Civil Rights and Jim Crow Era

These flashcards cover key concepts, events, and figures from the Civil Rights and Jim Crow era, focusing on the critical aspects of segregation, disenfranchisement, and activism.

Separate Car Act

A law passed in Louisiana in 1890 requiring separate train cars for white and colored races.

Homer Plessy

A man who challenged the Separate Car Act; legally considered black but appeared white, leading to the landmark Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court case that ruled the Separate Car Act constitutional, establishing the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Legislation that prohibited segregation in public accommodations but was rendered ineffective by subsequent court cases.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Mississippi Plan

A series of constitutional amendments aimed at disenfranchising African American voters in Mississippi.

Poll Taxes

Fees required to be paid in order to vote, used as a means to suppress black voting rights.

Literacy Tests

Examinations imposed to restrict voting rights, often applied subjectively to disenfranchise African Americans.

Grandfather Clause

A legal mechanism that allowed individuals to vote if their ancestors had the right to vote before a certain date, effectively disenfranchising descendants of enslaved individuals.

Ida B. Wells

An African American journalist and activist who fought against lynching and for civil rights.

Wilmington Coup of 1898

An event where a white mob overthrew the elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, targeting the black community.

Booker T. Washington

An African American leader who advocated for vocational education and economic advancement for African Americans.

W.E.B. Du Bois

A prominent African American intellectual who argued for civil rights and higher education as a means to achieve equality.

George Washington Carver

An agricultural scientist known for his work with peanuts, promoting crop diversification among African American farmers.