The black codes (1865 and 1866)
The Black Codes were the laws imposed in 1865 and 1866 by the state governments in the Southern United States, subjected only to ‘persons of colour’. Its purpose was to restore the power of White slave owners to continue to exploit the former slaves even after their defeat in the Civil War. Though the slaves were proclaimed legally free, they did not have any money and property to start a new life, so they were still bound to work under White households. The rigidity of the regulation of freedmen measured differently in each state, but it was clear that after all, the freedmen still did not have the same privileges as White, both in working and living conditions.
|