Although the Emancipation Proclamation marked the end of slavery in the United States, it did little to combat the racism that remained. Left unchecked, this racism, like a weed, has grown and its roots have permeated almost every sector of American culture, extending from the white population in the South to local and state governments south of the Mason-Dixon line. Jim Crow laws provided legal loopholes that circumvented the spirit of the Emancipation Proclamation and gave legal cover to those who yearned for the Reconstruction and antebellum eras. The insidious nature of Jim Crow easily transformed bigotry and intolerance from base vices into prized virtues. Although Jim Crow laws were settled by the 1954 lawsuit, Brown v. Topeka School Board, where all laws and public policies based on the theory of “separate but equal” were found to be unconstitutional; they were not completely eliminated until the mid-1960s, almost a hundred years after the end of the American Civil War and the start of Radical Reconstruction. During the Reconstruction era, politicians from northern states moved south to take advantage of political opportunities in the South (McPhee) and courted the freedmen's vote. This practice gave blacks increased influence over the political and financial landscape of the southern districts, thereby disenfranchising the southern white elite. Disturbed by their waning authority, white Southern business owners, landlords, teachers, religious leaders, and legislators initiated and enforced Jim Crow (Shmoop) legislation and labeling. In an effort to circumvent the newly acquired freedom of slaves (Country Studies), Jim Crow laws created a legal race-based caste system that operated primarily in the southern and border state...... middle paper. .....with abuse and humiliation, and without "Equal Protection Under the Law", they will fester. Works Cited National Studies. “Radical Reconstruction.” Countrystudies.us. January 9, 2010. McPhee, Isaac M. “Carpetbaggers and Reconstruction: American Opportunism in the Post-Civil War Years.” February 8, 2008. Suite101.com. January 10, 2010. Parker, Albert. "NAACP appeals to UN." November 1947. Marxist.org. January 9, 2010. Pilgrim, Dr.l David. “What is Jim Crow?” » September 2000. Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. January 10, 2010. Randall, Vernellia R. “Race, Racism, and the Law: Speaking Truth to Power!! » 1997. Examples of Jim Crow Laws. January 9, 2010 .Shmoop. “Jim Crow in America.” 2010. Shmoop. January 11 2010 .