1865

Enactment of Black Codes

Multiple Southern States, US

Enactment of Black Codes

Enactment of Black Codes

Southern state legislatures enacted Black Codes in autumn 1865, restricting freedpeople's rights to work, move freely, and own property. These laws effectively forced Black Americans into dependent plantation labor, reinstating slavery under a different name and confirming white supremacy in post-Civil War America.

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