Jim Crow Laws
Written by David, Elma, Herman, Makda, Scott
How would you like to know that your country made a group of laws specific to one race? Well just your luck, that is what this paper is about. The Jim Crow Laws were laws created after the Civil War that were directed toward Black people. Between 1865 and 1967, more than 420 state laws and constitutional amendments were passed in the United States legalizing segregation and discrimination (Falck).
The name, Jim Crow, is an interesting name for laws of this magnitude. However you have to look at it from the perspective of the South. The name is believed to have originated at about the 1830s when a White show minstrel named Thomas Rice dressed up like a Black man and danced a jig and sung the song, "Jump Jim Crow" (The History of Jim Crow). From there the name Jim Crow caught a lot of attention and was soon used as a racial slur along the lines of Negro.
The first Jim Crow law took away Black people’s right to vote and own property in Virginia (George). Then the list of southern states creating Jim Crow Laws grew from there. Then, western states added Jim Crow Laws directed toward the people of Asian and Native American heritage. At the fall of segregation the state of California had created the most laws with 17 more then all of the other states in our country (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). It was just outrageous how far our country would go to discriminate against someone who was human just like you but the only difference was that his or her skin was a different color.
Black children that grew up with these laws saw that their lives were heavily restricted compared to the lives of the white kids. They had to sit in different areas of trains and buses, and forbidding them from entering some parks and restaurants. Plus, in some movie theaters, Blacks were seated in the balcony” (Falck).
You can see some of this while reading To Kill A Mockingbird. Many people in the town of Maycomb frown upon the fact that Atticus is helping, Tom Robinson, a Black man, because of all the different Jim Crow Laws. For example, Mrs. Dubose said this to Atticus’s kid, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for [blacks]!” (Page 101). Hence this book taught a valuable lesson about racism to an age that was just beginning the move away from segregation.
Blacks were segregated until the late 1960s and before then, Jim Crow Laws caused lots of physical damage to the Blacks that lived in the great United States of America (Fremon). It was just horrible some of the things that much of our country was doing. Only 15 states had no segregation out of huge country, which is actually sad.
The Jim Crow Laws, caused lots of segregation throughout most of our country. It also lead to great disrespect of white men that were helping Black citizens in our country. Basically the Jim Crow Laws were some of the most disrespectful laws that our country has ever made.
The name, Jim Crow, is an interesting name for laws of this magnitude. However you have to look at it from the perspective of the South. The name is believed to have originated at about the 1830s when a White show minstrel named Thomas Rice dressed up like a Black man and danced a jig and sung the song, "Jump Jim Crow" (The History of Jim Crow). From there the name Jim Crow caught a lot of attention and was soon used as a racial slur along the lines of Negro.
The first Jim Crow law took away Black people’s right to vote and own property in Virginia (George). Then the list of southern states creating Jim Crow Laws grew from there. Then, western states added Jim Crow Laws directed toward the people of Asian and Native American heritage. At the fall of segregation the state of California had created the most laws with 17 more then all of the other states in our country (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). It was just outrageous how far our country would go to discriminate against someone who was human just like you but the only difference was that his or her skin was a different color.
Black children that grew up with these laws saw that their lives were heavily restricted compared to the lives of the white kids. They had to sit in different areas of trains and buses, and forbidding them from entering some parks and restaurants. Plus, in some movie theaters, Blacks were seated in the balcony” (Falck).
You can see some of this while reading To Kill A Mockingbird. Many people in the town of Maycomb frown upon the fact that Atticus is helping, Tom Robinson, a Black man, because of all the different Jim Crow Laws. For example, Mrs. Dubose said this to Atticus’s kid, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for [blacks]!” (Page 101). Hence this book taught a valuable lesson about racism to an age that was just beginning the move away from segregation.
Blacks were segregated until the late 1960s and before then, Jim Crow Laws caused lots of physical damage to the Blacks that lived in the great United States of America (Fremon). It was just horrible some of the things that much of our country was doing. Only 15 states had no segregation out of huge country, which is actually sad.
The Jim Crow Laws, caused lots of segregation throughout most of our country. It also lead to great disrespect of white men that were helping Black citizens in our country. Basically the Jim Crow Laws were some of the most disrespectful laws that our country has ever made.
Works Cited
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. "Jim Crow Laws." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0826301.html>.
Falck, Susan. Jim Crow Legislation Overview. Northridge: California State University, 2009. PDF.
Fremon, David K. The Jim Crow Laws and Racism in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2000. Print.
George, Charles. Life under the Jim Crow Laws. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Print.
"The History of Jim Crow." The History of Jim Crow. New York Life, 2006. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/history.htm>.
Falck, Susan. Jim Crow Legislation Overview. Northridge: California State University, 2009. PDF.
Fremon, David K. The Jim Crow Laws and Racism in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2000. Print.
George, Charles. Life under the Jim Crow Laws. San Diego: Lucent, 2000. Print.
"The History of Jim Crow." The History of Jim Crow. New York Life, 2006. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/history.htm>.