History of African American

History of African American

Introduction

Racial discrimination is one of the ugliest facts surrounding United States. It has been a recurring issue ever since Christopher Columbus discovered America. Starting from the days of

Slavery, then to civil war and through Jim Crow to Civil Rights Movement the African Americans and the nation of United States have been struggling with the issue of racism.

The history of racial discrimination against African Americans can be traced back to the 16th century when English colonist discovered America and started settling in Virginia. They started enslaving the Native Americans thinking that God has given superiority to them by making them white therefore the black people should serve them. Europeans were much more advanced in technology then natives therefore the racial discrimination began. Although the racial discrimination existed in United States but Jim Crow Law had significant effect in augmenting the racial discrimination. It became a manifested ugliness of society due to the legislation that directed the lives of African American towards virtually never ending racism.

The piece of writing will explore the impact of Jim Crow legislation on the life in United States. Furthermore it documents the way African Americans responded to it.

Discussion

Overview of Jim Crow Legislation

Initially the Jim Crow laws were put forward to improvise the status of African Americans by presenting them with separate racial status. However it played devastatingly significant role in drawing the lines between Black and White Americans. The Jim Crow doctrines were set of laws, both local and state laws in United States that were endorsed between the period of 1876 and 1965.

The Jim Crow legislation legally mandated and regulated racial segregation in all field of public facilities such. It was an effort to regulate economic, political and social relationship between African Americans and whites. However when seen under the lights of facts and judgments the laws were primarily passed to subordinate the native Americans to whites and to enforce edicts and regulations favored and preferred by dominant whites. The tag line for the law was “separate but equivalent” position and stand in society for the Native Americans. However the separation eventually exploited the difference between the two races and led to the social economical and political conditions that were inferior to those offered to the White dominant race. Furthermore the foundation of Jim Crow laws was the Black Codes (1800-1866) that had formerly restricted the civil liberties and rights of the Native Black Americans.

Some examples of Jim Crow legislation include segregation of housing facilities, public schools, restraints, restrooms, public places and public transportation. The services in military of United States were also segregated.

Effect of Jim Crow Laws

The laws had direct impact on the nation as these laws practically regulated every dimension of daily life from public facilities like healthcare and schools to personal facilities like housing. Basically the law legalized racial discrimination and helped in its propagation through several factors. The law basically affected United States by developing two separate nations within one country. The African Americans were ...