Paragraph 1:

a)What sort of citizens were black people under Jim Crow laws?
All African Americans were considered as second class citizens and due to this belief, they were
segregated and didn' t have the same laws as WASPs.
b)What belief did Jim Crow laws were based on?
Jim Crow Laws were based especially on theological belief because many theologians taught that
WASPs are a chosen race. In protestant ethics doesn't perceive people being equal, there are ordinary
ones and Chosen ones. Black people were classified as culturally inferior to whites, thus they had to
serve them. It wasn't only theological belief because we might speak as well about pseudo-scientific
theories of phrenologists or Social Darwinists who wanted to find a scientific proof in order to define
black people as inferior.
c) What were the different derogatory names used to refer to black people?
We know many of these derogatory names that were used to dishonor black population, for example,
darkies, niggers and even coons.
Paragraph 2:
a)Why were sexual relations between blacks and whites forbidden?
They were strictly forbidden due to previous beliefs and pseudo-scientific rationalizations. We believed
that white man that symbolized intelligence and morality would degenerate if they had children with
black people. Inasmuch as it was seen as a degradation of white individual, this mongrel race could
destroy American society.
b)The Jim Crow etiquette: -Could a black person be referred to as Mr? Why or why not?
Not at all, it was forbidden as well because Black people could have no honorific titles. Only white ones
could be called Mr or Mrs.
-Could a black man offer a helping hand to a white woman? Why or why not?
First of all, shaking hands symbolizes a sort of social equality that was totally unacceptable. If he
offered his hand, society would perceive it almost as a rape.
Jim Crow guide: (published in the 1950s not in 1990): Could a black person argue with a
white person? Why or why not?
Society believed that black people were meant to be much less intelligent. It would be a shame for a
white person to argue with black people because he should be considered by them as a master who's
always right.
Voting rights: how were blacks denied the right to vote?
The reason why they couldn't vote could be explained by another racist conception that prescribed that
only Democrats can vote, and only whites can become Democrats.
-Why was violence so often used against black people?
Society saw the best way to maintain social control by lynching blacks who were supposed to be
always inferior, so they had no right to be judged with justice. All institutions were white, so the
violence became very instrumental.
- Choose the statement you find the most striking and/or shocking and explain your choice
Never assert or intimate that a white person is lying is, in my opinion, one of the worst and most
striking statements, we can find because it implies total injustice towards black people who, in this

way, don't have any laws and cannot claim they're right. It's shocking because it means a white person
can accuse any black person that will be always punished, even though this person were innocent.