-
Black Codes
The Black Codes were laws passed by Southern legislatures in 1866. The new laws helped to control newly freed slaves. Some examples of black codes are that African Americans could noy own or rent farms. The laws also made it easier to take advantage of African American workers. The black codes could also fine an African American without a job. This made life for African Americans only a little better than it was to actually be a slave in the first place. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was an act pushed through congress in the year of 1866. It was made to grant citizenship to African Americans. It also allowed federal government to get involved in state affairs to protect African Americans. It was made to counter the Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court case. -
The Reconstruction Acts (1 and 2)
First off, this law required that those states form new governments (The 10 Confederate states that had not yet ratified the 14th Amendment). The act divided the 10 states in 5 military districts. Each district would be given an army general until new state governmetns were formed. Finally, the act gave the right to vote to African Americans. A second Reconstruction Act empowered the army to register voters in each district and to help organize state constitutional coventions. -
The 14th Amendment
A=nother amendment ratified in the stats in 1868 took the 13th Amendment a step further by saying "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside." That basically said that all African Americans were now granted citizenship. It also guaranteed that citizenship could not be taken away. -
The 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was proposed in 1869, but only got ratified in 1870. The amendment stated that all men could vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (like Confederate soldiers). The Republicans thought that they had done a great job and protected many African Americans, and gave the mthe right to vote.
