reconstruction, or even the Redemption movement. He states “One of the strangest things about the career of Jim Crow was that the system was born in the North and reached an advanced age before moving South in force”. He states that Jim Crow would have been an inconvenience during slavery. “Segregation would have been an inconvenience and an obstruction to the functioning of the system. The very nature of the institution made separation of the races for the most part impracticable." Woodward also believed that neither conservatism, radicalism, or liberalism were not the causes of …show more content…
“Jim Crow Laws.” Jim Crow Laws: Facts, List and Examples ***, www.american-historama.org/1866-1881-reconstruction-era/jim-crow-laws.htm.

Romeyn, Kathryn. “L.A.'s Ugly Jim Crow History: When Beaches Were Segregated.” The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Aug. 2016, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/los-angeles-history-jim-crow-916441.

Orals Reading Notes: The Strange Career of Jim Crow, C. Vann Woodward, www.kevincmurphy.com/woodward.html.

Phibbs, Cheryl Fisher. “The Montgomery Bus Boycott: a History and Reference Guide.” The Montgomery Bus Boycott: a History and Reference Guide, Greenwood, 2009, pp.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Summary: The New Jim Crow Laws
    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary: The New Jim Crow Laws

    Throughout the book, The New Jim Crow, the statement of the Jim Crow laws are referenced several times by the author. The reason for their inclusion, and their carrying of substantial meaning throughout the readings, has to do with what the statement represents. During the late 1800’s and mid 1900’s a set of laws, named the Jim Crow Laws, were created in order to uphold segregation between those of white descent and those of African American descent. These laws were seen as a permanent solution to a perceived problem that the abolishing of slavery had created. The white community feared the integration of African Americans into its community.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    An Analysis Of The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander
    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages

    An Analysis Of The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

    In the article, “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle Alexander vigorously argues the means in which the American prison system disenfranchises poor people of color by creating a dynamic author-reader relationship through the use of pathos, logos, and ethos, to effectively persuade and appeal her claims to the reader. Utilizing the pathos approach, Alexander evokes emotion from the readers through her use of emotive and visual diction. Moreover, Alexander uses the ethos approach by including the sources and citations or the information she presents her audience. Alongside these citations, the author refers to her own expertise as a lawyer through her personal narratives and simultaneously builds her credibility as a writer. Furthermore, she strategically…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Strange Career Of Jim Crow Summary
    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Strange Career Of Jim Crow Summary

    In C. Vann Woodward’s book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, Woodward talks about the “Twilight Zone” which was the period of myths. Woodward was the first Historian to write about race relations in the time period between 1860 and 1965. Woodward’s purpose of writing this book was to show that segregation even by law has always been prevalent, and to “make the attempt to relate to the origins and development of Jim Crowism to the bewildering rapid changes that have occurred in race relations” (C.V.W. 2nd Preface pg. 17). Woodward’s thesis throughout his book was that racial segregation, which was later known as Jim Crow in the South, did not begin immediately after the Civil War in 1865; moreover that race relations changed in the 1890s and…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Segregation In Leb's Restaurant
    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Segregation In Leb's Restaurant

    Leb’s Restaurant, located in Downtown Atlanta, was known for its controversial stance of segregation. The restaurant’s clientele consisted of the upper-class white community, whose beliefs were firmly ingrained in Jim Crow laws, and refused to to give their business to any establishment that believed in intersegregationalism. The grand opening of Leb’s restaurant was highly publicized, the media portrayed it as a once in a lifetime experience, with even the mayor making an appearance to cut the ribbon. However, havoc began infiltrating the business, as racial disputes became a norm at the restaurant.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Old Jim Crow Summary
    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Old Jim Crow Summary

    Introduction. Is Mass Incarceration anywhere close to being the Old Jim Crow? Michelle Alexander in her book The New Jim Crow argues that US criminal justice system targets African American through the War On Drugs and relates it to the Old Jim Crow. However, in response to her analogy, James Forman, Jr. believes this comparison diminishes the real harm the Old Jim Crow has left in history. In addition, Forman, Jr. argues The New Jim Crow analogy is ignoring violence, obscuring class and diminishing history of The Old Jim Crow and uses convincing evidence to support his point of view.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Why Do Jim Crow Laws Exist
    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Why Do Jim Crow Laws Exist

    Tenzin Namdul HIU 310 Professor Andrew Robertson Jim Crow, what is it? Or who is it? Jim Crow may sound like a person’s name but it is the racial law that segregated among the blacks and whites and it arose after Reconstruction that ended in 1877 and continued until the mid 1960s. Jim Crow laws were primarily seen in southern and border states. The African Americans were always looked down upon as second class citizens.…

