2.3 Jim Crow and the Great Migration
Learning Target 13: Describe institutionalized racist practices in post-Reconstruction America.
Click on the image to complete a graphic organizer on Jim Crow laws.
Following the Civil War, Reconstruction took place in part with the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These amendments ended slavery and attempted to protect the rights of freedmen. Reconstruction had a particular impact on the Southern states, as they were required to implement a series of actions before being readmitted to the Union. Federal authority was affirmed, as most Southern states had to complete these actions under Military Reconstruction.
The removal of federal troops from the South came with the end of Reconstruction in 1877. Southern Democrats resented the Republican governments imposed on the South and restored Democrats to power as Military Reconstruction came to an end. With the “redemption” of the South, many reforms enacted by Reconstruction governments were repealed.
Racial discrimination was institutionalized with the passage of Jim Crow laws. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were treated second-class citizens. These state laws and local ordinances included provisions to require racial segregation in schools, buses, trains, restaurants, etc. "Whites Only" and "Colored" signs were reminders of the enforced racial segregation. Laws also prohibited interracial relationships.
The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provided the right to vote to all men, including freed slaves, in every state. However, many Southern states wrote constitutions to disenfranchise, or take the voting rights away from, African Americans. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were all used to limit ballot access for African Americans.
Those who were against racial discrimination challenged institutionalized racism through the courts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed segregation in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, ruling the separate but equal facilities were constitutional.
The rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other nativist organizations brought increased violence against African Americans. The Klan burned churches and schools, drove people out of their homes, and were responsible for thousands of deaths.
The removal of federal troops from the South came with the end of Reconstruction in 1877. Southern Democrats resented the Republican governments imposed on the South and restored Democrats to power as Military Reconstruction came to an end. With the “redemption” of the South, many reforms enacted by Reconstruction governments were repealed.
Racial discrimination was institutionalized with the passage of Jim Crow laws. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were treated second-class citizens. These state laws and local ordinances included provisions to require racial segregation in schools, buses, trains, restaurants, etc. "Whites Only" and "Colored" signs were reminders of the enforced racial segregation. Laws also prohibited interracial relationships.
The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provided the right to vote to all men, including freed slaves, in every state. However, many Southern states wrote constitutions to disenfranchise, or take the voting rights away from, African Americans. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were all used to limit ballot access for African Americans.
Those who were against racial discrimination challenged institutionalized racism through the courts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed segregation in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, ruling the separate but equal facilities were constitutional.
The rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other nativist organizations brought increased violence against African Americans. The Klan burned churches and schools, drove people out of their homes, and were responsible for thousands of deaths.
Learning Target 12: Analyze and evaluate how immigration, internal migration and urbanization transformed American life.
The Great Migration marked the mass movement of African Americans who fled the rural South for the urban North. They sought to escape prejudice and discrimination and secure better paying jobs. They helped transform northern cities economically (e.g. as workers and consumers) and culturally (e.g., art, music, literature).
