During the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, the Black Codes were a series of laws enacted in Southern states that were designed to restrict the freedoms and rights of Black people and maintain a system of racial hierarchy and oppression.
Some of the key provisions of the Black Codes included:
Prohibiting Black people from owning firearms or serving on juries.
Restricting their ability to travel or gather in groups without permission.
Requiring Black people to sign labor contracts with white landowners.
Imposing heavy fines or forced labor on Black people who were found guilty of petty crimes or "vagrancy."
Prohibiting Black people from testifying in court against white people.
Mandating that Black people could only work in certain occupations, such as farming or domestic service.
The Black Codes were designed to maintain the white-dominated social and economic order that had existed before the Civil War and to limit the rights and opportunities of Black people. They were largely repealed after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race.