Lesson 31 The Economics of Racial Discrimination

Lesson 35

Visual 35.1Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow Laws were adopted in the 1880s.

They required the separation of races in the use of public and most private facilities.

Among other things, Jim Crow Laws required poll taxes and literacy tests which reduced the number of African American voters.

Visual 35.1 The Scope of Jim Crow Laws

Hospitals Schools Public parks Railroad cars Public buildings Prisons Restrooms

Visual 35.1 The Scope of Jim Crow Laws

Restaurants Lunch counters Theaters Buses Hotels Funeral homes Cemeteries

Visual 35.2: Different Outcomes for Homer Plessy and Rosa Parks?

In 1892, Homer Plessy was refused a seat in a first-class railroad car even though he had paid for a first-class ticket. He challenged the segregation laws in court, but he lost his case.

Visual 35.2 Different Outcomes for Homer Plessy and Rosa Parks?

In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American riding on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, was told to give up her seat to a white passenger.

She challenged the segregation laws, and she won.

Why?

Visual 35.3 Guide to Economic Reasoning

1. People choose.2. People’s choices involve costs.3. People respond to incentives in

predictable ways.4. People create economic systems that

influence individual choices and incentives.

5. People gain when they trade voluntarily.6. People’s choices have consequences

that lie in the future.

Activity 35.1Homer Plessy and Rosa Parks

What did Homer Plessy attempt to do?

What did the railroad gain by refusing to let Mr. Plessy use his paid ticket?

What did the railroad lose?

What did Rosa Parks refuse to do?

What did the bus company gain by having Ms. Parks arrested?

What did the bus company lose?

What changes occurred that made the bus boycott effective in Montgomery?