Segregation

In the southern states, Jim Crow laws enforced segregation in schools, transport and public places. The claim of ‘separate but equal’ concealed the poor quality of many facilities provided for African Americans. Poll taxes and literacy tests also obstructed their ability to vote, reducing their power to challenge discrimination.

The federal government—the national government of the United States—initially tried to separate white settlers and Indigenous peoples. This policy of segregation meant keeping the two populations in different areas.

During the 1920s, Black Americans faced racial segregation and violence, while immigrants could encounter hostility towards their nationality, religion or political beliefs. These problems involved both society and the state: governments sometimes enforced discrimination, while officials sometimes failed to protect people from it.

In the South, Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in facilities such as schools, public transport, restaurants and theatres. In 1883, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, removing an important federal protection against discrimination in public places.