Between 1865 and 1866 Black Codes were passed to withhold former slaves from political and civil rights. This means that the Black Codes prohibited former slaves from voting. With this information, we can unmistakably deduct that former slaves did not have the right to run for any seats whether it be president, governor, senator, mayor etc. Another thing to note is that Black Codes prohibited the carrying of weaponry. While this does not appear as a political matter to the naked eye, it is a widely debated matter in society. Because former slaves were not given this right we can assume that they had no say in this matter politically; they did not have a say in passing laws.