In the aftermath of World War II, America sought to demonstrate to the world the merit of free
democracies over communist dictatorships. But its segregation system exposed fundamental
hypocrisy. Change began brewing in the late 1940s. President Harry Truman ordered the end of
segregation in the armed services, and Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to
play Major League Baseball. But the wall built by Jim Crow legislation seemed insurmountable.
Which central idea is BEST supported by the paragraph?
A) Jim Crow legislation was used to create facilities for blacks and whites that were deliberately unequal.
B) Jim Crow legislation was used as a way to reestablish white authority after Reconstruction.
C) The laws permitted by Plessy v. Ferguson created separate nations for black and white people.
D) The laws permitted by Plessy v. Ferguson went against the democratic principles of America.