Many of these laws were put in place specifically to hinder black voting. This was done because the blacks outnumbered whites in the South and they feared that given the chance, the blacks would attempt to take control. These laws included such things as the Grandfather Clause. This stated that if your grandfather was able to vote in 1864 than you could vote. This was very effective because at that time no blacks would have been allowed to vote. Also Poll taxes were passed. These were taxes for the right to vote and had to be paid in the February prior to voting. The rationale was that the people would either not be able to afford the tax or they would lose their proof of payment by November. Also literacy tests were required in many areas before one could vote. This was effective because prior to 1864 it was illegal to teach black slaves to read and write. To Praise Our Bridges reveals how effective the White Power Structure of the South was at keeping blacks from voting. It was not until 1962 that the author even learned that she could vote. Most of these practices came to an end with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In 1896 came the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court, in this case, upheld the legality of racial segregation. At the time of the ruling, segregation between blacks and whites already existed in most schools, restaurants, and other public facilities in the American South. In the Plessy decision, the Supreme Court ruled that such segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This coined the phrase "Separate but equal" and set the way of life for almost the next sixty years.
The second phase of Civil Rights Reform came about through the educational system. The public schools were funded by property taxes. Since few blacks actually owned property, and that which was owned by blacks was of little value, the schools in black neighborhoods were always of lower quality than those in white neighborhoods.
