Black Codes

Black codes were laws passed immediately following the American Civil War (1861–65) by the former Confederate States of America . They were designed to prevent blacks from having the full rights of citizens and to restore, as much as possible, the labor and racial controls of slavery . The first black codes were passed in South Carolina and Mississippi in 1865, and they quickly appeared in other states throughout the South. Although they differed in form from each other, their aims were the same.

Before the Civil War, many states throughout the United States had laws that prevented blacks from enjoying the same rights as whites. By the end of the Civil War, much of that had changed in the North. This became increasingly true with America's adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution in 1868 and 1870, which require equal protection under state laws and the right to vote, respectively.

The situation was quite different in the South. The emancipation of four million slaves dramatically affected southern white society. The system of slavery had empowered whites to keep blacks subordinate and had allowed the southern economy to thrive on the cheap labor of slavery. The system had been legalized by slave codes that defined the limited rights of blacks in the South.

With slavery abolished under the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, the legal status of blacks became uncertain. Southern legislatures began to enact black codes based largely on the pre-existing slave codes. In many instances the black codes seemed to provide legal rights for newly freed slaves. They allowed blacks to marry, own property, negotiate contracts, and have limited participation in court proceedings against other blacks.

In reality, however, the black codes provided inferior rights and thereby ensured that southern blacks would remain subordinate to whites. The laws restricted where blacks could live and which trades they could practice. Many laws put limitations on labor contracts and property ownership, so blacks found themselves effectively slaves again to their employers or landlords. The punishments for breaking many of the laws were extremely harsh. Although many of the black codes attempted to mask racial intentions by avoiding the specific mention of race, they were obviously aimed at black southerners.

The black codes shocked many northerners and sparked concern about the effectiveness of reintegrating the southern states into the Union . The requirements for reintegration in the Reconstruction plan of President Andrew Johnson (1808–1875; served 1865–69) were easily met and demanded little change from the southern state governments. As a result, the enactment of black codes provoked conflict between the executive branch and legislative branch of the federal government for control of the process of Reconstruction.

The Republican Congress seized control of Reconstruction efforts and forced changes in policy. By requiring new constitutions and governments in the southern states, Congress managed to abolish some black codes. Congress passed legislation to protect the rights of freed slaves, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and proposals for the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Such legislation attempted to guarantee full citizenship and rights for blacks.

After Reconstruction, however, many of the racially discriminatory policies that shaped the black codes began to reappear. So-called Jim Crow laws , named for a character in a popular minstrel show, reintroduced similar inequality that resulted in black segregation and subordination until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .