How did the end of Reconstruction contribute to the growth of segregation laws in the South?

The end of Reconstruction in the 1870s was a pivotal turning point that facilitated the rise of Jim Crow laws and systemic racial segregation in the South.12

When federal troops were withdrawn and the oversight of Reconstruction governments ceased, Southern state legislatures—no longer influenced by freedmen or Northern political interests—moved to reestablish white supremacy. This transition allowed for the codification of laws that mandated the separation of races in public spaces, including schools, transportation, and other facilities.3452

This shift was further solidified by the judiciary. As Northern political support for racial egalitarianism waned, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of rulings that limited federal protections and effectively sanctioned segregationist policies. This legal environment culminated in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which provided a constitutional basis for the "separate but equal" doctrine, thereby entrenching segregation as a controlling judicial precedent for decades.36124