Jim+Crow+Life

To set the stage for the civil rights movement, you must first understand the environment of segregation in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. What was life like in Jim Crow America? Cut and paste this information into a new page in your Unit 8 Online ISN. **** You (and your partner, if you have one) are African Americans who have lived through the era of Jim Crow in America. Using the links provided in this activity, respond to the “oral history questions” in first person. **

**Right after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified. What did the 14th Amendment provide for African Americans? What does “due process” and “equal protection of the laws” mean?** [|14th LINK] The 14th amendment was ratified in 1868 and provided citizenship to those African Americans that were formerly enslaved. Due process of law is to respect all legal rights given to U.S. citizens. Equal protection of the laws means that everyone is treated equally by the law and courts, it goes with the idea that all men were created equal.

**Unfortunately, your equal rights were challenged by the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. What do you remember about the facts, decision, and impact of this case?** [|Plessy LINK] It was a deliberate attempt to challenge a new Louisiana law put into place segregating rail cars. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and was then dismissed and the law was indeed found Constitutional. It was a seven to two majority for the law.

**The laws developed in the South became known as Jim Crow laws. Who was this Jim Crow fellow? Did he write the laws?**[| Jim Crow LINK] It is a term used to describe segregation laws that arose after the Reconstruction in 1877 and continued until the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1960's. Jim Crow was an actor who dressed up as a black man named Jim Crow in the early to mid 1800's. No, the laws were written to oppress blacks and take away the rights given to them in the 13th,14th,and 15th amendments.

It was unlawful for whites to play games with blacks, for them to go to the same school, to ride in the rail car, for white and black prisoners to be handcuffed together, to get married, or to even use the same telephone booths. These laws made sure that whites and blacks barely even saw each other and never talked to each other. it was liek blacks were in a completely seperate world.
 * What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you?** [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 1] / [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 2] / [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3]

You could see the pain on African American faces, the pain of lynching, segregation and other horrible things. Images showed horror that African Americans felt, the image of the colored water fountain or lynching showed this horror and disgust.
 * What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time?** __ Jim Crow Images LINK 1 __/ [|Jim Crow Images LINK 2]

Nine black hobos got into a fight with some white hobos and two women dressed as men were found in the rail car so the nine black hobos were convicted of rape and sentenced to death even tough there was no evidence of a rape. The North was outraged but here in the South I just felt unsafe and that even if i was near a crime i would be charged for something and killed.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** [|Scottsboro LINK]

**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** [|Audio History LINK 1]