Jim Crow SouthRacism was prominent in the colonial 17th and 18th centuries. Racism is the belief that a person's physical characteristics determine the capacities in which that individual is best able to act. Race was the foundation of all slavery and eventually led to what would be known as Jim Crow laws. At this time, the North and South expressed different opinions on slavery and racial superiority. The ongoing struggle for equality among African Americans took place during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Slavery was a trap that followed African Americans until 1865, when the South was defeated in war. The South would soon revert to the name “Jim Crow” following the immense battle against slavery. Slavery was abolished by new upcoming amendments to the constitution guaranteeing the freedom of freed slaves. The Jim Crow South managed to find a loophole in the constitution and keep freed African Americans under strict regulations, known as Jim Crow laws. These laws led to the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case, which further ignited the already heated controversy over Jim Crow laws. The laws upheld legal segregation in the South and left a long-lasting impact among the nation's African Americans. The fight for equality led to riots such as the Springfield Race Riot of 1908 in Illinois. Many people such as Ned Cobb and Barbara Johns rose up against the laws in order to demand the right to equality for all African Americans. After the end of the Civil War, the federal government worked to rebuild the South's economy. . This is called the Reconstruction era which took place in the 1970s. When Reconstruction ended in 1877, Southerners began to speak out. Eugene was the presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party (“Race and Riots”). When Chafin saw the crowd attacking the man, he tried to protect him. This decision led to the public execution of Chafin. It took 5,000 state militiamen to restore order in Springfield ("Race Riots and"). The riot had given rise to many arguments over segregation and equality, but it led to the creation of the largest organization of the time, the NAACP. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded by people such as Jane Adams, Garrison Oswald Villard, and participants in the Niagara movement. The editor of the NAACP was WEB Du Bois (“Race Riots and”). The association is committed to fighting against lynching and segregation. The Springfield, Illinois race riot was a prime example of discrimination against African Americans for the NAACP..