Context Flashcards
(22 cards)
What was the purpose of Jim Crow Laws?
Enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States, legally institutionalizing racism
Jim Crow Laws were enacted to maintain white supremacy and control over Black Americans.
What types of facilities were mandated to be separate under Jim Crow Laws?
- Schools
- Restaurants
- Transportation
- Restrooms
- Drinking fountains
Black Americans were often provided with inferior services and facilities.
What was the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld segregation under the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine
This ruling meant that racially segregated facilities were considered constitutional as long as they were supposedly equal in quality.
What kind of inequality did Jim Crow Laws contribute to?
Systemic discrimination in education, public services, housing, and employment
These laws reinforced racial hierarchies and denied basic civil rights to Black Americans.
What were the voting restrictions imposed by Jim Crow Laws?
Aimed to disenfranchise Black voters and maintain political control by white Southern elites
These restrictions included poll taxes, literacy tests, and white primaries.
What were poll taxes?
Fees required to vote, serving as a barrier for economically disadvantaged Black Americans
Many Black Americans were affected by the economic aftermath of the Civil War.
What were literacy tests designed to do?
Fail Black voters through complex and biased questions
These tests often had no clear right answers and were a product of systemic segregation in education.
What were grandfather clauses?
Allowed white citizens to bypass voting restrictions if their ancestors had voted before the Civil War
This ensured that descendants of enslaved people were excluded from voting.
What were white primaries?
Primary elections restricted to white voters, excluding Black Americans from the democratic process
This effectively disenfranchised Black voters before general elections.
What was the purpose of Black Codes?
To limit the freedoms of newly freed Black Americans and ensure a compliant labor force
These laws restricted movement and employment opportunities for Black Americans.
What restrictions were placed on Black Americans’ movement?
Required to carry passes or obtain permission for travel
Many were confined to rural areas under threat of arrest for ‘vagrancy.’
What employment limitations did Black Americans face?
Restricted largely to agricultural work and sharecropping
This kept them in perpetual debt and limited their economic mobility.
What were the penalties for minor infractions under Black Codes?
Severe punishments for minor offenses like loitering or not having a job
These laws often forced Black people into the convict leasing system.
What was the purpose of the convict leasing system?
To exploit Black prisoners as a labor source
This system emerged particularly in the South after the Civil War.
What conditions did leased prisoners endure?
Brutal working conditions, with many dying from overwork, malnutrition, and abuse
Southern states leased prisoners to private industries for profit.
What led to discriminatory incarceration practices?
Trumped-up charges like loitering or vagrancy targeting Black men
This disproportionately increased their arrest and conviction rates.
What did the Dyer Anti-lynching Bill (1922) aim to do?
Criminalize lynching at the federal level
The bill aimed to hold perpetrators accountable for racial violence against Black Americans.
What was the outcome of the Dyer Anti-lynching Bill?
Passed in the House but stalled in the Senate
Southern Democrats opposed federal intervention in what they viewed as local matters.
What did the failure of the Dyer Anti-lynching Bill highlight?
The federal government’s reluctance to challenge racial violence in the South
Lynching was used as a tool of terror and control over Black communities.
What was the policy of segregation in federal government during Wilson’s administration?
Formal implementation of racial segregation in federal offices
This occurred during Woodrow Wilson’s administration from 1913 to 1921.
What was the impact of Wilson’s segregation policy on federal workplaces?
Black employees were segregated, given lower-paying positions, and denied promotional opportunities
This institutionalized racial discrimination in federal agencies.
How did Wilson’s views affect racial attitudes in America?
Legitimized racist attitudes and supported segregation and racial inequality
His administration undermined efforts for racial equality after Reconstruction.
