Final answer:
The segregated system mentioned in the discussion about the treatment of racial minorities in the criminal justice system after the Emancipation Proclamation refers to the Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation, particularly in the Southern United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The segregated system that existed after the Emancipation Proclamation is widely known as the Jim Crow system. Originating in the late 19th century, these laws enforced racial segregation particularly in the Southern United States. Following the abolition of slavery, new laws were enacted to maintain the racial hierarchy, severely affecting the lives of African Americans. Facilities and services were segregated, with those designated for African Americans typically being of inferior quality. This legal codification of segregation legitimized discrimination and ensured that, despite being free, African Americans were not afforded the same rights and opportunities as white Americans.
The separate but equal doctrine, established by the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case in 1896, reinforced these racial divides. Despite the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection, the ruling supported that separation of the races was constitutional as long as facilities were supposedly equal. In practice, however, this legal framework entrenched a system of inequality and second-class citizenship for African Americans, segregating schools, public transportation, and even drinking fountains. The system remained largely unchallenged until the civil rights movements of the mid-20th century culminated in legal reforms.
While the Jim Crow laws were more entrenched and systematic in the South, it is important to recognize that segregation and racism were not confined to that region. Northern states also displayed a pattern of discrimination with segregated facilities and restrictions on voting and housing, highlighting the pervasive nature of racial injustice in the era following the Civil War. Throughout this period, African Americans fought against these oppressive structures, looking to education and organized resistance, such as the NAACP, to claim their civil rights and dismantle segregation.