spacer



spacer
nav

Chronological Eras
Information Tables
General Interest Maps
Glossary
History Quizzes

nav

California
Florida
New York
Oregon
Washington

nav

Read and Post Comments


 

The Black Codes

Social Issues, Reconstruction

Convicts

In 1865 and 1866, state governments in the South enacted laws designed to regulate the lives of the former slaves. These measures, differing from state to state, were actually revisions of the earlier slave codes that had regulated that institution.

Some common elements appeared in many of the Codes:

  • Race was defined by blood; the presence of any amount of black blood made one black
  • Employment was required of all freedmen; violators faced vagrancy charges
  • Freedmen could not assemble without the presence of a white person
  • Freedmen were assumed to be agricultural workers and their duties and hours were tightly regulated
  • Freedmen were not to be taught to read or write
  • Public facilities were segregated
  • Violators of these laws were subject to being whipped or branded.
Existence of the black codes was taken as evidence by many Northerners (especially the Radical Republicans) that the South had not really been subdued. Slavery had simply taken a new form.

The Freedmen’s Bureau worked to halt enforcement of many of these laws and the Republican state governments (imposed by the North) repealed the measures.

When Reconstruction was over, many of the Black Code elements would reappear in Jim Crow legislation.

Off-site search results for "The Black Codes"...

The Black Codes of 1865
 You are here:About>Education>African-American History> Black Codes> The Black Codes of 1865  Education African-American HistoryEssentialsPhotographsBiographiesQuotesMartin Luther King Jr.This Day in African American History TopiThe Black Codes of 1865  Education African-American HistoryEssentialsPhotographsBiographiesQuotesMartin Luther King Jr.This Day in African American History TopicsAbolition ...
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/blackcodes/a/blackcodes1865.htm

SparkNotes: Reconstruction (1865–1877): The Postwar South and the Black Codes: 1865–1877
Some of the black codes forced former slaves to sign contracts, requiring them to work for meager wages, while some even required them to work on chain gangs in the fields. Once the Republican Party took control of Reconstruction, the black codes forced former slaves to sign contracts, requiring them to work for meager wages, while some even required them to work on chain gangs in the fields. Once the Republican Party took control of Reconstruction, they forced ...
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/reconstruction/section4.rht ...

Black Codes
... ResourcesSort By : Guide Picks | Alphabetical | Recent The Black Codes of 1865 The Black Codes of 1865 turned out to be a unique way for white southerners to attempt to maintain the way of life they had known prior to the CivilThe Black Codes of 1865 The Black Codes of 1865 turned out to be a unique way for white southerners to attempt to maintain the way of life they had known prior to the CivilThe Black Codes of 1865 turned out to be a unique way for white southerners to attempt to maintain the way of life they had known prior to the Civil War. While ...
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/blackcodes/

Sponsors of U-S-History.com:

Sponsor this site


Top 10 Most Viewed Pages

1. The Progressive Movement

2. Eastern Woodland Culture

3. First Continental Congress

4. Roaring Twenties

5. Quartering Act

6. Historical Eras

7. Stamp Act

8. Proclamation of 1763

9. Jacques Cartier

10. The Temperance Movement


spacer