What did the Jim Crow Laws primarily enforce?

The Jim Crow Laws primarily enforced the segregation of blacks from whites, institutionalizing racial discrimination throughout the American South from the late 19th century until the civil rights movement in the 1960s. These laws created and upheld a system of racial apartheid, affecting all areas of public life. This included separate facilities in schools, transportation, restaurants, and other public spaces, and effectively relegated African Americans to a status of second-class citizenship.

The legal framework established by Jim Crow laws was often justified by the false notion of "separate but equal," which the Supreme Court upheld in the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896. However, in practice, the doctrine led to grossly unequal conditions that marginalized African American communities. By extending discriminatory practices into legal codes, these laws solidified systemic racism and hindered any progress toward racial equality.

In contrast, options regarding integration, expansion of voting rights, and protection of civil rights do not accurately represent the intent or consequences of the Jim Crow Laws, which were fundamentally about creating barriers between races rather than promoting equality or civil rights.