Three early discrimination laws were the Black Codes, the Jim Crow laws, and the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Briefly describe how each discriminated against African-Americans.

Answer:

Among the three discrimination laws, the first were the Black Codes. The focus of the black codes was to treat African-Americans as if they were second-class citizens. Many rights afforded to other Americans were taken away from them, including the right to own land or guns, the right to serve on juries, and the right to interracial marriage. Next came the Jim Crow laws which, in stronger and weaker forms, lasted from the 1880s until the 1960s. The focus of the Jim Crow laws was segregation and extended from neighborhoods to businesses to schools and public accommodations. Finally, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established one of the most notoriously discriminatory concepts in American history -- separate but equal. The case essentially upheld the constitutionality of segregation.