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Black Codes Enacted In The South By A. H. Clark

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In the early years of Reconstruction, whites found ways to control black labor using Black codes sanctioned in Mississippi. The Black codes did not give complete freedom to African Americans, instead it made them work extensive hours in labor economy. This document, “Black Codes Enacted in the South”, is written by A.H. Clark in 1865. The author explains the obstacles the African Americans faced to achieve their freedom. Clark wrote this document to describe the laws and rights given to African Americans. Even though slavery was abolished, these laws did not give the negroes, freedmen and mulattoes the rights and freedom like a common white man. It also lists the punishments and fines that the African Americans receive if they break any of the laws in the Black Codes. The African Americans were given the right to purchase property, to get married amongst their black community, to sue or be sued. On the other hand, they had to work on the plantations and be under a yearly contract always. They could not be witnesses in the white court or serve as jurors. They were not even allowed to vote. The author describes the four acts written in the Mississippi black code of 1865. These acts violated the …show more content…

During the reconstruction period, there were many acts that were passed to protect citizens equality and basic rights. Eventually the fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to black slaves in 1868. Giving all native-born and naturalized citizens the right to vote too. Also, the fifteenth Amendment gave black slaves the right to vote in 1869. In 1875 the U.S passed another Civil Rights Act. This act strictly “outlawed racial discrimination in transportation, public accommodations, and juries.” However, in the South this law was not enforced and segregation remained. There was an Equal Rights Association led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton that influenced the actions of the

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