“separate but equal” decision paragraph Flashcards
Topic sentence
Other historians argue that the separate but equal decision was the most important obstacle in preventing black people from achieving civil rights.
Evidence 1
From the 1870s, Southern state legislators sought to deny black Americans their civil rights by introducing a series of segregation laws which became collectively known as Jim Crow Laws.
Analysis 1
The existence of such legislation was a key barrier to civil rights because their legal basis meant that they could only be challenged through courts.
Evidence 2
Moreover, the position of the Jim Crow Laws was strengthened in 1896 when the Supreme Court issued its infamous “separate but equal” decision which stated that it was constitutional to segregate the races as long as the facilities provided were equal.
Analysis 2
This was an important obstacle in preventing black people from achieving civil rights as it gave southern legislators the green light to introduce yet more Jim Crow Laws throughout the South (e.g textbooks for use in white school were not to be stored in the same place as those for black schools), strengthening the system of racial apartheid in place and creating a huge barrier to civil rights.
Counter analysis
However, Black people in the North did not suffer from Jim Crow laws as racism wasn’t implemented by law, meaning that this could not be the most important reason in preventing black peoples from achieving civil rights.
Evaluation
Undoubtedly, the Supreme Courts decision meant the system of segregation was difficult to challenge and, as historian John Kerr argues, “Black peoples said that the decision of the Supreme Court made it legal in the USA to discriminate against them and they were right”.
However, the Supreme court would not of made this decision if prejudice and racism didn’t exist in the first place. The widely held racist views in the USA sparked the making of Jim Crow laws and the supream courts decision.
