Final answer:
historically in the U.S., legal and societal norms conspired to ensure people of color had less rights than white people, with systemic inequality persisting until challenged by the Civil Rights Movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The direct answer to whether there was a system in which people of color had less political and economic rights than white people .
In the United States, historically, there have been numerous instances where laws and social norms combined to ensure that people of color had fewer rights. Most notably, under legalized segregation -- also known as Jim Crow laws -- African Americans were denied equal access to public facilities, education, employment opportunities, and the right to vote. Despite the ideals professed about equality and fairness, these legal precedents and societal norms worked together to maintain a racially divided and unequal society, which in turn highlighted the discrepancies between the American ideal of equality and the reality of racial discrimination. This systemic inequality was eventually challenged by the Civil Rights Movement, bringing about significant changes with legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.