The Rise And Fall Of Jime Crow
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The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Even after the Civil War, blacks still find themselves in social and political struggle that seems impossible to beat. Even with amendments which were supposed to make blacks equal they still had people in high places who supported white supremacy. And when people like the president of the united states are in that same boat what are you supposed to do? In this paper I will talk about how blacks struggles for integration and equality and how it was undermined by whites in high places.
Between 1870 and 1871 Congress passed the Enforcement Acts. Which were basically criminal codes that protected blacks right to vote, hold office, serve on juries, and receive equal protection of laws. What I really dont understand is how all these bills, rights, and amendments, which are supposed to be there to protect blacks, are so easily ignored. If the states failed to comply, the law allowed to government to come in. The main target was the Ku Klux Klan, whose group was murdering blacks and whites because they voted, held office, or were involved with schools. And you start to see a power relationship with the klan and some political leaders. Some states wouldnt even act because most of there leaders were klan members or they were just too scared to say something. But regardless after the Enforcement Act the blacks situation definitely shifted for the better. Soldiers were sent to make sure the blacks rights were protected, for a while. Blacks made some giant steps back then. They began to live as equals in a way. They were working descent jobs and making a living. In some states there were even blacks in office, like North Carolina. Blacks and whites were even working together. But just like before everything in this era tends to be short lived. Here you have the blacks starting to get a little stability in the world as they try and begin race themselves to be even with the white politically and socially. So as they begin to rise another struggle begins. Whites scared of a takeover begin using terrorist tactics. They begin to try and scare them off with lynchings and other unimaginable things where some black resorted to hiding in forests and swamps. Blacks were also given longer and harsher prison sentences than white. Children were sent to convict camps for petty crimes. This also led to the decline of black voting. Where black voters were 130,00 strong was reduced to 5,000. They did this by terrorizing blacks with violence and also by enforcing idiotic voting laws like literacy and civics tests which white