The Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to prevent freed slaves from gaining equal rights to white men. They restricted property ownership, voting, and profession choice, and were intended to keep white landowners in power. The Republican Party repealed the codes in 1866, but segregation continued into the 20th century.
The Black Codes were a series of laws passed after the completion of the Civil War in the United States in 1860. They were passed by the governments of several Southern states in the United States as a means of preventing freed slaves from gaining rights equal to those of white men. These laws originated in the slave codes that existed before the 13th amendment to the US Constitution ended slavery in the US
Among the codes were laws denying blacks the right to own property, testify in court or jury, choose their profession, or vote in elections. When the Republican Party dominated the 1866 US election, it used its newly acquired power to repeal the codes.
Even after the Civil War and the 13th Amendment gained blacks freedom from slavery, in the Southern United States, they still faced segregation and persecution at nearly the same level as when they were slaves. Black codes were quickly passed in Southern states as a way to prevent any black uprisings and deprive blacks of any semblance of autonomy, while keeping white southern landowners in positions of power. With President Andrew Johnson among those who still viewed blacks as an inferior race, there was little chance for blacks to build on their supposed freedom.
Building on previously existing slave codes, these laws differed from state to state but generally imposed many of the same restrictions on blacks. Not only were they designed to inhibit the freedoms of blacks, but they were also intended to provide a constant source of employment for the now slave-free southern landowners. For this reason, many of the codes attempted to limit the opportunity for blacks to choose an occupation, relegating them to their antebellum occupations such as servants and farm workers.
Personal freedoms were also severely restricted. Blacks were not allowed to marry outside their own race, and laws were put in place that made it nearly impossible for them to own property. They were also prevented from moving freely from one city to another or even going out at night without a specific purpose. Furthermore, they were denied the right to vote and could not serve in any capacity in a court case involving whites.
All of these laws served the purpose of supporting the prewar notion of blacks as nothing more than property. In the 1866 election, the radical arm of the Republican Party dominated elections in the South. With this shift in power underway, most of the more famous black codes were repealed, even as segregation of blacks in the South continued well into the 20th century.
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