Life After Slavery: Racism After The Civil War

620 Words3 Pages

Racism after Slavery

Although slavery ended with the emancipation proclamation in 1863 during the Civil War, did it just pave the way for a hundred years of racism and discrimination.The black race had to face a set of unfair laws that were enforced against them, any racism from everyday people and hate groups. The united states left torn and in ruin after the war was in no condition for a civil rights movement yet. The South was soon left to govern itself and that would trigger a long series of laws or codes towards the black race.

The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved people in the South from "slave" to "free." This was the around the time of the last straw of the war. Lincoln was ready to end this war and set equality for everyone. It set the slaves free but what happened after the war was almost as if this law was not passed. …show more content…

The black codes emerged and discrimination towards the blacks began.1865 and 1866 ‘The Black Codes’ were passed by Southern states to restrict African Americans freedom and compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt. Slavery had ended but they needed work so they continued to work like slaves but at low wages. The slaves that didn’t continue to work on plantations had a rough time starting up businesses, with many loopholes to go around. They needed licenses to work even the simplest of jobs, if they didn’t under the black codes they could be