A National Struggle

The President

The Jim Crow laws were an American System of discrimination and segregation towards African Americans. During the1876 election, the government withdrew from all states but 3 southern states. When Rutherford Hayes was elected president, the Jim Crow laws were in full effect. The congress was trying to find ways to get blacks their rights but decided that there were more important issues to deal with. President Roosevelt did not want blacks to have many rights. The next president elected was Woodrow Wilson. He supported the discrimination against minorities and refused to meet with black leaders. He also believed that nothing could be done to change racial discrimination.

The Congress

After the Civil War, Southern states developed a segregation system called Jim Crow. The legislative branch played the biggest role in Jim Crow. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which guaranteed civil rights for blacks. The act was soon overturned and did not fully come into effect. Congress did not allow the army to protect the blacks against angry whites at the polls. President Johnson helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which effectively opposed Jim Crow. Jim Crow was finally put to an end when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed.