Jim Crow in North Carolina: The Legislative Program from 1865 to 1920 by Richard A. Paschal

Abstract

Reviewed by: Jim Crow in North Carolina: The Legislative Program from 1865 to 1920 by Richard A. Paschal Abel A. Bartley Jim Crow in North Carolina: The Legislative Program from 1865 to 1920. By Richard A. Paschal. (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2021. Pp. xx, 297. Paper, $29.00, ISBN 978-1-5310-1771-3.) In Jim Crow in North Carolina: The Legislative Program from 1865 to 1920, Richard A. Paschal crafts an interesting narrative about how Jim Crow legislation impacted North Carolina. The book documents the way race-based laws constructed by the North Carolina General Assembly shaped race relations in the state from Reconstruction through 1920. Traditionally, North Carolina was viewed as a moderate southern state with decent race relations and abundant educational opportunities for African Americans. Paschal attacks that narrative, deconstructing North Carolina's exceptionalist claims by showing that North Carolina maintained a virulently racist system throughout the post–Civil War period. North Carolina's Jim Crow laws were not the foundation of the state's discriminatory system; they instead simply confirmed the established customs that buttressed the white power structure in the state. Paschal pulls no punches as he questions the various theories about the origins of segregation. He acknowledges that C. Vann Woodward, Joel Williamson, and Howard Rabinowitz each supply partial answers to the origins of segregation, but none answers all the questions. Paschal questions Woodward's theories espoused in his classic work The Strange Career of Jim Crow (3rd rev. ed.; New York, 1974). Woodward argued that segregation came about as a result of the Democratic redemption of the state and the desire to end the challenge from the Populist movement. Paschal says that segregation and discrimination were prominent features of North Carolina life even during slavery, although he acknowledges the power of the Populist movement in the state. White North Carolinians did not need new legislation to enforce their racist actions. They relied on violence, chicanery, and intimidation to ensure white dominance of the state. The end of slavery created new expectations about race and social etiquette in the South. Woodward suggested that African Americans and whites mingled freely in economic and political matters during Reconstruction. Legalized racial segregation was a relatively new aspect of southern life. White North Carolinians turned to chicanery when they realized they could not win at the ballot box. [End Page 400] Paschal utilizes lists of laws to make his argument that between 1865 and 1920 North Carolinians were busy codifying white supremacy in the state. To make his point, the author explores several areas of social life, from politics and voting to school segregation, asylums, lynching, and juries. Between 1898 and the 1900s, white Democrats used violence, intimidation, and discriminatory laws to finally drive African Americans from the ballot box. They used discriminatory screening to block African Americans from the jury box. The lack of jury representation wreaked havoc on African Americans trying to get justice in the courts or challenge the new legal realities. North Carolinians refused to fund insane asylums, but they monitored private funds to ensure African Americans and whites were housed in separate facilities. Paschal notes that until 1885, when it was outlawed, North Carolina utilized a dual taxing program to ensure that white schools had more funding than African American schools. Paschal has written a wonderful book, which is a must-read for those interested in how Jim Crow developed and spread in North Carolina. North Carolina clearly was no different from other southern states. Paschal's writing is engaging, and the scholarship is impeccable and very thorough. However, the list of laws can be tedious at times, but if the reader takes the time to study them, they add to the arguments. In conclusion, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in North Carolina's or America's complicated racial past. Abel A. Bartley Clemson University Copyright © 2022 The Southern Historical Association