The Black Post

On May 26, 1865 the last battle of the civil war was fought. This marked the end of slavery for more nearly 4 million black Southerners. It was the start of what they thought would be a new life with equal rights. The end of this war was supposed to be the beginning of freedom to go where they wanted when they wanted, and have family and friends. Sike! Instead, this war left them landless, dead broke and supporting themselves. With the outcome of this war the white southerners were outraged and found what northerners took as a “blatant attempt to restore slavery”. So came the year of The Black Codes.

Approximately 5 days after the war ended Abe Lincoln was killed and Vice President Andrew Johnson took over presidency. On-top of being a new president he was now left with the responsibility of rebuilding the nation. Just before the end of the war, Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau. This furnished the slaves with food and medical help. This also helped slaves with education, and finding jobs.
During the summer of 1865 southners found a way to restore some of their beliefs and power. At a convention, President Johnson permitted only white persons to vote for convention delegates. By the end of the election most ex-confederate leaders had won. The state legislatures began to pass laws limiting the freedom of the former slaves. The newly freedmen could not vote, serve on juries, travel freely, marry, or work in occupations of their choice. This raised uproar in the north which helped the upcoming of The Black Codes.
The Black Codes applied to anyone with One-Eighth or more of Negro in their blood. These codes restricted their rights of freedom but gave them the right to marry in their race. Work was very hard to come by after the war, and most work that Freedmen were given were the jobs that the White men did not like. These jobs consisted of mostly agricultural work. Even when the freedmen did come buy an occupation it was regulated and chosen for them. Many Southerners believed that the slaves were predestined, and it was their responsibility to keep them on track. Freedmen could not raise their own crops nor lease land. All of their aspects of life were regulated.

Life after the war was hardly what they expected. Life was livening as a puppet for the African Americans, and The Black Code made sure the puppet show was accurate. Often when people think of life after war they think of segregation and Freedmen, not being able to vote, but it was so much more than just that. In the year of 1866 The Black Codes were suspended and life began to look up for freedmen. Although the codes were eliminated equalness was still not restored to them.