What was the reason for segregation in the American South?

What started segregation in the South?

After the end of Reconstruction and the withdrawal of federal troops, which followed from the Compromise of 1877, the Democratic governments in the South instituted state laws to separate black and white racial groups, submitting African-Americans to de facto second-class citizenship and enforcing white supremacy.

Explanation:

the answer is: the sesquicentennial of the american civil war is an occasion to consider the legacy of that great conflict. this legacy is our inheritance, and despite many indelible features, we continue to negotiate the resolution of that conflict. the civil war was fought over slavery, but not always on behalf of slaves