Before the Jim Crow Laws came the Black Codes. These Codes were laws passed by southern states in 1865 and 1866, after the Civil War. They had the intent and effect of restraining African Americans’ freedom, and compelled them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt. They also proved that there was still widespread racism after the Civil War, and constructed a base for the Jim Crow Laws. The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enforcing racial …show more content…
Not only was it harder to find a job as a non-white, but black and white workers could not work in the same facilities. Many industries would not hire blacks because of the laws that unions passed to exclude them. Along with work, many streets were segregated and so whites and blacks could not live on the same street. In Texas, there were six towns in which people of African American descent were not allowed to live. Different facilities were built for doors, ticket windows, water fountains, and even benches. They also made separate prisons, hospitals, schools, and orphanages. In college, black and white fraternity members were not allowed to call each other