Jim Crow's laws

Jim Crow’s Laws

a.     What/Who is Jim Crow?

Ans: Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-Black laws. It was a way of life. Jim Crow is not actually a person, but the subject of a song performed by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice. Rice was a white man who performed in blackface. Like most blackface performers, Rice denigrated Blacks through his music, his stereotypical behavior, and his rude jokes.

b.     What were Jim Crow Laws:

Ans: The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. The U.S. military was also segregated.

c.       What was the response of the slaves and the blacks to these laws?

Ans: While many slaves were illiterate, educated blacks which include escaped slaves moved down from the North to aid them, and natural leaders also stepped forward. They elected white and black men to represent them in constitutional conventions. A Republican coalition of freedmen, southerners supportive of the Union and northerners who had migrated to the South organized to create constitutional conventions. They created new state constitutions to set new directions for southern states.