The responsibility for Jim Crow lies with two sources, and I have laid this out on other threads as well. Populists, who by and large, drew major support from Unionist areas, and of course, Reconstruction corruption, the abuses of which were blamed on the blacks. If the Southern elite had their way, blacks would have kept the vote because blacks could be easily persuaded to vote against populist demagogues who repeatedly demeaned them. Make this clear, it has always been the wealthy, educated members of Southern society who have protected the black population from the more violent racist elements.
It is a class and cultural thing, as well as education.As a child of the Deep South, I had never, ever actually observed racist attitudes until I moved .......... NORTH.
That is some funny stuff. The number of Confederate leaders who attempted to aid Blacks politically can be counted on one hand. The KKK was not formed by the lower classes initially but by one of the South's greatest generals. Nor were the members of the lower classes those who took over after the military forces were withdrawn.
Destruction of the Republican party and Black political power was the goal of the South's ruling class after the War. Loyal areas of the South, E. Tenn., Northern Arkansas, hill regions of NC, Alabama, had very few Blacks and were anti-slavery to a far greater extent than elsewhere.