Our Rights
By: Jacob Jordan and Mya Ingvall
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws is the separation of whites and blacks. Just like hundreds of other laws making segregation legal. Segregation is the separation of groups of people, usally by race. Under Jim Crow laws, white Americans and African American led almost completely different lives. These laws segregated many public places like schools, theaters,libraries, buses, and trains. Even the cemeteries were segregated. In the south, other laws were passed to keep blacks from voting. In 1890, some states required voters to pass a reading test to vote. Many could not pass the test.
Segregation
Segregation was not a fair law. It limited blacks opportunities. Civil Rights are the rights all citizen should have under the U. S. Constitution. In 1890, Louisiana passed a Jim Crow Law that segregated railroad cars. Two years later, Homer Plessy disobeyed this law by sitting in a railroad car that was reserved for white people. When he was released from jail he then sued Louisiana.
Woman's Jobs Before Their Rights
Most married women in the mid to late 1800's were homemakers. They stayed at home all day and took care of their husbands and children. Before they got married, many of them who lived in the city worked as maids or in factories, mills, and workshops. But very poor women still worked after they got married. Better educated woman were teachers. Often, they mended and washed clothing. By 1900, almost four million women had a job other then farming. Rarely women worked in the same professions as men. In the rural area, life was different for women. They shared the same chores as their husbands. Both the women and man had to work to survive. Equal work usally resulted in equal rights for both genders. Between 1900 and 1925, jobs for women grew quickly. They were more graduating from colleges and universities. Women still cared for their families but better education made many more jobs possible.
Woman's Voting Rights
In 1848, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two women's right leaders, organized a meeting in Seance Falls, New York to discuss about the women's rights. About 250 man and women attended. Later, the convention voted on 12 statements about woman's rights. The ninth one demanded that all women should have the right to vote. Some think this demand went way to far, but the convention approved the statement. Women's suffrage was born. Suffrage is the right to vote. People who worked for women's suffrage were called suffragists. In 1851, Susan B. Anthony joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the two led what was called the "women suffrage" movement for 50 years. Other women also were important roles in this movement like Lucy Stone and Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1869, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Women Suffrage Association. Lucy Stone started the American Women Suffrage Association. In 1890, the two groups came together and worked with each other for 30 years.In 1887, Susanna Medora Salter became the countries first female mayor. In 1900, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho had full voting rights for women. By 1918, women had the same voting rights as men in 15 different states.