The main idea behind the Jim Crow laws was "separate but equal". It was a legal way to continue the discrimination against the African Americans in the southern states. You can say that the affect of these laws developed two different societies in the US. The African Americans were deprived from the same conditions and other governmental services the white people received. It turned out that the races were separated in many aspects : education, welfare, health,culture etc. They even deprived them of some civil rights they own being citizens like voting. Until 1964 these laws were governed and you can say helped maintain the gap between the races which is nowadays slowly closing down, I hope!
