Black Codes Research Paper

Black codes were one of many ways the states got around the federal government's amendments. These codes were laws that applied to African American people in the state. All of these codes were very restrictive and demining. They stopped African Americans from doing a lot of things such as owning or renting a house or apartment in the town of Opelousas. Many other towns had such laws that stopped African americans from living in town, coming into town, and even having meetings in town.

Johnson also excluded Confederate leaders and wealthy planters whose prewar property had been valued at more than 20,000. With this statement many believed that Johnson wanted to do more that Lincoln believed he did. The black codes were another one of Johnson Reconstruction policies. The black codes are laws passed by the new southern government that attempted to regulate the lives of the former slaves. The Laws granted blacks certain rights such as, legalized marriage, the right to own property, and limited access to courts. Although black had laws to protect them and give them the right to equal there were certain things that were not granted for their defense. Blacks were no able to testify against any whites, they did not have the right to vote, to serve on jury or in the militia. They also had to work in plantation owned by former slave owners, Blacks were to sign yearly contract and if they did not comply with it they were to be arrested and given to landowner to work without

     The draftees of the Black Codes in each state were not subtle in their dislike for freedmen. They believed blacks were predestined to be agricultural laborers and under their control. In 1866, federal officials deemed black codes too harsh, and outlawed them. They decided that blacks should receive the same treatment that whites did.

After the Civil War, the southern whites were extremely resentful and bitter. In 1865 the southern states began issuing “black codes,” which were laws made subsequent to the Civil War that had the effect of limiting the civil rights and civil liberties of blacks. This term tends to refer to the legislation passed by southern states to control the labor, migration, and other activities of newly freed slaves. When the slaves were freed, they still had

Black Codes is the mainstream name given to the statutes went by Southern slave states, before and instantly after the American Civil War. From the pioneer time frame, provinces and states had passed laws that oppressed free Blacks. In the South, these were for the most part incorporated into slave codes; the objective was to lessen impact of free blacks as a result of their potential impact on slaves. Restrictions included denying them from voting, remaining battle ready, and assembling in gatherings for love and figuring out how to read and write. A noteworthy reason for these laws was to save slavery. In the initial two years after the Civil War, white ruled southern legislatures passed Black Codes displayed after the before slave codes.

When the Civil War ended and slaves were free, Black Codes were established by states. Black Codes were specifically made to limit the freedom of African Americans and forced them to work in poor conditions with low wages. As explained by

These were a series of laws enacted mostly in the Southern United States in the later half of the 19th century that restricted most of the new privileges granted to African American after the Civil War. The discriminatory Jim Crow laws were enacted to support the notion of racial segregation. They required black and white people to use separate water fountains, public schools, public bathhouses, restaurants, public libraries, and rail cars in public transit. Originally called the Black Codes they later became known as Jim Crow laws, after a familiar minstrel character of the day. The laws became the legal

The southerners wrote these laws in order to maintain “White Supremacy” and the old order that originally made slavery possible. The punishment that the Black Codes stated were such unrealistic obligations for the newly freed black slaves that it was very well setting them up for failure. One law stated, “ Such person, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars, and not more than five hundred dollars, and cost; and if said fine and costs shall not be immediately paid, the court shall sentence said convict to six months imprisonment in the county jail.”

This article details some of the Black Codes enacted by various southern states. Although as sad as it was to read these laws, it is important that it be known so history does not repeat itself. The Black Codes have been likened to slavery, only

The newly passed laws became known as “Black Codes” and socially, they directly impacted the lives of all freedmen and indirectly benefited the white race. These laws restricted the rights of free African-American men and women (Doc A). In Opelousas, Louisiana, some of these restrictions were the denied right to keep or own a house in the town, the denied right to enter the town without special permission, the denied right to hold public meetings, the denied right to carry firearms or any kind of weapon, and a requirement that every negro must be in service of some white person (Doc A). The elite members in the South did everything they could to prevent blacks from gaining civic power, and the reasoning for supporting these codes ranged from fearing black political influence to the comfort of knowing farmers still had a stable and reliable work force. Even in the post civil war North, people believed blacks were unfit to be government officials (Doc E). Pro-freedman presses ran racist letters arguing blacks were not fit for the proper exercise of political duties, and their generation needed a period of probation and instruction in order to learn the ways in which society ran (Doc E). Many northerners felt blacks were incompetent to hold important jobs; therefore, the government was in no way aiding the reconstruction efforts to provide equality to all people in America.

Laws were passed that degraded blacks and forbid interracial marriage and sexual relations. Other laws prohibited blacks from bearing arms, traveling without written permission and finally, preventing blacks from owning property. In 1669,

1: Black Codes: A body of laws, statutes, and rules enacted by southern states immediately after the Civil War to regain control over the freed slaves, maintain white supremacy, and ensure the continued supply of cheap labor.

In 1865, the American government successfully passed the thirteenth amendment: ending the institution of slavery in America. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The thirteenth amendment opened up economic opportunity for African Americans as slaves were no longer owned by someone else. However, not long after the thirteenth amendment was passed, former slaveholders and southerners created the black codes. Black Codes were a set of laws intended to restrict African American freedoms, causing them to go into low wage labor. A black code passed in the state of South Carolina stated, “To do farm work, a black in South Carolina had to have a written contract, attested to by white witnesses; failure to obtain one before commencing to work was a misdemeanor

The Black Codes was masked slavery. Other than some new, small leniencies, Mississippi succeeded in making laws that that still controlled African Americans. These Sections were created for the South to bend the rules by exploiting children. These laws were aimed at minors under the age of 18 that were orphans or whose parents were unable to financially provide for them. At this point, the child would be placed back in the “care” of their former master or mistress. These codes stated that the best interest of the minor was to be protected, that they were to be fed, clothed, treated humanely; taught to read if under the age of fifteen and to receive medical attention when sick. In return, the minor, or apprentice would be bounded by indenture until the age of eighteen for a female and twenty one for a male. It was also acceptable for the former owner to chastise under what was allowed for punishment by the common law. If the child were to escape, it was permitted to place the child in jail if refused to return. That only discharge from a master/mistress would be possible if the courts believed the apprentice had a good cause to quit. Those are just few examples to begin with. These codes essentially worked to separate the races in all aspects of life from children to adults, such as marriage, which would result in life in prison if wedded to a white person. They also were not allowed to own any type of weapon unless they served in the United States military, and were to be fined and possibly imprisoned to even drinking liquor to a level of intoxication. Over all, these are just a few of the examples that were laws to “freed” men to be kept

Racially based laws continued to be enacted in the 17th century. Besides the Virginia laws mentioned above, a 1776 Pennsylvania law declared that any free black person who married a white person could be sold into slavery. A South Carolina law passed in 1691 provided North America with its first comprehensive slave code, although it was Barbados that led the way in establishing slave codes – laws to manage the growing population of enslaved Africans (Johnson and Smith, 1998). South Carolina, in 1691, defined as slaves “all Negroes, mulattoes, and Indians” sold into or intended for sale into bondage (Horton and Horton, 2005, p. 32). Five years later, South Carolina enacted a law that slaves were property attached to specific land. Other laws