Jim+Crow+Laws


 * 1) Right after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified. What did the 14th Amendment provide for African Americans? What does “due process” and “equal protection of the laws” mean? **

The 14th amendment made it so that all former slaves (including me) became citizens of the United States. They stated in the amendment that we could not be discriminated against. Due process of law means that we go through the same law process as all of the white Americans. Equal protection of laws means that we are protected by the same laws that protect the white Americans.


 * 2) Unfortunately, your equal rights were challenged by the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. What do you remember about the facts, decision, and impact of this case? **

The Supreme Court Justices said that it did not violate the Constitution if both institutions were "equal." This showed that while Congress had had a good idea in passing the 14th amendment, they didn't realize that a law does not make things great and spiffy for everyone of all races.


 * 3) The laws developed in the South became known as Jim Crow laws. Who was this Jim Crow fellow? Did he write the laws? **

He was a terrible man named Thomas Rice. He was the man who put the idea that we were stupid, lazy, and unworthy of being integrated. Thomas Rice did not write the laws, the states of the South wrote the oppressive laws.


 * 4) What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you? **

The laws prevented us from going to the same schools as white children and we were not even allowed to interact with white folk. Everything from restaurants to bathrooms were segregated.


 * 5) What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time? **

Public Places were segregated, having special places for different races. Segregation was legalized in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. John Marshall Harlan was the judge in the case that legalized segregation. Lynching was a horrific thing done to african-americans and was not dealt with accordingly. Some people tried to rise against segregation like W.E.B Dubois who tried to fight it and make america a better place. Some images that come to mind our lynching, african-american leaders, and some popular culture like the boxer Jack Johnson.


 * 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? **

The Scottsboro case was a case in which nine young boys were falsely accused foe raping two white women in Alabama. Two white women found on the train after the nine boys were in prison for a fight occurring earlier, the young boys were convicted for rape of the two women, and the two women fearing prosecution for sexual relations with the white men testified against the young african-americans. As an african-american in the south it makes you fell that you can not trust anybody and have to be careful what you do because people may lie and you could suffer the consequences they white's deserved.
 * 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? **

People should care about the life of african-americans during the war because no one wants to be segregated and excluded from what is rightfully theirs and what the african-american population endured during the 1900s was brutal and something that no one should ever deserve. The thought of living a life like that were your life was on the line everyday and it wasn't safe for you is not right. People should also care so that we can learn about these mistakes and correct them so that no one has to live like the african-american population did during the 1900s.