Segregation was mandated in the Jim Crow laws.
Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States . De jure segregation existed mainly in the Southern states , while Northern segregation was generally de facto -- patterns of housing segregation enforced by private covenants , bank lending practices , and job discrimination , including discriminatory labor union practices . Jim Crow laws -- sometimes , as in Florida , part of state constitutions -- mandated the segregation of public schools , public places , and public transportation , and the segregation of restrooms , restaurants , and drinking fountains for whites and blacks . President Woodrow Wilson initiated segregation of federal workplaces at the request of southern Cabinet members in 1913 .