Which of the following contributed most directly to the increase in segregation and disenfranchisement of African Americans by state governments during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
Select an Answer
The movement of many African Americans from the rural South to the urban North
The Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson
The establishment of civil rights advocacy groups such as the NAACP
The passage of federal civil rights legislation in 1875
The establishment of schools and colleges serving African Americans
View Correct Answer
The United States Supreme Court’s 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson determined that laws establishing racial segregation in public accommodations and facilities were constitutional as long as “separate but equal” facilities were provided for both races. This upheld the legality of existing laws that provided for racial segregation of facilities such as transportation and schools and encouraged the passage of new laws, intensifying existing segregation and increasing the disenfranchisement of African Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s.