How To Abide By Slave Codes

Furthermore, activists argue that the slaves never agreed to become slaves, therefore they should not be slaves as that is not permitted through the guaranteed

Despite the black codes had provided rights such as the marriage legalization and the ownership of property, they violated the free labor principle and denied the African-Americans the right to vote, and sue any white man. Foner (2014) found “In response to planter’s demands that freed people be required to work on the plantations, the Black Codes declared that those who failed to sign yearly labor contracts could be arrested and hired out to white landowners” (p. 570) . In fact, it was a totally failure of what freedom was supposed to be.

rights as white men. Blacks did enjoy more freedom, leaving the Southern plantations in hopes

Slavery allows for humans to be treated as objects; the slave is given no rights. This act was

Former slaves were not allowed any weapons or access to the town, among other things. The codes stretched the law enough so that African-Americans were even forced to be “in the service of some white person or former owner”, and could not do many things without their express permission. (Document B) These laws were put into place by white men, dependent on the African-American’s continued labor for their farms and plantations to thrive. As the slave trade had greatly enhanced the economy of the South, white landowners were not eager to give up the majority of their workforce. Although legally, former slaves were considered free, the black codes forced them to stay in place and obey unfair laws. Without the word slavery ever mentioned, the black codes represented much of the South’s attitude towards African-Americans, destroying their personal rights as

it was declared in Virginia that it would not be a crime to kill a disobedient slave while punishing him/her. Moreover in 1669, slave masters were banned from emancipating slaves. Slaves that were given their freedom could not stay in the colony. Furthermore, Virginia voted to banish Europeans who marry a black, mulatto, or Indian person. It can be concluded that these laws fashioned the chattel slavery in the United States

Prosecuting them was hard to do, due to the fact that laws were enacted to prevent slaves from testifying against their master. This treatment continued into the 1900s with the lynching and tree hangings of many blacks. However, masters who treated their slaves cruelly were legally punished In Latin America; slaves were able to testify against their owners. In contrast, a slave having a Sunday of was considered as an incentive from the owner, to encourage efficiency under the U.S. English Common Law, and those laws treated slaves drastically different. They viewed slavery as a business only. They did not care about their livelihood, nor did they consider slaves as people. They based the price of each slave on gender and age; considered them as property, and sold them like real estate. The states enacted laws for contracts, which protected both the buyers and owners in the initial purchase.

In addition to these rules, the codes also gave the slave owners the right to torture, whip, brand, and maim their slaves. However, they were not allowed to kill their slaves. Only a few men did, but were never prosecuted.

Slaves in the antebellum period were treated with the utmost brutality as they were beaten, killed, raped, and starved as well as denied basic education and could not obtain freedom without the owner giving them their freedom however even as free blacks they still had limited rights.

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

Slaves did not have rights to anything, not even their bodies. Everything that slaves did was controlled by someone else, and each task they performed was to benefit someone else. They were unable to make contracts or own land, and because they belonged to enslavers, they had to abide by all their rules no matter how severe. This included who they could marry, where they worked, slept, what they ate and what they wore daily. Slaves however still resisted those who owned them, and those who did own slaves made rules to diminish the slave

Also if you were a woman you were not allowed to vote. Once a woman got married all of there property becomes your husbands property. This class was called Plebeians. While slaves had no citizenship no rights or privileges, you could be sold, and a lot more. Sometimes slaves gained some freedom from there owner, or they got enough money to pay and get their own freedom.

As stated in our text, “The British Bill of Rights did not protect slaves because they were not viewed as persons with legal rights.” (78) It

Slaves had some rights but not many. If a slave did any serious crime, death was the normal and expected punishment. Sometimes the slave would be reassigned to another master.

Most of the punishments weren't fair at all. Slaves were treated as property and free men weren't punished