    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jim Crow Laws During The Reconstruction Era
    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jim Crow Laws During The Reconstruction Era

    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…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Theme Of Racism In The New Jim Crow
    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Racism In The New Jim Crow

    Racism is a very sensitive subject to discuss. So, why it is that racism still exists today in our very own home, the United States of America, the country of freedom and dreams? Racism is still alive and well because people have different views depending where they were raised. Both Thomas Jefferson 's Notes on the State of Virginia and Michelle Alexander 's book, The New Jim Crow present prime examples of the portrayal of Black American, as seen from the perspective of both White and Black Americans, throughout the late 1700s and into the present.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Analysis Of Leon Litwack's Trouble In Mind
    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analysis Of Leon Litwack's Trouble In Mind

    Litwack does a wonderful job explaining the political, legal, and social climate and attitudes that allowed for Jim Crow to take such a strong hold and have so much control over the daily lives of southerners. In the fourth chapter, “White Folks: Scriptures,” Litwack describes the belief system of the South and that the indoctrination of the racial hierarchy started young. This early racial separation grew to incite clashes between them, as is seen in the next chapter, “White Folks: Acts.” The legal and political systems actively worked to keep African Americans submissive and under their control. By using these individuals’ stories, the reader is fully cognizant that these acts against blacks were not isolated to one area in the South, but spanned the entire region and were extremely common during this period.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    New Jim Crow Thesis
    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    New Jim Crow Thesis

    Although segregation ended many years ago ,it’s characteristics are prevalent today by means of mass incarceration happening in our country to this day. ”The New Jim Crow:Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” written by Michelle Alexander is able to go in depth and show that even though the Jim crow laws have ended,America uses the federal justice system to discriminate against criminals in a ‘’legal” way. MIchelle Alexander is a civil rights lawyer who was also one of the many people who were blinded and not able to see what was actually going on in our justice system. Once a person who has been incarcerated has been released, they are denied the basic rights an american should have. Michelle states that they are excluded from juries…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    The New Jim Crow Chapter Summary
    • 1900 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The New Jim Crow Chapter Summary

    The New Jim Crow was a very interesting point of view. In the book Michelle Alexander expresses to us her opinion that the war on drugs is the way to legally discriminate against African Americans and people of color. In the book she encourages us, as United States Citizens to discuss the criminal justice system and how it is not how it should be. In chapter one we are introduced on how the discrimination has made come back according to Michelle Alexander.…

    • 1900 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Jim Crow Imperialism
    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Jim Crow Imperialism

    Part One-Jim Crow The Jim Crow system was a post-Reconstruction series of legislation that established legally authorized racial segregation of the African American population of the south. The Jim Crow system ended in the 1950s with the beginning of the civil rights movement. As Hewitt and Lawson wrote, “these new statutes denied African Americans equal access to public facilities and ensured that blacks lived apart from whites.” With the 1896 Supreme Court ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson the court upheld the legality of the Jim Crow legislation.…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Civil Rights Movement
    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Civil Rights Movement

    The civil rights movement was a collection of events, protest, and court rulings that finally ended segregation after almost 100 long years of segregation. Two important events that occurred as part of the civil rights movement were the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, and the Montgomery bus boycott. Both were instrumental in ending segregation, and both made large contributions to the Civil Rights movement in different ways. After examining the facts surrounding both I have come to the conclusion that one event did more to advance the civil rights movement than the other, that event is the Montgomery Bus Boycott.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Similarities Between Arkansas And Jim Crow Laws
    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Similarities Between Arkansas And Jim Crow Laws

    Jim Crow in Alabama and Arkansas. Name: Institution Affiliated: Jim Crow in Alabama and Arkansas. Jim Crow Laws was the name given to laws that were used in reinforcing racial segregation between 1866 and the 1950s in the South (Packard, 2002). Sothern legislators passed laws that required separation of whites from black in schools and public transportation.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    The Ethics Of Living Jim Crow Analysis
    • 1027 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Ethics Of Living Jim Crow Analysis

    We Are All Human Richard Wright 's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" is an autobiography written from first-hand experiences of an African American man living during slave times. In the time of this writing Wright may have been considered a free man, but he, nor other black Americans, were allowed the same rights as white Americans. Jim Crow laws were laws created to enforce racial segregation in the former Confederation States of America. These laws came into effect after the Reconstruction Era, which ended in 1877, and stayed in effect until 1965. So what happened to “all men are created equally?”…

    • 1027 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings