Jim Crow Laws - Homework Pages 286 - 289 Questions 1-5

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

a. Ida B. Wells- Ida B. Wells fights against lynching by writing, lecturing, and
organizing for civil rights.
b. Poll tax- An annual tax that had to be paid before qualifying to vote; black as well
as white sharecroppers were often too poor to pay the poll tax.
c. Grandfather clause-The clause stated that even if a man failed the literacy test or
could not afford the poll tax, he was still entitled to vote if he, his father, or his
grandfather had been eligible to vote before January 1, 1867.
d. Segregation- Separation between blacks and whites
e. Jim Crow laws-Laws that separate white and black people in public and private
facilities
f. Plessy v. Ferguson- A Supreme Court case that resulted in legalization of
segregation; Supreme Court ruled that the separation of races in public
accommodations was legal and did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment
g. Debt peonage -A system that bound laborers into slavery in order to work off a
debt to the employer, primarily affect Mexicans.

2. Identify the section, and find five key events to place on a time line as shown. Which
of these events do you think was most important? Why?
- July 2, 1890 - The Sherman Antitrust Act became law in the United States.
- July 6, 1892 - The Homestead Steel Strike in western Pennsylvania turned into a
ferocious day-long battle between Pinkerton men and townspeople.
- March 25, 1894 - Coxey's Army, a march to protest unemployment that was largely the
result of the Panic of 1893, departed from Ohio on its way to Washington, D.C.
- May 18, 1896 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that the "separate
but equal" principle of Jim Crow laws in the segregated American South is legal.
- April 25, 1898 - The United States declared war on Spain.
I think the supreme court case of Plessy v. Ferguson is the most important event because it
justifies segregation laws and provides excuses for discrimination. It is a landmark case which
allows segregation laws to exist for another 60 years.

3. IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS How did segregation and discrimination affect the

lives of African Americans at the turn of the 20th century?
Segregation and discrimination affected the lives of African Americans at the turn of the 20th
century by depriving their right to vote and degrading their living standard. It takes away many
social and political rights African American gained in the Reconstruction period and place them
in violent oppression. Customs such as racial etiquette might even lead to lynching.
 4. What did some African-American leaders do to fight discrimination?
African American leaders, such as Ida B. Wells give out lectures and organized civil right
movements.

5. CONTRASTING How did the challenges and opportunities for Mexicans in the
United States differ from those for African Americans?
a. Think About:
i. the types of work available to each group
ii. the effects of government policies on each group
iii. the effect of the legal system on each group
Mexicans mostly work in railroad constructions and mining/agriculture de
velopment jobs in the Southwest. African-Americans mostly work as farmers in the South.
African Americans suffered from political discrimination, loss of many basic rights, and threats
of violence, while Mexicans often suffered from poor working conditions, lower wages than
those of other ethnic groups, and debt peonage. However, government policies such as
segregation laws affect all ethnicities other than white.