Title: Jim Crow Laws
Historical Background: As the Civil War came to an end, many Southern whites were afraid of
losing the control that they had over African Americans for many generations. They could not
see a society where the people that they once put into servitude rising up and being equal to them.
Therefore, Southerners came up with a series of laws to keep African Americans subservient to
white Americans. These laws were called collectively as Jim Crow Laws.
Correlation to NYS Grade 7/8 Social Studies Core Curriculum:
Unit Six: Division and Reunion
III. Results of the Civil War
Suggested Timeframe: This lesson should take approximately one class period.
Materials/Resources:
!" Jim Crow Worksheet (attached)
!" Computer with Internet access
Student Objectives: Students will be able to:
!" Determine the cause of the rise of Jim Crow laws, classify and describe a specific Jim
Crow law, and name a person and identify how that person fought Jim Crow.
!" Understand why African Americans moved North, and why they called the North “the
Promise Land.”
!" Understand what lynchings were, why they happened, and where they happened.
!" Evaluate the process through which an African American had to go through in order to
have the possibility to vote and the consequences they faced once they did vote.
Teaching Strategies, Procedures and Methodologies:
1. The website that is involved with this lesson is from the Public Broadcasting System. It
is an easy to read, user friendly, information packed website that can be used in a number
of different ways. Therefore, the website provides a number of different avenues to have
students explore Jim Crow and its impact on American society.
2. In order to do this lesson, you need to have computers with access to the Internet. While
it would be best for there to be a computer for each student, students could share
computers.
3. The students should get the attached Jim Crow Worksheet, sit at a computer, log on to the
Internet and go to work. If they should finish early, have the students explore the website
focusing on people and events.
4. When they are finished with the worksheet, they can do the next part of the assignment.
The students are to demonstrate that they understand the significance of Jim Crow. Here
are some options of what they can do:
!" Draw a political cartoon in favor or against Jim Crow that shows what it was and
why you feel this way.
!" Diagram the obstacles that African Americans faced when trying to vote. Also
demonstrates what happened to them if they did vote.
!" Compose a letter to the editor questioning or supporting Jim Crow either from a
northern perspective or a southern perspective.
!" Write a story about being African American surviving in the South during Jim
Crow and tell how they were able to do it.
Evaluation/Assessment:
The teacher may grade the Jim Crow Worksheet, as well as any of the assignments listed above as
ways to demonstrate that students understand the significance of Jim Crow
About the Author:
Colin Terry has taught seventh grade social studies for nine years and eighth grade for six years
in the Schenectady City School District.
Name: __________________________ Date: _______________
Period: ________
Jim Crow Worksheet
Directions: Go to the website www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/. Go to each of the sites that are
listed below and answer the questions that follow.
Click on Interactive Map and go to the Maps. Click where it says Lynching and Riots
and read what it says about lynching in the South
1. Why were there so many lynching in the south?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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2. Click on the word lynching on the left. When the map comes up, move the mouse to
see which state had the most lynching? ___________________________
At the top, click on Jim Crow Laws
3. Give reasons for the rise in Jim Crow Laws.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. On the left side of the screen, click on a category of your choice, and pick a state.
Tell me the state and the law in that state (the colored states had Jim Crow Laws).
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. At the top right hand corner, click on Jim Crow Stories, next click on People. Pick
one person who fought for change and briefly tell me their story.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Go back to the Jim Crow Stories and click on Events, then click on The Great
Migration.
6. Why were people moving from place to place?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7. What caused black people to move north in the twentieth century?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
8. Why was the North known as the “Promised Land?”
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Next, click on Tools and Activities on the top right hand corner. Go to Voting Then,
Voting Now. Read the introduction and click on Try to Vote. Name and describe each
obstacle you would have to overcome in order to vote. Click Continue when finished
with each. Check out the Literacy Test when you finish the worksheet.
9. _____________________________________________________________________
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10. _____________________________________________________________________
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11. _____________________________________________________________________
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12. _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
13. What message does the Sheriff give you when you can finally vote? How do you
understand this?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
If you should finish early:
1. Explore the site checking out some of the Tools and Activities as well as other
parts of the web site.
2. Try out the literacy test and see how you do.
3. Pick three Southern states and three Northern states. Find out how many
lynchings there were for each state. Use these states to create a bar graph on a
separate sheet of paper.
Southern States:
Northern States:
______________________ _____
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