Masaryk university faculty of education

MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English language and literature

THE LIFE WITH JIM CROW LAWS

Bachelor thesis

Brno 2015

Supervisor: Student:
Michael George, M.A. Kristýna Závišková

Prohlášení

„Prohlašuji, že jsem bakalářskou práci vypracovala samostatně, pouze za použití citovaných zdrojů.“

Declaration

“I proclaim that I have assembled this bachelor thesis by myself and that I used only sources cited in the bibliography.”

……………………………..

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Michael George, M.A. for his patience and constructive remarks during creation of my thesis. I am very grateful for his support and valuable advice he provided me with.

Annotation

The aim of this work is to present the era of Jim Crow laws to the reader. The focus of the thesis is based on the compactness of the period that is described; from the circumstances that lead to the establishment of Jim Crow laws, during the imaginary peak of its period and the description of the laws, to the gradual suppression and removal of laws from the legislative system of the United States. A reader can find here authentic stories of people living during era and he or she can compare his or her life with a life of an African American people living in the US in the beginning of the 20^th century. The main goal is to expound to the reader nowadays the unbelievable situation and the local life conditions of an African American people that continue to shock the wide public until today. This text can be used as an extend study material for teachers at High schools.

Anotace

Cílem této práce je představit čtenáři éru Jim Crow zákonů. Pozornost je zde kladena na celistvost období, které je zde popsáno; od okolností, které vedly k zavedení Jim Crow zákonů, přes pomyslný vrchol tohoto období a jeho popisu, až k postupnému potlačování a konečnému zrušení zákonů ve Spojených státech. Čtenář zde může najít autentické příběhy lidí, kteří žili v těchto časech, a může porovnat jeho/její život se životem Afroameričanů žijících v USA na počátku 20. století. Hlavním cílem je přiblížit a vysvětlit čtenáři dnes již nepředstavitelnou situaci a tamější životní podmínky Afroameričanů, které dodnes nepřestávají šokovat širokou veřejnost. Tento text může být použitý jako rozšiřující studijní materiál pro učitele učících na středních školách.

Key words

Black Codes, Civil Rights Act, disenfranchisement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., equality, integration, Jim Crow laws, lynching, Reconstruction, Rosa Parks, segregation

Klíčová slova

Černé kodexy, Zákon o občanských právech, nerovnoprávnost, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., rovnost, integrace, Jim Crow zákony, lynčování, Rekonstrukce, Rosa Parks, segregace

Table of Content

1.THE LIFE OF JIM CROW 7

1.1. Reconstruction era 7

1.1.1. Antebellum years 7

1.1.2.Reconstruction 8

1.1.3.Black Codes 10

1.1.4.Fourteenth Amendment 13

1.1.5.Fifteenth Amendment 13

1.1.6.Institutions and movements of Reconstruction 14

1.2.Redemption 18

1.2.1. Compromise of 1877 18

1.2.2.Commencement of Jim Crow 20

1.2.3.The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 23

1.2.4.Plessy v. Ferguson 23

1.3.Reunion 25

1.3.1. Arizona 25

1.3.2. New Mexico 26

1.3.3. Texas 26

1.3.4. Oklahoma 27

1.3.5. Kansas 27

1.3.6. Missouri 27

1.3.7. Louisiana 27

1.3.8. Mississippi 28

1.3.9. Tennessee 29

1.3.10. Virginia 29

1.3.11. North Carolina 29

1.3.12. South Carolina 30

1.3.13. Georgia 30

1.3.14. Alabama 31

1.3.15. Florida 31

2.THE LIFE WITH JIM CROW LAWS 32

2.1. Morning: 6:00 – 11:45 a.m. 33

2.1.1. Morning in the 21st century 33

2.1.2. Morning in 1952 33

2.2.Midday 11:45 a.m. – afternoon 18:00 p.m. 37

2.2.1. Midday in the 21st century 37

2.2.2.Midday in 1952 38

2.3.Evening: 18 p.m. – 22 p.m. 40

2.3.1. The end of the day in the 21st century 40

2.3.2.Segregated evening 40

3.The end of the “life” of the Jim Crow 43

3.1. The beginning of the end 43

3.2.Peak of the fight 44

Conclusion 46

BIBLIOGRAPHY 47

Introduction

It is a surprising fact that human rights has not been on the same level for all races in the history of human beings. A new generation regards this equality and freedom for granted and it is hard to imagine that such laws as Jim Crow laws could exist there. People live according to laws that make all people equal and punish any sign of disfranchisement in the 21^st century world in all developed countries including of course the USA. A young generation does not make differences between people because of the color of their skin. This fact was a dream of most of the Black people in the US for all centuries of suppression and the supremacy of white people. Before this accomplishment there are centuries of struggles for achieving of an equality.

This thesis focuses on the era of Jim Crow laws and emphasizes the life of the Black people. The main author’s intention is to describe and summarize this period and to remind to people that the current situation in which they grow up is the result of tough fight for the integration.

The whole work is divided into three major parts: In the first part the “life” of Jim Crow laws is described; from the circumstances after the Civil war that enabled the laws to rise, through its peak where there were Jim Crow laws in every southern state. The description of the laws in states is also given.

The second part is devoted to the displaying the most famous stories of the people that lived in this period and tasted the bitterness of segregation and experienced the violence which was used against people that disobeyed the law. The reader can find here a demonstrative illustration of, for us now, an unimaginable life. The author attempted to transfer one day in ordinary life of an imaginary twenty-two years old man living in 21^st century into the same day lived it as a Black man in Alabama in 1952.

The last third part is devoted to the fight for the civil rights and the crucial events are listed. The beginnings in Montgomery, famous marches and people’s attitudes towards fights are described. The reader can find in the conclusion a schema of the future development in the relations between people.

1.