The Union victory in the Civil War gave slaves
their freedom. However, African Americans faced a new obstacles and injustices
during the Reconstruction era (1865-1877). By late 1865, when the 13th
Amendment officially was passed, the question of freed blacks’ status in the
South was still very much unresolved. Under the Reconstruction policies of
President Andrew Johnson, white southerners reestablished civil authority in
the former Confederate states (1865-1866). They stablished a series of
restrictive laws known as “black codes,” which were a set of laws adopted by Southern states after the
Civil War, which were against the fact that of giving equal rights to black
people: these laws refused them the right to vote, black people could not serve
on juries and give evidence in court against the white men, they were not allowed
to buy or rent farm land, or they were forced to work for one employer for a
whole year and could be imprisoned if they refused.
The restrictive nature of the codes led to the discontented
of the African Americans, who argued that the codes violated the fundamental
principles of free labour ideology. After passing the Civil Rights Act, Republicans
in Congress took full control of Reconstruction. The Reconstruction Act of 1867
required southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment–which granted “equal
protection” of the Constitution to former slaves, before they could rejoin the
Union. The 15th Amendment, adopted in 1870, guaranteed federal citizen’s right
to black people. During this period of Radical Reconstruction (1867-1877),
blacks won election to southern state governments and even to the U.S.
Congress.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-codes
