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The Jim Crow Laws

Good Essays

The overall way race was handled, specifically, the Jim Crow laws were wrong because of the idea that it was okay to be separate but equal. Black people were allowed to vote, attend school, and were basically offered all of the same opportunities as a White person...right? Wrong. This might have been true if you were African American and lived in Union (Northern) states, but in the Confederate (Southern) states, African Americans were not treated the same. In the south, Black and White people were separate, but in no way equal.
In order for someone to understand the Jim Crow Laws, one must know how and where it originated. The Jim Crow laws were created in order to keep dark-skinned people separate from light-skinned people. After the Civil War, slaves were set free from their “masters.” Soon afterwards in 1865, the 13th amendment was created in order to abolish slavery. However, the Confederate states found ‘loopholes’ that still kept Black people lesser than a White person. After the 13th amendment was created, the ‘Black Codes’ were also created in 1865-66. They were created because ex-Confederate leaders were voted into office, allowing them to create these laws. The Black Codes were designed to restrict freed Black slaves. Jim Crow originated from an actor named Thomas Dartmouth in the 1830’s. He was a famous actor--who was White and lived in the Southern states--who played as a stereotypical African-American slave named “Jim Crow.” He pulled this off by painting his

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