Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the lawsβwhich existed for about years, from the post- Civil War era until βwere meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities.
Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death. The roots of Jim Crow laws began as early as , immediately following the ratification of the 13th Amendment , which abolished slavery in the United States. Black codes were strict local and state laws that detailed when, where and how formerly enslaved people could work, and for how much compensation.
The codes appeared throughout the South as a legal way to put Black citizens into indentured servitude, to take voting rights away, to control where they lived and how they traveled and to seize children for labor purposes. The legal system was stacked against Black citizens, with former Confederate soldiers working as police and judges, making it difficult for African Americans to win court cases and ensuring they were subject to Black codes.
These codes worked in conjunction with labor camps for the incarcerated, where prisoners were treated as enslaved people. Black offenders typically received longer sentences than their white equals, and because of the grueling work, often did not live out their entire sentence. During the Reconstruction era, local governments, as well as the national Democratic Party and President Andrew Johnson , thwarted efforts to help Black Americans move forward.
Violence was on the rise, making danger a regular aspect of African American life. Black schools were vandalized and destroyed, and bands of violent white people attacked, tortured and lynched Black citizens in the night.
