One thought on “How Sears Challenged the Social Structure Jim Crow Enforced”
I got a bit confused by this part: “Sears, can capitalize on the south’s Jim Crow laws by passing their own, the Rural Free Delivery Act, that allows their business to reach the African Americans the south is trying to suppress. Sears is undermining the state in attempt to give the African Americans a society in which they can be seen as equals.”
Sears didn’t pass the Rural Free Delivery Act; Congress passed it, and it was implemented by the Postal Service. So this isn’t an example of a company undermining the state–it’s an example of a company using a new law and a new service, provided by the state, to advance its commercial interests, with the side effect of increasing racial equality. This story continues to show how many different ways that business, state, and society can interact, with unintended benefits as well as unintended consequences.
I got a bit confused by this part: “Sears, can capitalize on the south’s Jim Crow laws by passing their own, the Rural Free Delivery Act, that allows their business to reach the African Americans the south is trying to suppress. Sears is undermining the state in attempt to give the African Americans a society in which they can be seen as equals.”
Sears didn’t pass the Rural Free Delivery Act; Congress passed it, and it was implemented by the Postal Service. So this isn’t an example of a company undermining the state–it’s an example of a company using a new law and a new service, provided by the state, to advance its commercial interests, with the side effect of increasing racial equality. This story continues to show how many different ways that business, state, and society can interact, with unintended benefits as well as unintended consequences.