Jim Crow laws were put in place so that whites would feel superior to blacks and created even more segregation and racism for African Americans throughout the 30s. Jim Crow laws were created to reinforce the belief that whites were superior to blacks in every way. The impact of Jim Crow laws ensured segregation to dehumanize African Americans in everyday life, in every aspect from using public transportation to personal relationships. During the Jim Crow era, many people took great risks to fight against racist laws. Jim Crow laws were created in 1876 and allowed discrimination against African Americans by "superior" whites. Jim Crow laws were created by state legislatures in the late 1800s, following the Reconstruction period. The origin of the laws name comes from a live show in which white actors portrayed African Americans in a negative and mocking manner. This essay on Jim Crow laws analyzes the origin of the law and its impact on America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to the Jim Crow article, “Jim Crow was originally the name of a character in a minstrel show introduced in 1832 by an artist-writer named Thomas Dartmouth 'Daddy' Rice” (Flashfocus 75). In 1896, the Supreme Court decided that utilities and businesses could treat African Americans and whites differently; this is considered the first major legal step towards Jim Crow laws. Under these laws, African Americans were legally considered to be lower class than whites treated as such. After the creation of Jim Crow laws, life for blacks became more difficult and humiliating, as they were discriminated against in every aspect of their lives. Segregation laws were enacted to encourage lower-class whites to continue to think of be better than blacks, so that they would not form alliances with blacks to overcome upper-class whites In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander stated, “At the turn of the twentieth century, every Southern state had disenfranchising laws on the books. civil rights blacks and discriminated against them in virtually every sphere of life, sanctioning a racial ostracism that extended to churches, housing, workplaces, bathrooms, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, orphanages, prisons, funeral homes, morgues and cemeteries" ( Alexander 35). African Americans had a set of rules of etiquette that they had to follow when in the presence of "superior whites." Some of these rules included never accusing a white person of being a liar, never swearing at or about a white person, never commenting on a white woman's appearance, and other expectations. Blacks also had social rules for when they interacted with whites, which dictated how they were treated. These included sitting in the back of a vehicle and being forced to give up your seat to a white person. A black man could never shake hands with a white male, or offer any part of himself to a white female. Additionally, black men could not offer to light a cigarette for white women, as this was considered intimate. Blacks also could not show any form of public affection, as this offended whites. From its creation until its abolition in 1964, both whites and blacks fought Jim Crow laws and segregation, and often paid for it with their lives. Jim Crow laws were supported by the belief that whites were smarter, more civilized, and "cleaner" than blacks and that)..