The Black Codes were laws enacted for the specific purpose of showing the inferiority of the blacks and to reduce their rights. They were enacted in 1865 and 1866 and designed to keep blacks in servitude. These laws included:
1. No black man was able to marry a white woman and vice versa. 2. A drop of black blood defined you as a black person. 3. Unfair contracts were drawn up every year that tied black workers to white bosses. Harsh corporal punishment was imposed for breaking any part of the contract. 4. Black men (Freemen) had no right to assemble unless a white man was present. 5. Freemen were not able to learn to read and write. 6. Public facilities were segregated. 7. Vagrancy charges were severe for the unemployed. |
There were a few breaks for the blacks in the Black Codes.
1. They had a right to buy and own property. 2. They were allowed to make contracts. 3. Marriage was allowed within their own race. 4. They could testify in court for or against their own race. While these were cited as improvements by whites in the south they were simply common decency and did not make up for the other restrictions imposed by the Black Codes. |