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Before the Black Codes
there were Slave Codes
Before the Black Codes
there were Slave Codes
Black Codes
Black Codes
"Marriage between a black and white person is forbidden"
Southern states were not happy with the changes made during Reconstruction, especially those that helped former slaves. After the Civil War, many Southern leaders regained control of their state governments, partly because President Andrew Johnson’s policies made it easy for them to return to power.
After slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, Southern states passed laws in 1865-1866 called Black Codes to control and limit the rights of African Americans. These laws:
Did not allow African Americans to gather in groups after sunset
Forbade them from serving on juries (deciding court cases)
Stopped them from testifying against white people
Banned them from carrying weapons in public
Limited the types of jobs they could have
Anyone who broke these laws faced fines, beatings, or jail time. Many were then forced into unpaid labor, which was a lot like slavery.
A system called convict leasing allowed African Americans who were arrested under the Black Codes to be rented or leased to work on plantations. This created a new way for the South to continue exploiting Black labor, even after slavery had officially ended.
Black Codes also made it illegal for African-Americans to not have a job. Therefore they could be arrested and then forced into labor as punishment. This would also force African-Americans to work for their old plantation masters or for others as sharecroppers which led them into a cycle of debt and poverty.
Jim Crow
Jim Crow
While progress had been made through Reconstruction, southern states disagreed with the new laws and began passing their own laws known as the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws enforced segregation of blacks and whites in public life in the South.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
On December 24, 1865, a group of former Confederate soldiers established a secret society known as Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, in Tennessee. Named for the Greek word “kyklos,” which means circle, the KKK was devoted to white supremacy and to ending Reconstruction in the South. The Klan’s first leader was former Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The KKK looked to terrorize African Americans and their supporters, especially when it came to voting. The KKK turned to violence threatening black voters and officeholders. African Americans who did not obey their threats were beaten and even murdered.
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