The Civil Rights Movement from 1865 to 1954: Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws

Why were black codes and jim crow laws instilled in the South?

After the failed reconstruction attempts in 1865

What’s the difference between black codes and Jim Crow laws?

Black does involved disenfranchising; going after black peoples freedoms. While Jim Crow Laws are what instilled racial segregation

What was the main aspect that Black codes went for?

Voting rights

What was the first step of voting as an African American?

Paying a poll tax - although most would be able to technically afford the poll tax, a lot of the African American population at the time was poor. So they’d need to choose between voting or buying basic needs like food

What was the second step of voting as an African American?

Taking a test - These tests included odd wordplay and tasks that were so confusing that most wouldn’t pass

Did white people have to pay the poll tax or take the voting tests?

No. This made the majority of voters white either way

What were sundown laws?

if an African American was caught in town after sundown, they’d get charged with vagrancy. Most couldn’t pay the fine, so they’d get sentenced to county labor working in cotton fields

What did Black Codes allow Southern Democrats to do?

Find loopholes to continue to keep black people as slaves, just without calling it slavery

What did congress do to combat the violation of civil rights the African American community was experiencing?

They passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, also called the reconstruction amendments

Why does it matter that Jim Crow Laws mandated racial segregation in **public?**

Taxpayers pay for laws to be passed and taxpayers are the ones who elected the people in office who pass these laws who are, once again, all white

How do the two concepts intersect?

Black Codes allowed for Jim Crow Laws to be passed by restricting voting rights

What did Jim Crow Laws implement?

“separate but equal”, theoretically providing equal services to both races, but they are physically separate from each other

Was Jim Crow actually “separate but equal”?

No. Despite the name, the treatment was not at all equal as it resulted in economic, educational , and social inequality for African Americans

What were black people segregated from?

They were made to use different restrooms, drinking fountains, train cars, and many more

How did African Americans get the message that they weren’t seen as equal to everyone else?

The facilities provided for them were older, broken down versions compared to the ones for white people being new, clean facilities. This implied to them that they don’t deserve the nicer things