Before World War I there was much social, economic, and political inequality for African Americans. This made it difficult for African Americans to accept their ethnicity and integrate with the rest of American society. By the end of World War II, however, African Americans had made great strides toward achieving complete equality, developing their culture, securing basic rights, and integrating into American society. Toward the end of the Progressive Era, American social inequality had deprived African Americans of their rights. at local and national level. In the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessey v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court sided with a Louisiana state law that declared segregation constitutional as long as facilities remained separate but equal. Segregation increased as discriminatory laws were enacted by each state, but segregated facilities for whites were far superior to those provided for blacks; Particularly widespread in the South were discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow laws which increased after the ruling. These laws allowed segregation in places such as restaurants, hospitals, parks, recreational areas, bathrooms, schools, transportation, housing, hotels, etc. Measures were taken to disenfranchise African Americans using intimidation, violence, poll taxes, and literacy tests. . This nearly eliminated the black vote and its political interests as 90% of the nine million blacks in America lived in the South and 1/3 were illiterate as shown in Following the Color Line by Ray Stannard Baker (Bailey 667). For example, Louisiana registered 130,334 black voters in 1896, but that number dropped dramatically to just 1,342 in 1904, a drop of 99% (Newman). Other laws prevented blacks... middle of paper... or their heroic efforts during periods such as those of the 369th Battalion and Doris Miller. African Americans enjoyed greater basic rights, political voice, respect, and were able to integrate into American society by the end of World War II. Works Cited Wormser, Richard. "USA IN WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)." The rise and fall of Jim Crow. 2002 Educational Broadcasting Company. Network. January 9, 2014. .Wormser, Richard. “RED SUMMER (1919).” Jim Crow Stories. 2002 Educational Broadcasting Company. Network. January 9, 2014. .Newman, John. U.S. HISTORYPreparing for the Advanced Placement Exam. Second edition. New York: AMSCO EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2010. eBook. .