From the Abolition to Jim Crow

Abstract

This chapter examines history from the abolition of slavery to the establishment of Jim Crow (racial segregation enforced by state laws in the South) and the three strategies that African Americans used to cope with and/or fight against it. After the end of the Civil War, three constitutional amendments were established endorsing the abolition of slavery and guaranteeing full citizenship regardless of “race.” From the end of the Reconstruction, the walls against extreme racism began to disappear. Jim Crow was endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court based on the doctrine of “separate but equal.” African Americans responded in the following three ways: accommodation to the virtues of self-help, explicit protests, and nationalism.