Jim Crow laws

Question 1

why was de jure segregation suddenly so consistently applied in the 1890s

Answer 1

• support of the supreme court
• white anxiety over the increase of black farmers in the south
• railroad expansion

Question 2

what was the 1875 civil rights act

Answer 2

prohibited racial discrimination in public places

Question 3

what was the details of the civil rights cases 1883

Answer 3

Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite and 8 other justices of the supreme court dealt with five cases that dealt with black Americans sueing transportation companies, theatres and hotels that refused them admittance

Question 4

what did the plaintiffs argue in the civil rights cases 1883

Answer 4

that the discrimination was a denial of the civil rights afforded to them by the 1875 civil rights act

Question 5

what are the arguments for the constitutionality of 1875 civil rights act

Answer 5

• federal gov argued that it was constitutional as the 13th amendment abolished slavery and also conferred all the rights of free citizens on the former slaves
• 14th amendment gave US congress the power to protect those rights through appropriate legislation

Question 6

what are the arguments against the constitutionality of 1875 civil rights act

Answer 6

• argued that it overreached the scope of powers given to the Us congress by the 15th and 14th amendment

Question 7

what was the judgement in the civil rights cases

Answer 7

• supreme court, by a majority, rejected the constitutionality of the 1875 civil rights case
• denied that discrimination by private individuals constituted a ‘badge of servitude’ that would be prohibited by the 13th amendment

Question 8

how were black people excluded from voting

Answer 8

• literacy tests
• southern states introduced poll tax during reconstruction era
• fraud (mules ate ballot papers from black majority counties in Mississippi)

Question 9

what was a state constitutional convention

Answer 9

called to rewrite a states constitution with the intention of removing remaining black vote

Question 10

what did the election laws in 1895 South Carolina propose in the new constitution

Answer 10

• residency requirement for a specific length of time in one county
• proof of voter registration 6 months before election
• a literacy test or proof of land ownership worth more than $300

Question 11

1890 Mississippi

Answer 11

called a constitutional convention with the sole purpose of excluding black voters

Question 12

give examples of clauses that were included in the state constitution to make it easier for white people to vote

Answer 12

• ‘good moral character’
• ‘grandfather’ which excused any other qualification any citizen whose lineal antencedent were registered to vote before 1867(when black people couldn’t vote)

Question 13

case facts of Plessy v Ferguson

Answer 13

• 1890 a Lousiana state law was passed which required that all passenger railways provide seperate cars for blacks and whites
• 1892 Plessy, a mixed race man, sat in a vacant seat in a white only car and was arrested for this
• he was brought to court and argued that the 1890 law violated the equal protection in 14th amendment

Question 14

what is the equal protection clause in 14th amendment

Answer 14

forbades states from denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the law

Question 15

what did the supreme court rule against Plessy

Answer 15

that segregation doesn’t violate the 14th amendment

Question 16

case facts of Williams V Mississippi

Answer 16

• Williams was convicted by an all-white jury in Mississippi as only those who could vote could also serve on the jury
• Mississippi constitution in 1890 adopted the literacy tests and poll tax requirements, dramatically reducing registered black voters which meant blacks were excluded from jury service

Question 17

ruling of Williams v Mississippi

Answer 17

the court upheld literacy tests and poll taxes designed to disfranchise black people

Question 18

case facts of Cumming v Board of education

Answer 18

• board levied a tax of $45,000 and the claimants (all ‘people of colour’) alleged that this tax was being used to provide education in schools were non-whites were refused admission
• claimants seeked to impose an injunction on the board but the superior court of Richmond court refused to do so

Question 19

ruling of Cumming v Board Of Education

Answer 19

Supreme court denied that it had any jurisdiction to interfere in the decisions of a state court

Question 20

what was the work of Ida B Wells

Answer 20

• sued railroad companies
• wrote anti-lynching articles for black publications
• co-owned memphis free speech
• Wells helped to establish some organisations such as NAACP

Question 21

what was Booker T Washington views towards de jure segregation

Answer 21

• he was an acommodationist, someone who accepts segregation and makes the most of the economic opportunities through the development of black educational and vocational skills
• he believed that black people should focus on economic success rather than fighting for political and civil rights

Question 22

what did W.E.B DuBois argue

Answer 22

• argued that Washington had an old attitude of adjustment and submission
• disagrees with Washington over economics as DuBois believed that economic development is unusual
• accuses Washington of accepting the alleged inferiority of black people