6.8 Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow Laws

Plessy v. Ferguson

  • Section Objectives: Assess how the Jim Crow laws and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision changed life for Southern African Americans.

End of Reconstruction

  • Reconstruction officially ended in 1877 with the withdrawal of Union troops.
  • Southern white Democrats then freely imposed their will on African Americans.
  • Mistreatment, once subtle or secret (e.g., Ku Klux Klan), became commonplace.

Jim Crow Laws

  • Many segregation laws, known as Jim Crow laws, were passed to subordinate African Americans, creating a state of sub-citizenship akin to slavery.
  • Origin of the Term:
    • The term "Jim Crow" likely originated around 1830.
    • It is connected to a white minstrel performer who wore blackface, performed a dance, and sang a song called "Jump Jim Crow."
    • The term evolved into a stereotypical image of black inferiority.
    • "Jim Crow" became a racial slur for black people in Southern white vernacular.
  • Emergence of Jim Crow Laws:
    • The first Jim Crow laws appeared in Southern states starting in 1881.
  • Underlying Rationale:
    • The primary justification for Jim Crow laws was white supremacy.
    • African Americans were considered inferior in intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior.
    • Interracial sexual unions were believed to create an inferior race, threatening America.
    • Treating blacks as equals was thought to destroy the fabric of American society.
    • Any means, including violence, were deemed necessary to maintain African Americans at the bottom of the racial hierarchy.

Specific Examples of Jim Crow Laws

  • Each state had its own set of Jim Crow laws with several commonalities:
    • Black men were prohibited from shaking hands with white people, as it implied equality.
    • Blacks and whites were not allowed to eat together; if they had to, whites were served first, with a partition separating them.
    • African Americans were addressed by their first names instead of "Mr." or "Mrs."
    • Blacks were introduced last, if at all, when introduced to white people.
    • Education was segregated in separate schools.
    • White nurses were prohibited from working in hospital wards with black men.
    • Establishments serving alcohol were segregated by race.
    • Restrooms and drinking fountains were designated for each race.
    • Blacks and whites could not be buried in the same cemeteries.

Efforts to Suppress African American Rights

  • The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments aimed to ensure civil rights and voting rights for African Americans.
  • Southern Democrats sought to undo these Reconstruction reforms and revert to pre-Civil War conditions.
  • The "Redeemers" aimed to reduce state government size and social programs.
  • They cut property taxes and public funding for schools.
  • They worked to undermine African Americans' civil rights in every way possible.
  • Disenfranchisement:
    • Southern white Democrats especially opposed allowing African American men to vote.
    • Methods to Prevent Black Voting:
      • Poll Tax: Required a special tax to vote; inability to pay prevented voting, with accumulated taxes doubling the following year.
      • Literacy Test: Required proof of reading and writing ability using difficult and confusing materials, disenfranchising most African Americans with limited education.
      • Grandfather Clause: Allowed men to vote if their father or grandfather could vote before 1867, exempting most white voters but excluding African Americans, as they could not vote before 1867.

Segregation in Transportation and the Plessy v. Ferguson Case

  • With increased train travel, Jim Crow laws expanded to transportation.
  • African Americans could ride trains if they paid the same fare as whites but had to sit in separate, often inferior, cars at the end of the train.
  • The Plessy v. Ferguson case:
    • In Louisiana, the African American community resisted these laws.
    • Homer Plessy, a light-skinned African American man, boarded a train and sat in a whites-only car and was arrested.
    • In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld Louisiana's law.
    • The court stated that segregation was permissible as long as accommodations for blacks were equal to those for whites, establishing the separate but equal doctrine.
    • The court argued that the 13th and 14th Amendments did not apply, as the case was not about abolishing slavery, and equality only pertained to political barriers.

Justice John Marshall Harlan's Dissent

  • Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented, stating:
    • "In the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens."
    • "Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens."
    • "In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law."

Impact and Overruling of Plessy v. Ferguson

  • Plessy v. Ferguson significantly impacted African Americans until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1954.
  • For 58 years, the "separate but equal" doctrine prevailed in the South.
  • African Americans faced substandard treatment in education, medicine, and nearly every aspect of life.
  • Segregation became ingrained in Southern life, justified by offering nominally equal services.

Aftermath and Resistance

  • After Reconstruction, Southern Democrats regained control and worked to eliminate African Americans' equality.
  • Jim Crow laws and segregation were legalized under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
  • Many African Americans had to live within the system, while some sought alternatives:
    • Exodusters: A group headed west to Kansas in 1879 seeking better opportunities.
    • Migration to Northern Cities: Others moved to northern cities, hoping for better treatment under the law.

Justice John Marshall Harlan's Background

  • Justice John Marshall Harlan was a Southerner from a slave-owning family in Kentucky.
  • He believed in racial equality and opposed his family's lifestyle.
  • In Plessy v. Ferguson, his dissenting opinion was in the minority.