US History (Jim Crow Laws)

1892 Ida B. Wells Leaves Memphis

Ida B. Wells was an African American civil rights activist and journalist. Following the lynching of three of her friends in 1892, Wells began to investigate and write about lynchings in her newspaper. As she published stories exposing the truth behind lynchings, she angered some Memphis whites. A mob of angry whites destroyed Wells' newspaper office in retaliation for the stories, and Wells decided to move from Memphis permanently, though she continued to write and speak about the injustices done in the South.

1883 Civil Rights Act Overturned

In 1883, in a series of seven cases involving African Americans suing individuals or corporations for discrimination, the Supreme Court found that the Fourteenth Amendment applied only to states, not individuals. This ruling effectively legalized discrimination in areas like housing, restaurants, and other businesses.

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1888 and 1890 respectively, Mississippi and Louisiana passed laws segregating railway cars. Homer Plessy, the designee of a civil rights organization, challenged the Louisiana Law by refusing to leave the whites-only car when asked. He was arrested, and his case was heard in the Supreme Court in 1896. In a landmark decision, the Court decided that Louisiana's segregation law was constitutional, asserting that the Fourteenth Amendment provided for equality, which could be attained through providing separate but equal facilities.

1898 Williams v. Mississippi

In 1892, Mississippi enacted the first voting laws designed to prevent African Americans from being qualified to vote. The laws were challenged, and the Supreme Court ruled on the case in 1898, deciding that the laws were legal because they did not technically apply to just one race.

1880 Jim Crow Laws

In a backlash against the civil rights legislation passed during Reconstruction, as Southern Democrats regained control of state and local governments, they began to construct laws designed to promote segregation and disenfranchise African American voters. These laws grew in number after several Supreme Court rulings upheld state Jim Crow laws. By the early 1900s, Jim Crow laws and a culture of racist discrimination were solidly entrenched in the South.

1876 Election

The 1876 presidential election between Rutherford B Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden was too close to call, and the outcome hinged on 20 disputed votes in three southern states and Oregon. A special committee comprising five Senators, five members of the House and five Supreme Court justices, was appointed to decide the election. After a reported deal to give Hayes the election in exchange for his promise to end Reconstruction in the South, known as the Compromise of 1877, Hayes won the election. Soon after taking office, Hayes called back the troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

1875 Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed specifically to stop racial discrimination in public places. The law stated"all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude."The law was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883.

1868 The Fourteenth Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment, proposed on June 16,1866, was ratified 757 days later on July 9, 1868. It granted citizenship to all people born in the United States, regardless of color. The law also guaranteed that states must give certain rights to all citizens. The wording of the amendment led to Supreme Court rulings in the Jim Crow era that often seemed contrary to the intent of the law.

1866 The Ku Klux Klan formed

The KKK formed initially as a social club. Like many such clubs, the KKK wore costumes and practiced ritual activities. As resentment toward Reconstruction grew in the South, the KKK and similar groups began to intimidate and terrorize African Americans and white Republicans. In 1870 and 1871, Congress passed three Enforcement Acts designed to stop the Klan's terrorism. The laws were poorly enforced in the South, however, where the KKK continued to intimidate and kill African Americans throughout the Jim Crow era.

1865-1877 Reconstruction

The years following the Civil War through 1877 are known as the Reconstruction years. During this time, the federal government, led by Republicans, set conditions for the full return of the southern secessionist states to the Union. Many southern states were governed by Republican "scalawags" and "carpetbaggers."