What Was the Rationale for Rejecting the Claim That the Federal

What was the rationale for rejecting the claim that the federal government needed to abolish Jim Crow laws because they conflicted with the equal protection clause?

A) The federal government should not interfere in states' rights to determine their own equal protection laws and should not practice social engineering.
B) The federal government should leave the decision up to each state because in some states Jim Crow laws were important for maintaining social order.
C) Jim Crow laws helped African Americans achieve equality by building character through overcoming adversity, so to declare them a violation of equal protection would be counterproductive.
D) The equal protection clause applied only to the actions of the federal government, so states were within their rights to enact Jim Crow laws.
E) The equal protection clause referred only to social equality, not legal or political equality, so the federal government should not make equal protection a legal or political issue.