The Dehumanization And Consequences Of Slave Codes In America

Many people will tell you that African Americans were free during the reconstruction after the civil war, which on paper may be the case. Life during this time was getting better, however, it still wasn’t good. African Americans faced multiple different forms of oppression that would make it seem that they were in prison. A few of these were the black codes, and the government's reaction to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. However the amendments were not meant to have the states to poke holes in them, they were made to give freed African Americans the same right as everyone else.

In the 1600s to 1865 the United States was not truly a “land of the free.” “Land of the free” means that everyone was treated equal and able to do what they choose, but this was not the case. If you were an African American, you would not be treated the same as white, American citizens. Whites and African Americans would be separated if they were to do something that would include each other. Being an African American does not give you rights that whites would get. If you were living in the south of the United States, and an African American, you would be a slave. While on the other hand, if you were an African American living in the north, you would be free, but not with many rights. “Land of the free” became a saying that people don’t truly

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.

African Americans were free during the Reconstruction time. During the Reconstruction time from 1865 to 1877, When the nation tried to build itself after the Civil War, Congress passed three Amendments called the Reconstruction Documents.Which were the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments passed to the US Constitution. These documents were created to give fair and equal rights to all races, ethnicities, man, and woman. In the 13th Amendment it states, “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” (para. 1). Furthermore Amendment 14 states,

African Americans were not free after the Civil War ended.They were still treated like they were slaves. There are many specific details throughout the reconstruction phase proving this.

Between 1775 and 1830, in many places African Americans gained their freedom from slavery and in others, the institution of slavery expanded. Eventually, slavery became abundant in places where it was most necessary and died out in the places where it was of little use. In response, most free African Americans and enslaved African Americans took action against their maltreatment by petitions and willingness to fight.

African Americans living in the North, as well as those in the South, faced multiple challenges. In 1860, tension grew between the North and South. Most southern states still held onto slavery, because their slaves were worth money, while the North was trying to abolish it. The North had many free African Americans, but the question is, were they actually free? Free Africans Americans in the North before the civil war were not actually free because, they had little to none political right, they were not allowed to associate with whites, and making a living, no matter what, was hard.

The African Americans were given their own freedom as well after being free from Britain. The diversity had become denser and so trade had flourished, and America had become more social. In Document F, it would state, "In 1790, the first U.S. census counted 13,059 free blacks in New England, with another 13,975 in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Strictly speaking, none of them was "free," for their lives were proscribed politically, economically, and socially. While white indentured servants often became respected members of their communities after their indentures ended, free blacks in the North rarely had the opportunity to rise above the level of common laborers and washerwomen, and as early as 1760 they had formed ghettoes in the grimy alleys and waterfront districts of Boston and other Northern towns" This would show how the indentured servants became members of the community and had not been looked down from the rest of the other people. And how America was the land of the free and was not discriminating other people based on their race or ethnicity.  To sum up, the people of races were not judged and were accepted by the

After the Civil War the freedman were not truly free. The definition of freedom is the power, or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraints. After the Civil War the slaves were considered free, but they were not treated accordingly. For the whites to still have power over the black's and to keep them in order the new laws started coming out so they don’t try and overpower the whites. In Alabama the new laws Governing the slaves, in Mississippi the Black Codes, and in various states the Jim Crow laws.

Slave codes were a set of laws determined within each state that defined the proper behavior of slaves and the rights of their masters. As early as 1712, slave codes were defined and established in South Carolina and spread throughout the other states. One slave code was that if a slave tried to reject slavery it could be punished by death. A slave also did not have the rights to bear arms or strike a white man even for self protection. If a slave committed a crime against any white person then the slave could be put to death. A slave was not allowed to travel unless they had written permission from their owners. The slaves could be owned, but they were not allowed to own anything themselves. Slaves were not allowed to congregate unless there

Prior to the emancipation of the slaves in the United States , there were several laws governing the identities and the relationships of people with slaves . These laws were prevalent in the states that allowed slavery , especially in the South . These codes stipulated the rights of masters toward their slaves and defined the status of slaves in the American society . These codes also gave white masters almost absolute power over their slaves . The rights of slaves were so minimal that they were considered as nothing more thanhuman properties who lives belong to their masters

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.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the

Even after the slavery was abolished, African American's freedom was limited. After the Civil War, the African Americans were clueless where to go, so some of them stayed and continued the agriculture labor. Black codes also limited and made it difficult for African Americans to own land. This in turn made the Africans work for the whites, to maintain the small cost of farm labor even after slavery was established.

During the Era of the Slave Codes, we realize that most of the laws set in place have been established by an overwhelming sense of fear or danger, in relation to how specific people look and behave. The rules that were set in place to prevent slave rebellions and other racial problems in the colonies was known as the “Slave Codes.” The slave codes reflect the growing ethnic order and development of fear of slave communities by creating a division of humanity based on skin color, which enforced through multiple laws that were established by the colonies themselves, in each respective area. Before the slave codes were developed, there was a growing population of Africans in the Colonies, due to both importation and reproduction or already existing