Final answer:
Three distinct Jim Crow laws include literacy tests, the Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson, and a poll tax. These laws systematically disenfranchised African Americans by preventing them from voting and enforcing racial segregation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Jim Crow Laws were a set of discriminatory practices, statutes and institutions which resulted in racial segregation and substantial political,economic and social repression of African Americans. Three distinct Jim Crow laws are:
- Literacy Tests: These were tests that required prospective voters to demonstrate their ability to read a given text or passage. Officials often used difficult passages to deny registration to African American voters.
- Plessy v. Ferguson: This was a Supreme Court ruling in 1896 that legalized racial segregation under the pretense of 'separate but equal'. This ruling resulted in institutionalized segregation and racial discrimination.
- Poll Tax: This was a tax imposed on individuals as a prerequisite to voting. Since many African Americans were poor, this law effectively disenfranchised them economically, excluding them from the voting process.
These laws collectively disenfranchised African Americans by limiting their ability to vote and impose systemic segregation that deprived them of fundamental rights.
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