Thomas Dartmouth Rice, a struggling white actor, became famous
by performing in blackface makeup as "Jim Crow," an exaggerated,
highly stereotypical black character. By 1838, the term "Jim
Crow" was being used as a collective racial epithet for blacks,
not as offensive as nigger, but as offensive as coon or darkie.
The popularity of minstrel shows aided the spread of Jim Crow as
a racial slur. By the end of the 19th century, Jim Crow was
being used to describe laws and customs that oppressed blacks. A
Virginia law made it illegal for black and white children to
attend the same schools. 1875 March 1 Congress passed the Civil
Rights Act of 1875, which prohibited discrimination in public
accommodations, including inns, theaters, public conveyances on
land or water, and "other places of public amusement." 1877
March 2 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President by
the Electoral College after a deal was worked out with leading
southern Democrats. The withdrawal of all remaining federal
troops from the Sou