Final answer:
Jim Crow laws were a set of unfair rules that enforced racial segregation in the United States, particularly in the South, from the late 19th century until the 1960s.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jim Crow laws were a series of unfair rules that enforced racial segregation in the United States, particularly in the South, from the late 19th century until the 1960s. The name 'Jim Crow' comes from a popular racist caricature of the time. These laws mandated the separation of black and white Americans in various aspects of life, including schools, public buildings, transportation, and public facilities.
The Jim Crow laws were justified under the principle of 'separate but equal,' which was established in the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson. This ruling stated that racial segregation was constitutional as long as separate facilities were provided for each race. However, the facilities for African Americans were almost always inferior.
The Jim Crow era came to an end during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which declared these laws unconstitutional and banned racial discrimination.