African Americans
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| Segregated Water Fountains |
African Americans were treated very badly by whites. They were seen as the inferior race and many of their rights were violated. They faced strong racial discrimination and inequality. Segregation was another problem they had to endure, but that was not it. After Reconstruction, the whites took control of the south again and passed laws that were discriminative of race. These laws were called Jim Crow laws. They segregated blacks from whites in the use of public and private facilities, such as trains, restaurants and restrooms. They were given bad housing, and education. African Americans were also denied the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, to marry whites, or move freely. The 14th amendment in 1868 was supposed to grant equal protection of laws, and the 15th amendment in 1870 gave the right to all males no matter their race. These amendments were violated regarding African Americans.
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| Segregated Bus (blacks sit in the rear and whites at front) |
Women
Women, as well as African Americans, had to go through a lot when it came to their rights. They were denied most legal rights, such as voting, owning property, having their own wages, and even having custody of their children. During war men would go to fight and women would take their place in the workplace, but after war ended women had to return to their traditional role of homemaker. Many people believed that women should better serve society by staying at home to influence the next generation of men. Those women, who got the chance to work outside of home, were usually paid less than the men for the same job. They also could not get higher-paying professions such as medicine, law or finance. Other than problems in the workplace, they also faced problems regarding their own body. In the mid 1800’s some states passed laws that prohibited abortion. Also some of the amendments passed did not include women, which made it harder for them to defend themselves. One example is the 15th amendment which said "the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"; women were not included here.
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