Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe the history of segregation in the USA.

Key Notes

• In 1865, slavery came to an end, but racism would not disappear overnight.
• Jim Crow laws had enforced segregation across southern states in the US, but also some northern states.
• Jim Crows laws were introduced to limit the freedoms introduced in the Reconstruction era.
• Discrimination and segregation increased in the late 1800s, and worsened after the Plessy v Ferguson verdict (1896)

Vocabulary To Learn

• discrimination: discrimination is unjust treatment based on a particular characteristic or physical trait
• segregation: when different groups of people are forcefully kept separate or apart it is called segregation
• Jim Crow laws: Jim Crow laws were a set of laws that enforced segregation in the USA, named after 'Jim Crow' - a stereotype of lazy, black American people
• lynched: when someone is lynched they are killed for an offence without a trial, usually by an armed group

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Jim Crow laws only impacted southern states in the US.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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